British Shorts 2018

Director Xavier Guignard from Versailles, France, spins together a wonderfully dramatic story of a wonderfully talented woman, Emma, who is going to start working as an assistant for one of the world’s greatest conductors who now lives in London. The question is what is her true motive? “The Conductor” plays beautifully into the hearts of orchestral music lovers. 

The best part of the film is how the cinematography is complimented by such a stunning score of music written by Tim Benjamin. The movie is just as beautiful to watch as it is to listen to. It is pleasant, tells its own story, and brings joy to the soul. 

The conductor, Jacques, “has the genius of music inside him, taking people on a wonderful journey.” We get to enjoy the journey as the orchestra plays dramatic music. The conductor spends a lot of time training the orchestra members, guiding them to make the music tell the strongest story that it can. 

Emma’s dream is to become a conductor. She has been working so hard and for many years to be able to be in London with the conductor. He believes she is too young and experienced. She struggles to get him to notice her. There is tension growing between the two and the other assistants, Sarah, Leo, and Zoe, may be getting in the way of progress. Then the conductor’s wife, Maria, makes an appearance. The dramatic webs spin more and more in each scene. The conductor asks Emma if she knows the true meaning of love. She has a different understanding of love than he does. 

Emma has a secret that finally reveals itself. It strengthens her rather than weakens her. Jack has to decide if it’s going to strengthen him or leave no impact on his life. 

Tobias Marshall created beautiful imagery as the Directory of Photography. Anne Ribiere is stunning as Emma and Jean-Loup Horwitz plays the intriguing Jacques “The Conductor.” The Orchestra is extremely talented. 
Xavier Guignard wrote, produced and directed “The Conductor.” You can feel his passion for filmmaking. He is sure to bring more impactful films to the screen in the future.

You’re being chased through the forest with a group of friends. You guys have no idea of where you’re going. All you do know is your life may depend on a set of survival skills and pure luck of playing hide’n’seek with nature. That’s how “Run Run as Fast as You Can” opens up and it’s extremely intense and intriguing. These group of kids run and run through a forest at full speed. Why? From who? … Oh you know… just a group of men who seem to want nothing more than to capture them. From there your mind can only conjure up all the possibilities of why and you can’t help but find some of those disturbing and it sets an ominous tone (which will come to play near the end – we’ll go into that later).

One of the best elements of this film that really provides the thrilling intensity is the sound design. We are immersed and become one with the forest in the sense we are observers of these children running away; yet we know exactly where the other party is. Their sounds are never too silent, but the realistic sound of the forest covers up their tracks. In a way it plays tricks on us as we think a party might be nearer, though it’s completely something else.

Another element about this short film that really helps it is the way it’s shot. The camera moves with the children at a steady pace and forces us to become a runner with them. The short film offers a variety of shots that allow us to witness the events from different points of view in the forest. So, while it forces us to become a runner, it allows enables us to become a part of the observation team, aka: the forest. It’s an odd combination, but it really adds to the tone and the intensity of the film.

The tone in itself feels rather dark. I mean grown men chasing children is always going to give off a really weird vibe. But there’s very little sunlight in this film and there’s constant cloud coverage. It’s cold. The whole thing is cold. But there’s an unexpected tonal shift near the end that changes from being dark to somber. I’m not going to give anything away on how or what exactly makes it change, but it ends up making a lot of sense and you can’t help but see why each party of the men and the children ran into the forest on a wild goose hunt (metaphorically; there’s no geese in the short film). The tonal shift works in the films favor and is definitely one of the many things that stuck to me after the credits started to roll.

I’d check this film out if you love intense mysteries that slowly reveal more about the characters as the story goes on. It’s well thought out, well shot, and beautifully edited to make for one thrilling ride with a satisfying end that leaves the viewer wanting to know what happens next to the characters involved.

A young boy lives with his mother who is not terribly interested in giving him the attention he needs. There is also a father figure, but unfortunately for the boy, he is much worse…

Never Alone follows is the story of one young girl’s courage to overcome the guilt of her sister, Maddie’s death and and reconnect with her family and friends. With an unexpected appearance from Maddie will Bella be able to move on?

This immersive observational documentary takes the viewer behind the scenes of the most unusual model agency in the world, challenging the concept of beauty and what it takes to be a ‘model’. 

The real-life story of Aeham Ahmad: a classically-trained musician attempting to escape the war in Syria. Aeham rose to international prominence in 2014, after being filmed singing songs of peace amid the rubble of his beloved hometown of Yarmouk – a besieged Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria.

Tom is fascinated by an old telephone bought at an auction. It doesn’t work, the line is dead. Suddenly, it rings connecting Tom with Isabelle, a young girl in 1940. After sharing conversations on the telephone Tom makes a frightening discovery that threatens Isaeblle. Can he warn her in time?