Kierston Drier

Film Review: MARTINA, OH MARTINA, Spain, Romance/Drama 

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Oh to be young and feel the feelings of life for the first time!  MARTINA, OH MARTINA is a story about such times. Martina is a young, quirky girl with her first crush. As that crush entices her, then fails to reciprocate, the world- or, rather, her world, begins to come to a cataclysmic end. A giant meteor is heading for the earth and life as we know it is about to end.

Or at least it is for Martina.

The beautiful thing about this twelve minute quirky-romance-comedy coming to us from director Fatima Martin, is how beautiful it captures the passion of youth. Our sweet, lovable and relatable heroine, Martina, so perfectly encapsulates the familiar feeling of early unrequited love. Not only that, but she also creates a relatable voice for that unique feeling that, without reciprocation for said love, the world will surely come to an end.

Smartly witty, disarmingly charming and boasting excellent casting in choice for Martina, MARTINA, OH MARTINA is the story of adolescence come to life. A  coming-of-age film that delivers on thought, feeling and whimsy, and worth every frame.

Review by Kierston Drier

PLAYED at the January 2018 EUROPEAN Film Festival.

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

MARTINA, OH MARTINA, 12min., Spain, Romance/Drama 
Directed by Fatima MartinSandwich: roll or slices of bread with a layer of meat, cheese, or other food between them. Typical or characteristic of those of romantic nature, sensitive to acts of love and destined to die crushed by a big fat comet.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Film Review: BOLD GREEN, Germany, Romance/Drama

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BOLD GREEN, a twenty-eight minute coming-of-age comedy about young Alja, who dreams of being an astronaut but is terrified of heights. Terrified of not having her feet on the ground and yet longing to soar above the clouds she seeks help from her friend to face her fears. Ironically though her friend is suffering from MS and everyday for him is a roulette game of debilitating symptoms.

What transpires is a story of love and friendship, humor and poignancy, fear and triumph.   Brightly shot with homage paid to the whimsy of youth, BOLD GREEN is a heartfelt and multi-layered story. There is a charm in its’ composition- the characters are complex, but their goals are simple. Each main character has a rich past and a future full of hurdles, but their dreams are innocent, pure and full of enthusiasm. BOLD GREEN is a film where we watch two young people take the first tentative steps out of childhood and into the rest of their lives.

A lovely blend of comedy, romance and overcoming obstacles, BOLD GREEN is a family film not to miss.

Review by Kierston Drier

PLAYED at the January 2018 EUROPEAN Film Festival.

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

BOLD GREEN, 28min., Germany, Romance/Drama 
Directed by Selon FischerAlja just finished school and wants to be an astronaut, despite her fear of heights. Together with her best friend Konrad, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis, she trains to achieve her goal.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Film Review: EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY (Austria, Drama/Family)

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A strong and daring film by directed Patrick Vollrath, EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY is the story of a divorced father who takes his daughter Lea away for the weekend. Except he’s not just taking her away for the weekend.

What seems like a normal day of toy shopping, lunch and the fair, turns more sinister as the father rushes Lea to an emergency passport office and then sells his car. Told through the child’s point of view, it’s not totally clear what is going on, until the two reach the airport and book an international flight.

Our young heroine isn’t sure what to do, but tries her best to tell her father she doesn’t want to go anywhere but home, but this father is determined.

What is exceptional about this film is the slow build of fear and danger that simmers itself into a rolling boil. The slow burn of this piece will have you on the edge of your seat, especially when the flight is delayed and our pair are sent to a hotel.

 

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY is tense and compelling. But it is also heartbreaking. It is the story of a tormented father desperate not to be torn apart from his child, and his selfish and terrifying decisions to try to keep her in his life.

A powerful and dramatic story with exceptional performances and brilliant execution, EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY is a film not to miss.

PLAYED at the January 2018 Comedy/Drama Festival. 

