REVIEWS
Post-film thoughts.
Last Call: A Psychedelic Dreamscape
Winnie Cheung’s latest film, Last Call, premiered at South by Southwest 2025 as an acid folk thriller bathed in neon lights, with almost dizzying glimpses of Claudia’s life. Each shot is a puzzle piece putting the premise together, from dancing at a party to her speeding on a motorcycle. It plays out like a psychedelic dreamscape, constantly changing gears without waiting for the viewer to catch up.
BAGGAGE: Airports, Anxieties, and Affirmative Friendships
The film’s charm lies in its ability to be incredibly poignant over the course of its very short 5-minute runtime. As a nod to human emotion, the film is an important reminder of the fact that we might all be heavy because of the things we carry inside us, but to those who truly care about us, these things will be just another part of us to embrace and love.
Como Si La Tierra Se Las Hubiera Tragado: Being a Woman
The short opens to Olivia sitting in a bus surrounded by the ambient sounds of traffic. The greyscale switches to a warm palette with a flashback of a memory from her childhood—her mom braiding her hair and telling her, “A pretty girl like you, they’ll eat you up.”
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent: What Would You Do?
The film’s strength comes from its ability to transcend timelines and its characters. It asks a question that is applicable in any era: to speak, or not to speak. The film resurfaces a situation that has been asking for 30 years if you’d do the same and put up a fight.
My Mother is a Cow: A Daughter’s Loneliness
The thesis of Moara Passoni’s My Mother Is a Cow (2024) lies in its title. When the protagonist, Mia (Luísa Bastos), has to leave her mother to stay at her aunt’s farm in the Brazilian wetlands, she develops an attachment to one of the cows, her feelings much like those about her mother.
Beautiful Men: You Must Have Hair
Themes of healthy versus toxic masculinity, aging, emotional and physical insecurity, and how they all relate to one another percolate consistently in the back of this charming family dramedy, occasionally flowing into the foreground along with surprising but welcome elements of surrealism.
Au 8ème Jour: A Threaded World Undone
Agathe Sénéchal and Alicia Massez’s ‘Au 8ème Jour’ finds root in the symbolism of threads as mediums of connection and life, using a truly unique animation style that stitches this story together.
Wander to Wonder: Manifestations of Grief
Even with a short runtime, Wander to Wonder uncovers what layers of grief could look like.
The Bleacher: A Dark Display of Guilt
The Bleacher is a gruesome and upsetting display that while at first feels like senseless surrealism, presents a thought-provoking consideration of reactionary violence and guilt.
La Perra: Mother Knows Best?
La Perra is a captivating, clever, and erotic film that lets the audience come to their own conclusions, providing an open debate on womanhood and relationships.