by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

The HollyShorts Film Festival, August 10-20 in Los Angeles, showcases dozens of short films in various programs. Here is a rundown of a half dozen strong selections from this year’s fest.

Monochromatic Writer/director Karen Bryson tackles the pervasive issue of racism by depicting a child’s first experiences with discrimination. Set in Wood Green, London, 1977, and shot largely from a Black 6-year-old’s perspective, this impressionistic short conveys the innocence of childhood that is confused and shattered by various fraught interactions with white people. Young Grace (Kennedy McCallum-Martin) experiences some of them firsthand, as when she is snubbed by a woman in church. At other times, however, she is protected by her mother, Bev (Stephanie Levi-John). As Bryson reveals what young Grace does not see, which makes these moments impactful. This is a powerful, artfully made short.

Fat Girl is a disturbing film about Lexi (Stella Stevens), a teenager influenced by Carly (India Lillie Davis), a YouTuber obsessed with her looks and her new lips. Lexi is sensitive about her appearance, especially as she watches two classmates (Sun Sharma and Carla Calado) in the school bathroom make a TikTok video, or in the cafeteria. At home, however, Lexi dances and feels good about herself—until she sees the recording she made and reacts by binge eating a cache of junk food she hides in her bedroom. She also tries to alter her appearance to appear more like what she hopes to be. Director Makez Rikweda ratchets up the tension as the impressionable Lexi gets increasingly more self-destructive. This short strikes a justly sympathetic and horrific tone about teenage girls and negative body image.

Pivot is an animated entry about Ashley (Erin Neil) whose mother (Emily Henney) buys her a dress. But Ashley is a tomboy and gets into a fight with the frock, which comes to life and forces her into an alternate world. Will she prevail? And what will her mother think? Pivot uses sound and color, not dialogue, to tell this story in under six minutes. This short is both slight and sweet.

Sevap/Mitzvah is a remarkable true story that opens in 1941 Bosnia, where Zejneba Hardaga (Helena Vukovic) conspires to save her best friend, Rifka Kabiljo (Magdalena Zivaljic-Tadic), a Jew, from being rounded up by the Nazis. Zejneba’s brother-in-law Izet (Muhamed Hadzovic) objects, fearing they will all be persecuted, but her husband Mustafa (Adnan Haskovic) insists, stating “Our lives are only as important as those we help.” Where the story goes from here is best left for viewers to discover, but what can be told is that Sevap/Mitzvah packs an emotional wallop.

Knights of Fortune deals with death as Karl (Leif Andrée), a widower arrives to pay his last respects to his late wife in the morgue. Unable to do this, he hides in the men’s room, where he meets Torben (Jens Jørn Spottag), another widower, who requests help with his late wife’s coffin. But the things take an unexpected turn—one that prompts Karl to confront his fears. Knights of Fortune is a dryly amusing as Karl meets reality head on in this subtle short.

Death and Ramen delivers on its title as the suicidal Timmy (Bobby Lee) meets the Grim Reaper (Matt Jones) after swallowing 20 Ambien and passing out on his kitchen table. But Timmy is not actually dead. He vomits up the pills and insists, “I can’t die on an empty stomach.” He then takes Death to a ramen shop, where he makes kimchi ramen, which he promises, “Is divine.” It is, and it is also quite spicy. Timmy gives Death a beer while asking him about his line of work. Writer/director Tiger Li’s film amuses during these playful, absurdist scenes, but his short becomes more somber as Timmy stops to say goodbye to his mother (Karen Yum). If the film’s tonal shifts are uneven, Li provides Timmy and viewers with a cathartic ending.