Review by Kierston Drier

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY, 30min., Austria, Drama/Thriller
Directed by Patrick VollrathA divorced father picks up his eight-year-old daughter Lea. It seems pretty much like every second weekend, but after a while Lea can’t help feeling that something isn’t right. So begins a fateful journey.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Film Review: EGGS AND SOLDIERS (USA, Drama/Family)

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Directed by Imelda O’Reilly, this twenty-minute American film follows the story of a single Irish father and his two children on Christmas. Having smuggled his younger son, Marco away from his mother on Christmas Eve to spare him from that abusive home, he goes out drinking and leaves his elder son, teenage Ned, in charge of babysitting. Treeless and foodless on Christmas, Ned tries to watch his little brother and calm his own personal love life at the same time.

When Ned leaves to get groceries to cook dinner for Marco, he finds his dad drinking in a bar and confronts him and things get ugly. When the father finally returns home drunk and kicks Ned out, Ned decides to make sure Marco’s Christmas won’t be ruined.

 

This is a difficult and complex story of family. It paints complex characters with flaws and compassion. Marco and Ned’s father is abusive and alcoholic, but also attempted to save them both from more abusive home-lives than the one he provides. Marco and Ned, it seems, are simply swapped from one bad situation to another. Yet in the middle of this dark and dangerous world the two brothers manage to create a happy holiday together. EGGS AND SOLDIERS is a story that reminds us that happiness is not a privilege reserved only for the wealthy and affluent. Joy, love and goodwill towards your fellow human are things that transcend race, bloodline, economy. “Family” is something found in every home where love lives.

PLAYED at the January 2018 Comedy/Drama Festival. 

Review by Kierston Drier

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

EGGS AND SOLDIERS, 20min., USA, Drama/Family
Directed by Imelda O’ReillyA single Irish Dad forgets the tree on christmas eve. Ned the older son’s humanity is challenged when he risks everything to give his younger brother Marco a real Irish Christmas.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Film Review: EDEN HOSTEL (Spain, Comedy)

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This fourteen minute comedy hailing from Spain by director Gonzaga manso, tells the story of a slightly tacky Virgin Mary wall hanging that hangs above a bed in a Spanish Hostel. Sweet, innocent and non-judgemental, our figurine recounts the most important moments of her time there. Such as watching a suicidal man and a prostitute with bad timing, fall in love. With gentle nudges that may be God, fate or fantasy, our heroine sees the world with simplicity and love, kindness and, above all else, compassion for those who sleep below her.

This fly-on-the-wall style narrative opens up many options for a story set in a hostel and we are delighted with colourful characters, thoughtful moments and snapshots of people in their lives. Much like the Heroine wall-hanging, we only ever see snippets of the lives of the hostel guests- and never the endings. Yet, using this narrative we are able to draw together meaning from each vignette- and the natural sweetness of our hero makes her capable of seeing the best in everyone.

What we get from watching EDEN HOSTEL is the knowledge that, deep down, we are all the same. Our characters might be different, but we all go through similar plot points. If we remember how similar we all really are, perhaps our endings, our beginnings, and our middles, will be more filled with love and happiness.

PLAYED at the January 2018 Comedy/Drama Festival. 

Review by Kierston Drier

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

EDEN HOSTEL, 14min., Spain, Comedy/Drama
Directed by Gonzaga MansoThe Eden Hostel is a humble and dirty place run by an elderly couple. Hanging from the wall of one of its rooms there?s a statue of the Virgin Mary who narrates, from her peculiar point of view, the stories of the various guests who stayed there through the years. One of those stories, the one of Yolanda and Felix, will make a huge impact on her.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Film Review: ALTERNATIVE MATH (USA, Comedy)

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Perhaps one of the smartest and most compelling shorts around, ALTERNATIVE MATH, a nine minute American piece directed by David Maddox, is a deeply layered and remarkably sophisticated pieces of intelligent comedy.

