Live Action Short Films

 

A Lien

Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz

Here's something I'll bet you didn't know as you think about the immigration debate. ICE has a practice of arresting and deporting green card applicants AT THEIR IMMIGRATION INTERVIEWS. Yep, you read that right. The people who have filled out all the forms, lived productive non-criminal lives, contributed to the economy, and sometimes even gotten married to citizens (as they are allowed to do), are then picked up and deported despite following the rules to naturalize. Now maybe you'll say "but they came here illegally!" Sure, let's accept that as true. Do we really want to be the nation that kicks out those who have become part of our American fabric, especially when they are doing everything else they can to follow the rules? This ain't Cobra Kai, and No Mercy ain't an admirable way to live.

Anuja

Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai

This beautiful little film stars two young orphan sisters working in a sweatshop in India. The younger, Anuja, is brilliant with math and has the opportunity to go to a fancy boarding school. She and her sister can be lifted out of poverty with a proper education. She faces a serious dilemma, take this once in a lifetime opportunity, or stay with her sister and work their fingers to the bone until they are dead? It was an excellent short and I'm extra proud to say that I'm friends with the composer!

I'm Not a Robot

Victoria Warmerdam and Trent

I saw a meme not long ago that said, "What makes us human? It turns out, it's the ability to identify traffic lights in 4 of these pictures." Surprise, upon trying to authenticate not being a robot, a young music producer fails to pass the Captcha tests. It is from this that she is able to surmise that she is actually her boyfriend's robot, and she is NOT happy.

The Last Ranger

Cindy Lee and Darwin Shaw

This gorgeous film follows the dedicated professionals who risk their lives to protect rhinos against those who would cut off their horns and leave them for dead. When a ranger offers her young friend the chance to join her and see the many magnificent animals, they encounter a dangerous situation that changes both of their lives forever. This movie is based on a true story.

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

Nebojša Slijepčević and Danijel Pek

I read an article not long ago wherein a history teacher presented his class with a question, "if you had lived during the times when slavery was legal, would you have enslaved people or would you have been an abolitionist?" (I'm guessing he won't be allowed to teach about enslaved people in America soon enough, but this is while it was still legal.) "Guess what," he wrote, "everyone in my class would have been an abolitionist." But what happens when people are taken away right in front of you? What if the takers are armed? Do you speak up and stand up, or do you protect yourself and your family and say nothing? We all like to believe that we would be the bold ones, but would we? We never know until we are in that situation, but if history tells us anything, most people would stay quiet, even when they expect themselves to be brave. And that's what this film is about.