Playing in With/In Vol. 1:

Leap, directed by Sanaa Lathan, written by Margaret Nagle. With Sanaa Lathan, Lucy Punch.
Coco & Gigi, directed and written by Rosie Perez. With Rosie Perez, Justina Machado.
Mother, directed by Morgan Spector, Maya Singer, written by Maya Singer. With Rebecca Hall, Morgan Spector, Maya Singer.
Intersection, directed and written by Bart Freundlich. With Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Talia Balsam.

Streaming via the Tribeca Festival 2021 from June 14

Playing in With/In Vol. 2:

One Night Stand, directed by Griffin Dunne, written by Griffin Dunne, Zonia Pelenksy. With Griffin Dunne, Zonia Pelensky.
I’m Listening, directed by Mickey Sumner, written by Michael Lindley, Portia A. Buckley. With Mickey Sumner, Trudie Styler.
Neighborhood Watch, directed and written by Sam Nivola. Starring Alessandro Nivola, Emily Mortimer, Sam Nivola, May Nivola.
Still Life, directed and written by Arliss Howard. With Debra Winger, Arliss Howard.
Nuts, directed by Chris Cooper, written by Marianne Leone. With Marianne Leone, Chris Cooper.
20 Questions, directed and written by Sebastian Gutierrez. With Carla Gugino, Adrianne Palicki.
Touching, directed by Julianne Nicholson, Jonathan Cake. Written by Jonathan Cake. With Julianne Nicholson, Jonathan Cake, Iggy Cake, Phoebe Cake.
In the Air, directed and written by Bill Camp, Silas Camp and Elizabeth Marvel. With Bill Camp, Silas Camp and Elizabeth Marvel.
Shell Game, directed and written by Gina Gershon. With Gina Gershon, Griffin Dunne.

Streaming via the Tribeca Festival 2021 from June 14

by Gary Kramer, Staff Writer

With/in, which is having its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, is a two-volume anthology of short films, all shot on iPhones during COVID. The collection is uniformly strong. Volume 1, which runs 73 minutes, contains four shorts, while Volume 2, which runs 123 consists of nine films.

In the first entry, Leap, Dr. Gordon (Sanaa Lathan, who also directed), is a therapist who suffers from a bit OCD herself. She is first seen donning a mask, booties, face shield, and gloves as she goes outside to collect a package. In her sessions with a client, Lucy (Lucy Punch) they talk about the reality of COVID and how OCD has helped Lucy manage her response. But Dr. Gordon, who is hoping to help her patient “change her emotional frame of reference,” needs to do similar work herself. She encounters her own set of issues when a dog needing care is unexpectedly delivered to her house. This short, which features an excellent performance from Lathan, addresses and captures the panic, anxiety, fear, prejudice, and pain that many people experience during COVID with compassion and insight.

Likewise, Coco & Gigi, directed and written by Rosie Perez features two sisters (Perez and Justina Machado) who meet regularly online to talk, joke, and console each other. As they share their ups and downs over zoom about their spouses, their looks, and their drinking, Coco & Gigi is alternately funny, poignant, and heartwarming. The two actresses play well off each other.

Mother!!, directed by Morgan Spector and Maya Singer, and written by Singer, is a sinister short about a couple (Spector and Rebecca Hall) and their houseguest (Singer) who get involved in making sourdough in their Upstate, NY cabin. The film offers a different kind of COVID horror as things get intense as the women take on Stepford Wives personas.

Rounding out Volume 1 is Intersections, written and directed by Bart Freundlich. A woman (Julianne Moore, outstanding) is spending the pandemic in her Montauk home, while her husband (Don Cheadle) and son (Taj Swaminathan-Sipp) are in St. Louis. When her sister (Talia Balsam) visits, some tensions arise. Moore’s emotions are complicated by her concerns that her husband and son are planning to attend a Black Lives Matter protest. This is an absorbing, impactful story about privilege, trust, and truth.

Volume 2 opens with an amusing short, One Night Stand, where two strangers (Griffin Dunne, who also directed, and Zonia Pelensky) have an awkward spat after sex. He leaves only to return because of lockdown. She quarantines him in the bathroom, and he passes the time in inventive ways. One Night Stand deftly addresses issue of isolation and community, before it provides a nice little twist at the end.

I’m Listening, has a woman (Mickey Sumner) managing her young child on her own as her husband is away. She relies on Siri who can be friendly or fiendly, which irritates the already agitated young woman. This short does get a bit tedious, however accurate it is regarding our reliance on technology.

Neighborhood Watch is a comic short by Sam Nivola about a family in a country home becoming restless during the pandemic. Dad (Alessandro Nivola) is obsessed with spying on anyone who comes near the fence, while Mom (Emily Mortimer) tries to keep the kids (Sam and May Nivola) occupied with games or a walk. When the children hatch a plan to escape back to the city, the family tensions come to a head. Featuring some deadpan humor, Neighborhood Watch is an amusing short.

Still Life, written and directed by Arliss Howard, has a woman (Debra Winger) living on her own in rural area with spotty internet. She receives many calls from concerned folks, including her son, but she really is trying to embrace the solitude, and reflects on her life with her late husband (Howard). Winger gives a lovely performance in this quiet, thoughtful drama.

Nuts, directed by Chris Cooper and written by Marianne Leone, has a man (Cooper) arriving at to pick up a dog from his ex (Leone). Circumstances force him to return to her and he stays over, driving her crazy, but also keeping her company, playing the New York Times’ Spelling Bee. This is a gentle short about connection that benefits from the oil and water relationship between the leads.

Twenty Questions, stars Carla Gugino as a young woman living alone and having a sense of peace and calm in her life. She actually wishes something would happen—and then it does, and it is not a good thing. Writer/director Sebastian Gutierrez exerts firm control over this suspenseful drama.

Touching, directed by Jonathan Cake, has a family sitting in a room enjoying their time together until the kids start a fight that escalates. When Mom (Julianne Nicholson) starts having an emotional moment, the family dynamic shifts again. This is a poignant, feel-good short that captures the how parents and children interact. It could have ended the program on an upbeat note.

In the Air, directed by Bill Camp, starts out chaotically with an angry father (Camp), anxious mother (Elizabeth Marvel), and moody son. Ben (Silas Camp), all making noise until Ben goes out for a walk and his parents follow. Suddenly, the serenity of the natural environment takes over and they experience an epiphany.

Volume 2 ends with Shell Game, written and directed by Gina Gershon, who stars as a woman having a conversation about her life with an unseen listener. As she debates her decisions about her relationships and other matters, she develops a stronger sense of self. Gershon is an engaging performer and shows a real sense of style behind the lens as well. This entry is a nice bookend to Leap.

Overall, both volumes of With/in are worthwhile. These shorts will resonate with everyone who has experienced the range of emotions generated by the confinement of quarantine.