Our heroine is a veteran grade school teacher trying to explain to her student that 2+2=4. The child however, believes the answer is 22. So do his parents. How dare this teacher censor their child and restrict his learning. What kind of professional does this? The child’s parents are out for blood and soon our heroine is trapped in a vicious media onslaught and a school board demanding her resignation.

What makes this film so special is that it functions on so many layers. It works comically due to it’s wonderfully executed reducto-absurdum, but just a little bit deeper we find an allegory for our modern world carrying a concerning warning. What happens when beliefs are taken too such a degree that basic knowledge is questioned? What happens to a population when the right to free speech becomes more important than the recognition of fact? There is a frightening undertone in ALTERNATIVE MATH that speaks to a greater and more terrible world lurking in a reality not too far away from our own.

Of course, this allegory is one that comes gift-wrapped clearly and politely in the bow comedy for an audience can unwrap it with glee, not fear. Perhaps this is one of the best reasons to see ALTERNATIVE MATH, a film with heart, humanity and humor, as well as deeper philosophical undertones. A family film to be enjoyed by teacher and student alike.

PLAYED at the January 2018 Comedy/Drama Festival. 

Review by Kierston Drier

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

ALTERNATIVE MATH, 9min, USA, Comedy
Directed by David MaddoxA well meaning math teacher finds herself trumped by a post-fact America.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Film Review: JAKE & JULIA (USA, Comedy)

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JAKE & JULIA is a film for any kinky couple who decides to jump into the deep end of the sexual adventure pool without their floaty wings. During a one-night hotel stay, Jake and girlfriend Julia decide to throw caution to the wind and try to pick up a third for a sexy night of fun.

Problems arise almost instantly when the couple realizes they don’t really know how to get a third person, and decide to go the old-fashion way and pick someone up at the bar by the hotel.

What follows is a larger-than-life comedy about two quirky and authentically hilarious people, just trying to get laid and failing miserably. Until they wind up succeeding, that is. But sometimes getting exactly what you wish for isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

The power behind JAKE & JULIA as a film, is a combination in strength of the writing (which is rapid-fire wit and charm) and the strength of the preformanances. Jake and Julia are independently quirky, lovable, awkward and each equally comically robust. The audience can instantly feel how the two of them are together, and they banter and charm gives the illusion of best friends who fell into becoming lovers.

And addictively funny film you can’t stop watching, JAKE & JULIA is sure to please.

PLAYED at the January 2018 Comedy/Drama Festival. 

Review by Kierston Drier

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

JAKE & JULIA, 12min, USA, Comedy/Relationship
Directed by CJ ColandoDuring a one-night hotel stay, a young couple decide to pursue a spontaneous erotic fantasy.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Film Review: TOO SOON? (UK, Comedy)

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 A sharp witty comedy coming out of the UK, TOO SOON, directed by Natalie Neagle and Sally Samad, is a fun and political romp down the rabbit hole of politically correct law breaking.

When a young shopkeeper stops an Egyptian woman from shoplifting, the tables are turned with the rule-breaking breaks into a passionate breakdown of who really owns the bread. Is it the European store, or the country the bread came from- this lady’s country, she might add.

Humorously uncomfortable, gritty, witty and bright, TOO SOON must be commended on several key points. It boasts dazzling comedic performances from both actresses, has a smooth, glossy visual appeal and strikes very current in our modern age.

Perhaps another element of story that must be noted, is the efficiency of story. With one scene, approximately two shots and only three minutes, a full story is generated, complete with conflict, dramatic tension, comedy and a killer twist.

Well done, TOO SOON. A delight and savvy comic romp.

PLAYED at the January 2018 Comedy/Drama Festival. 

