Iris Prize 2013 LGBT Short Film Round-up 2

The Iris Prize Festival showcases many of the best LGBT short films out there. Here’s the first of our round-ups of some of this year’s selection.

Shower
Director: Christian K. Norvalls
Showering after his swim, a young man finds his interest piqued and his self-image challenged by a strange sound.

A sexy short that builds to a brutal and unexpected ending, this one leaves the viewer both slightly titillated and then suddenly shocked, unable to parse a connection between the two. Confronting desires he didn’t know he had at the hands of a confident, sexually liberated stranger, the main character, played perfectly by Svend Erichsen, in this straightforward short is almost a tragic figure – afraid, angry and suddenly exposed. This is everything a good queer short should be: challenging, shocking and more than a little bit sexy.

Ett Sista Farval (A Last Farewell)
Director: Casper Andreas
An ageing author is haunted by visions of his late husband and in conflict with his pregnant daughter. He must find a way to accept the loss that has devastated his life, and make peace with the family he feels has betrayed him.

Calm, quiet and incredibly nuanced, this is a touching and upsetting short. The pain and loss felt by the characters is tangible yet dignified, subtle yet all-too-obvious. Stunningly executed, beautifully made with obvious and meticulous care, Casper Andreas and his extremely talented cast have made something close to perfect; this short is quite possibly the pick of Iris 2013. It’ll leave your heart warmed and your eyes damp.

Gingers
Director: Antonio da Silva
A love letter to ginger men everywhere, collecting testimonials along with samples of their hair, skin and semen.

Seriously NSFW, this is an intimate, sexy, almost naughty look at the lives, experiences and bodies of a group of ginger guys, from their schoolyard bullying to their sexual awakening and beyond. This is a must for any ginger men or fans thereof, an intimate treat with a cheeky smile and a naughty (and probably quite sticky) ending. Even if you’re not a fan of redheads, the first half of the film offers an interesting insight into the lives of those who, as children, were bullied for their appearance and are, in later life, finding the table have turned and what once made them outcast now offers exciting advantages in the worlds of love and sex. Bloody lovely.

Crabs In The Sand
Director: Tom Garber
A dark and challenging portrayal of nascent sexuality in children, this is a difficult film to watch, and the viewer is left with a lot of questions, some of which, almost certainly, one will not want answers to.

Cold and bleak, the narrative is simple, yet perhaps intentionally under-filled; There are gaps, missing parts of the story that might help put a more human edge on the events that transpire. As it stands, this is an episode in the life of a young boy whose uninterested parents and growing sexual urges lead to an incident that changes lives. You can watch the whole thing here:

Dawn
Director: Leon Le
The story of two strangers who share a common link that neither is aware of; Dawn is dark and twisting: A percieved racial slight on the subway leads to a mugging and beating in a dark alley, leaving the perpetrator in possession of more than just the phone and laptop he’s expecting.

Leon Le’s short explores prejudice and racial tension more than sexuality, with a cast that convincingly portrays the anger and fear their characters experience, moving deftly and with convincingly from brutal and angry to touching and vulnerable in a remarkably short space of time. Not easy to watch, but ultimately rewarding, this is a short that deserves a second watch.
http://www.dawntheshortfilm.com/

Reviewer: Scott Elliott

Click here for Iris Prize 2013 LGBT Short Film Round-up 1
Click here for Iris Prize 2013 LGBT Short Film Round-up 3