Short on Shorts: Losing Control
Two short films, official selections programmed for screenings at the 2022 HollyShorts Film Festival August 11-20, 2022, center on scenarios of control, and what happens when control is lost. Vastly different stories, Celebritas Ex Machina and The Censor of Dreams are comedic fantasies demonstrating the futility of trying to exert control over our lives.
Celebritas Ex Machina
Director: Joe Nicolosi
Cast: Numerous celebrity cameo
Synopsis: Rosa harvests the soul of celebrities in order to relive her favorite moments from their professional work – what happens when the celebrities get a mind of their own?
Short on Shorts Commentary: Rosa goes about her daily life surrounded by robots doing her housekeeping, keeping her company with friendly advice and positive encouragement. They do her bidding as the master of robots containing the trapped souls of celebrities from her favorite movies and television shows. She’s happy, as long as the celebrity robots behave as the fictional personas that made them famous. What happens when Rosa loses control?
See the film at HollyShorts: Sun, Aug 14th, 12:00 PM PDT @ TCL CHINESE 6 THEATRE || #1
The Censor of Dreams
Director: Leo Berne, Raphaël Rodriguez
Cast: Damien Bonnard, Yôko Higashi, Sylvain Katan, Alexis Rodney
Synopsis: Every night, The Censor and his team moderate Yoko’s dreams. Every night, they do their best to mask the painful thoughts that arise from her subconscious. Tonight nothing happens as planned.
Short on Shorts Commentary: In the dream factory, The Censor and his team work tirelessly night after night to manage Yoko’s dreams. Frantically searching for substitutions to block her most painful memories, the pressure on the team to divert Yoko’s attention causes palpable distress. What happens when The Censor and team lose control?
Watch the spoiler-free trailer.
See the film at HollyShorts: Wed, Aug 17th, 12:00 PM PDT @ TCL CHINESE 6 THEATRE || #6