My Lighthouse selection for 2023 perhaps illustrates the many facets that I love about the medium of short film.  Features tend to drift to the arena of the melodramatic: “You only have 2 seconds to live,” “The meteor is heading towards the Earth,” “I am secretly your Uncle.” Those types of things. But life is often predicated on the small. The almost imperceptible. A comment here. A gesture there. These tiny moments which still shift the momentum of a life. Shorts shine a light on these occasions, and let us interrogate how they ripple with importance. How our lives are full of ‘little earthquakes’

The films I have chosen are positively shaking with all these aforementioned tremors. Brief encounters which fizzle with energy and life. Exchanged glances and stolen words that speak of longing and desire.  Small incidents which changes one perception of life forever. But they way in which these films deal with these are all wonderfully different. Some head down a more serene, realist route. Others take a bold and provocative stance as they head towards the valley of absurdity. All are equally valid, showing the vitality of the short film medium.

It almost goes without saying that  these films display innovation, experimentation, humour, drama, all handled by filmmakers (and crews) of immense talent. Some are known on the festival circuit and have already garnered praise and plaudits. Others are still waiting for the flowers that they richly deserve. But all take us on a journey into great cinema, revealing more about the world we live in and – given that said world can be a scary place sometimes – reminding us that we are not alone.

TLDR? Short films continue to be amazing.