FINAL GIRLS FILM FEST: grief, revenge and eat the rich shorts blocks
by Jenika McCrayer, Staff Writer
The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival ran from March 5 until March 9, 2025. It celebrated its tenth anniversary with a robust slate of short films, with each block dedicated to different issues and themes around women and other marginalized genders. I enjoyed viewing short films in the Grief, Revenge, and Capitalism/Eat the Rich blocks. I found the films thought-provoking and unusual, and each tackled its issue with ease.
My favorite block was Revenge, which I found to be the most cohesive block with all the shorts working together well. Standouts include Alexandra Velasco’s edgy vampire revenge story Eternal Inferno, and Lucía Forner Segarra’s silly revenge comedy Berta.
Eternal Inferno
Eternal Inferno
Written and directed by Alexandra Velasco
Runtime 14 minutes
Premiered March 9
Eternal Inferno is a stylishly crafted story about a woman (Sofia Engberg) who seeks revenge against an ex who leaked her nudes and a friend who betrays her. Eternal Inferno is a visually stunning film, but viewers should be aware that it has some intense flashing lights.
Berta
Written and directed by Lucía Forner Segarra
Runtime 17 minutes
Premiered March 9
Director Lucía Forner Segarra Berta was another immediate “hell yeah!” from me. I don’t want to spoil the short, but the cheeky revenge film in which the titular character (Nerea Barros) literally weaponizes therapy speak is a must-see.
Bail Bail
The Capitalist/Eat the Rich block included timely shorts centered on the injustice and violence of poverty. An issue as polarizing as sex work is handled with an unexpected nuance and tenderness in the subtle body horror short Dirty Bad Wrong, a bold film that packs an emotional punch in such a short amount of time. My favorite shorts in this block also include Bail Bail (Lease Me Alone) and Eat the Rich, both of which pit vengeful tenants against slumlords.
Bail Bail is a french horror comedy about two best friends and roommates (Mimo Magri and Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers) who attempt to claw back a fraudulent lease from their slumlord (Mimi Côté). Eat the Rich follows another tenant (Levi Bailey) as she sacrifices her landlord and small town mayor (Kelly Kid) to the old gods during a powerful solar eclipse.
All the shorts in the Grief block are weird and beautiful meditations on the various kinds of grief. I love an eerie and gothic ghost story, and Speak with the Dead does not disappoint. The short film follows sisters Maggie (Audrey Grace Marshall) and Kate (Aster Laine), fraudulent mediums who unwittingly call forth something sinister while holding a seance for the family of the recently departed. I also enjoyed Hello Sickness, a trippy short film about a maladaptive daydreamer named Zenzile (Afia Anim) who creates two imaginary friends to keep her company as she cares for her ailing grandmother.
Additional fest coverage from MovieJawn can be found here
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