Review by Kierston Drier

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

TOO SOON?, 3min., UK, Comedy
Directed by Natalie Neagle & Sally Samad

In this short, we see an awkward encounter in a supermarket car park as a new comedy duo take a satirical swipe at imperialism.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

 

Film Review: WE DID NOT FALL FROM THE SKY, UK, Experimental/Relationship

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WE DID NOT FALL FROM THE SKY follows a handful of transgender individuals living within the Hijra communities of India. Although India has passed a law acknowledging a third gender within their population, and Hijras, as a community have been recognized within social and religious communities with India for centuries, Hijras still face incredible discrimination in India and struggle to gain the basic rights offered to other Indian Citizens. A Hijra may identify themselves as a transgendered person, may be eunuch or an intersex person. Many Indians identifying as Transgendered may face discrimination of isolation from their community, and may seen refuge in the Hijra community. WE DID NOT FALL FROM THE SKY chronicles the life of several such women. Denied access to many jobs, our protagonists are often left with little options for work except for sex work or begging- often exposing themselves to terrible dangers in the process.

 

But the lives of our heroes, while often difficult, are far from hopeless. Each of them possess incredible talents, such as classical dancing, or  provided important roles during religious ceremonies, or have admirable aspirations, such as working for the their government. There is never a doubt of the boundless human potential that exists within them, despite the often difficult circumstances of their lives.

 

WE DID NOT FALL FROM THE SKY is a telling tale of it’s time. It acknowledges that crucial aspect of the hijra community not being one that has “suddenly appeared”, but one that has long since been a part of Indian history and culture. But it also showcases the changing tides of a future on the cusp of changing. WE DID NOT FALL FROM THE SKY showcases the life for the Hijra community now, but also points to the hope of what the future holds for the community as well. A future where this community has rights to land ownership, child-adoption, working freely without discrimination. WE DID NOT FALL FROM THE SKY is a story of hope, through the eyes of the women on the front-lines of movement to provide a better life for all people. A moving and important film. Many credits of acknowledgement to the amazing bravery of the cast, and the director Tabs Breeze and Georgia Oakley.

by Kierston Drier

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video: 

WE DID NOT FALL FROM THE SKY, 26min., UK, Experimental/Relationship
Directed by Tabs Breese & Georgia OakleyPurushi, Pratiksha and Shalu are three best friends and trans women struggling to find their place in contemporary Indian society, often via the only means of making a living available to them: sex work and begging. Our film is a highly stylised art piece – the live action is intercut with animation and dreamlike dance sequences.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Film Review: IT GETS BETTER?, USA, LGBT/Experimental

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A strong, experimental and dramatic piece about one man’s journey through love, sex and relationships, IT GETS BETTER? Is an emotional rollercoaster. We follow a man, slowly drinking himself into a more philosophical state of mind while he watches an online video of a young man making an “it gets better” confessional video. But does it? Our hero dives down into a long introspective journey of the love and loss that accompanies sexual awakenings.

 

What is most thought provoking about this piece, is that is focuses on love and relationships in the homosexual community in an age-bracket that is over the under-25 range. This is a demographic often overlooked. Our hero examines that excitement of new love, the thrill of new experiences and independence and the depression that inevitably follows the end of those first romantic entanglements. This rollercoaster of highs and lows is not exclusive to any community, regardless of orientation the rise and fall of love that is gained and loss is relatable to many- but what is special is that it is a reminder that this love and pain is not exclusive to the one area of any population. All who can love risk experiencing loss and the pain of that feeling can throw even the strongest spirits into emotionally complication. IT GETS BETTER? Is an examination of one man’s heartfelt and meaningful journey through the complex tapestry of human relationships. Highly metaphorical, deeply meaningful and composed with strong emotional cords, IT GETS BETTER? Has the feeling of watching a powerful stage play on screen. A deeply engaging film.

by Kierston Drier

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video: 

IT GETS BETTER?, 11min., USA, LGBT/Experimental
Directed by Stephen RiscicaAn older gay man is inspired to record a testimonial after watching a bisexual teenager’s video, assuring him that ‘It Gets Better.’

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!