Streamline: an intriguing exploration of virtual simulation to heal and to deceive
Dan Marcus, “Streamline” (2014) Here is an intriguing if perhaps confusing short film about how a man, Max (Joel Reitsma), tries to repair his relationship with…
nausika
academy: a tale of a post-apocalyptic utopia practising and teaching a flawed code of ethics
Ian Salazar, “academy” (2020) In the not too distant future, when Western civilisation has collapsed and Western culture has regressed to the point where Christian fundamentalism…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films
Storing Freshwater in the Salty Sea: the upsides and downsides of coastal reservoirs to receive and store fresh water
“Storing Freshwater in the Salty Sea” (Asianometry, 22 August 2022) In this video, the Asianometry host digresses from economics, business and IT issues to one relevant…
Holy Moses: the mundane meets a world of mystery and magic to produce a small miracle
Eli Powers, “Holy Moses” (2018) A film about how extraordinary and bizarre events can inspire people and give them purpose in life – purpose that might…
The News-Benders: a troubling view of news media as propaganda outlets carrying out an agenda
Rudolph Cartier, “The News-Benders” (1968) Entertaining yet troubling and provocative, “The News-Benders” was one of nearly 300 episodes of a BBC television series “Thirty-Minute Theatre” that…
Australian and New Zealand Films
The Quiet: outer space as metaphor for inner space in a film of duality and opposites
Radheya Jegavetha, “The Quiet” (2020) Created entirely by director Radheya Jegavetha and his father Jay Jay Jegathesan who co-wrote and co-produced the short and provided the…
Actuary: terse sci-fi psychological drama on technology and determinism
Matt Hill, “Actuary” (2020) In the not so distant future, an insurance company develops an artificial intelligence algorithm in the form of Benson (Chase Fein) that…
Eldritch Code: sci-fi horror short on corporate exploitation of workers
Ivan Radovic, “Eldritch Code” (2017) Partly told in a world-weary voice-over narration by the main character, this sci-fi horror short brings the Lovecraft universe into a…
German and German-language Films
Monju Hunters of Sofugan Island: carrying a warning of environmental devastation and human folly
Karim Eich and Dirk Wachsmuth, “Monju Hunters of Sofugan Island” (2017) An unexpectedly deep and melancholy short film, this sci-fi short is set in a not…
French and French-language Films
Becoming Marilyn (2021): a fantasy of what Marilyn Monroe might have been
Michèle Dominici, “Becoming Marilyn ” (2021) Billed by production company Arte Distribution as a “unique portrait” of famed 1950s Hollywood screen icon Marilyn Monroe, this documentary…