It’s time for the back half of the 20th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival, and today’s slate is another round of impressive and incredible films. With screening blocks that range form Golden Age, TV, Student, another block of Thriller and Action, there’s so much for everyone. For those looking to attend the last few days of the festival in person, tickets can be found here! And for those unable to attend or just looking to enjoy the festival from home, you will be able to find these films available shortly after their screening on BitPix.
GOLDEN AGE
Jellyfish And Lobster – Yasmin Afifi’s short is a touching love story of Grace (Flo Wilson) and Mido (Sayed Badreya), two elderly care patients who in a moment of being a bit mischievous, form an incredible bond and a deep relationship, which is made even deeper when they find a magical pool in the basement of their care home that allows them to become their younger selves. It’s a beautiful film that is full of heart and a bit of raunchiness that really helps lift the film up.
TV
Loft And Found – Pete O’Hare’s web series about five older millennials who all can’t seem to grow up is a hilarious and silly look into the ways some people seem to lose track of what people seem to think is the natural life path. As the five of them navigate unemployment, partying, and living together in a loft that they illegally run events out of, it’s a really fun mockumentary whose pilot is sure to get people itching for more.
STUDENT
Call Them Athletes – DePaul, Loyola, University of Northern Iowa, Grand Valley State University. These are the four schools that are featured in Torin Ives’ directorial debut, which focuses on the incredible talent and effort put in by collegiate dance and cheer teams, most of which gets overlooked. These talented student-athletes put in hours upon hours of work, straining their body and their personal lives for a chance to perform at this level, only for the rules of the NCAA to dictate that they are not truly deemed a sport. This film highlights the massive underfunding that these groups receive because of this, forcing the dancers to suffer from a lack of space, a lack of support, and sometimes even a lack of food prior to events. Ives does an excellent job of allowing the dancers to speak for themselves, adding in footage of their dedication to highlight the fact that these performers are more than that, and that changes need to be made to the system to allow them to be classified as a sport by the NCAA in order to get more funding and resources.
THRILLER II
The Door – Tanaya Beatty and Raymond Ablack star as a couple, whose child is no longer with them. When a mysterious door shows up in the middle of their home, the couple, who have had their own slew of problems since losing their child, ignore it in order to focus on everything else going on. That is, until they can’t any longer. It’s a fun horror film with a twist that was really satisfying. Writer/director Alexander Seltzer did an excellent job in bringing this film to life.
ACTION
Doomscroll – John Michael Riva Jr.’s short film is a simple one, but delightful, with a cast that really makes this under seven minute project worth watching. While on a remote island and trying to salvage their bond, three friends are hanging out, when they find a mysterious book on their final night, something that helps them realize they may not be the only ones there. Jack Gibson, Ariana Ron Pedrique and Adam Riva star in the film, bringing a chemistry that really helps make the film that much better.
That’s it for out highlights for today! Be sure to check out the great interview below with Call Them Athletes writer/director Torin Ives! We’ll be back tomorrow with another collection of short films as we roll into day seven of the HollyShorts Film Festival!
What inspired you to start making films?
I have always known that I wanted to work in film. When I was young I used to record Youtube videos of myself and I would have such a blast editing them and putting them together. I realized I liked the crew side of it more than being on-screen, so I set out to do that. I used to do our daily announcements in high school which was a 10 minute live show. We would put together some pre-recorded segments and run a full show. I also was tasked with making my class’s senior video.. it took me a full year to film and edit and I loved every minute of it. I was obsessed with the action of it all. So, I went to DePaul University for my film degree and I concentrated in editing. My junior year, around 2021, was when I started working on my first serious film.
What were the challenges in making this project?
There were definitely some challenges with making this film. Call Them Athletes has very humble beginnings, it started out as just a class project for a grade in school. So, we had no budget going into it. Anything we spent during production came out of our pockets, and anyone working on it was a volunteer. Being full time students and having full time jobs didn’t leave a lot of time for traveling to film, so we were limited by our location as well. Thankfully there are some great dance teams a reasonable distance from Chicago that were willing to let us come film.
We also ran into some complications with the athletics programs at different schools. When we would first email, the staff would seem excited that we wanted to film their athletics program. But once we clarified that it was their dance team, they were no longer open to having us come film. Just with those responses, the schools told on themselves.
However, I do think my access helped a lot in our process. When I would plan with coaches to film, I could sense them feel at ease when I told them I was a dancer. It’s something about the community that dance in general creates, but especially with college dance. If you have been on a college dance team, you get it.
Is there any type of message or emotion that you hope the viewer takes away from watching this film?
My biggest goal that I have with this film is just to make people aware. I can’t tell you how many folks have come up to me after seeing the film and just simply said “I had no idea.” I want people to notice the dancers and how hard they are working the next time they’re at a college athletic event.
So many dancers that have seen this film were so grateful to see their reality reflected on the screen. To feel like someone is seeing their pain and their efforts, and that they are finally being recognized. This is the plight of not just dancers, but of women as a whole. Dancers are taught from a young age that we may speak when are spoken to. That our job is to be seen and not heard. That we should be thankful for what we do get, and we shouldn’t ask for more. The whole thing with dance is to entertain. We dancers are happy to entertain, but we are not okay with being taken advantage of. It’s gone on for far too long and it’s time to start demanding better.
How does it feel to be able to screen the film at HollyShorts?
Being accepted into HollyShorts is honestly a dream come true. Getting that notification was one of those moments where I felt like “YESS! I am being heard, my work is being appreciated- both as a filmmaker and as a dancer.” The reception of Call Them Athletes has been so much more than I ever anticipated, and HollyShorts was the biggest cherry on top that I could have ever asked for.
What’s on the horizon for you?
My producer, Kelly Jankowski, and I are really focused on expanding our work and this mission. We are trying to get a longer project secured based on the short film. I know how successful it could be and how much positive change it would create. We will be thrilled to continue pushing this in whatever shape or form it ends up coming in. Whether we continue our efforts through social media or whatever it is, I will not stop fighting. The NCAA and colleges across the country need to step up to the plate.
For me personally, I plan on keeping dance in my life. I am pursuing teaching the next generation of dancers and showing them that it doesn’t have to be the way it’s been. That it’s okay to stand up for yourself, to know your worth, and to demand more. The fusion of dance and film is my recipe for a happy life, so I would love to keep working with dancers in any sort of film settings.
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