SHORTS BLOCK – ALTERNATE REALITY

DREAM BIG – Miranda is a woman who has dedicated herself to her job but when the interview day for a big promotion comes up, she is overlooked in favour of a man who is everything she’s not. Returning home, she takes refuge in her hobby, her model railway. Fuelled by anger she paints a figure to resemble the man who pipped her to the post and maniacally runs over him with a tiny train. At work the next day, she is shocked to find that her revenge fantasy has played out in real life, her competitor is in hospital after an accident on the railway tracks. Miranda is given her dream job in his stead. Miranda can’t quite believe her luck and checks her power by painting a Deliverabbit driver. All is confirmed when the driver knocks on her door. The next day she decides to use her power for good, when she sees her neighbour has lost her cat, and paints a window cleaner saving Chairman Meow, from a nearby tree.

Buoyed by her new found power, she is emboldened to pursue the office romance she had previously been too shy to act upon. But as she tries to paint her fantasy life she is overwhelmed with the unquenchable desire for more and more. She accidentally sets the model railway on fire and her boyfriend nearly dies as a result. She throws away the broken railway, leaves her job and sets up her own business; a miniature golf course.

FLITE – Breaking free is a leap of faith

In the semi submerged London of 2053, the reigning hoverboard world champion finds herself imprisoned in a luxury high-rise apartment by her controlling manager. The kindness of a stranger allows her to take flight in a daring and precarious escape – but all does not go as planned. Can bleeding-edge new memory extraction technology help save her from certain death?

VESTIGE – A young boy searches for answers after his dad goes missing at sea, but after discovering a strange fossil on a Yorkshire beach, he thinks it could be the missing piece of the puzzle.

CATERPILLAR – Luke’s world is rocked when a stranger shows up claiming to be his partner. Luke descents into madness as he struggles to get the bottom of who the imposter is while also experiencing his own terrifying metamorphosis.

REFLECTIONS – Sid lives in self-imposed isolation with his dog, Ace. That is until, one day, amidst the surrounding mountainscape, Sid sees a mysterious house appear on the horizon. Upon closer inspection, this house is familiar; it is his home. The same ravaged stone, mossy notches, and chipped painted wood. As Sid’s initial suspicions continue to grow, so does his all-consuming obsession with the house. He starts to plant traps and experiments, each taking him a step closer to the truth; that the house is a window into his future.

As Sid continues stalking the house, discovering that the time difference between the two lodges is a mere hour, he suddenly sees his future self, wandering frantically around the house. Future Sid locks himself into a room; hiding from something unknown. After a few moments, future Sid is shot in the head. Panicked, present Sid realises what this means; he only has 1 hour to live. Following this discovery, Sid does everything he can to prevent his seemingly inevitable fate.

RUTH – Ruth, an elderly lady with dementia, becomes lost within her own home. As she tries to find answers she ends up losing herself further, confusing reality with memories from her past.

Shot in a single 12 minute take, the film puts the audience in Ruth’s shoes, making them feel first hand the daily confusion brought on by someone suffering from dementia.

LAST RESPECTS – Vinny a gangster boss lies on his death bed attended to by a nurse and doctor. Three associate gangsters visit to pay their last respects and while alone they vent their true feelings. However, it is soon revealed that Vinny is not dying, and was testing out their loyalty leading to serious consequences.

ORPHEUS – The story of Orpheus takes the Greek myth and focuses on the sense of loss and guilt. Only in this story rather than being a musician Orpheus is an artist, an artist trapped in his studio with a fading memory of his lost love – but nightly he is pestered and bullied by The Critic, a living embodiment of his own troubled mind.

On this particular night Orpheus, exhausted from his mental torture, is forced to confront his guilt and fight for his sanity. The Critic taunts and bullies Orpheus, reminding him that he is the author of his own plight.

Can Orpheus ever face his own truth or will he remain trapped with The Critic forever?