EDFF 2025 RUNDOWN: Short Film Block #1

Among the many highlights of the El Dorado Film Festival is its continued support of short films from around the world. A highlight of Day 3 was Short Film Block #1, a curated collection of eight short films spanning a wide variety of styles, themes, and visions. The block featured an eclectic blend of voices from filmmakers who told their stories through an array of genres including drama, dark comedy, science-fiction, and more.

Here are a few impressions out of the eight films included in the block…

From director, writer, and producer Marta Roncada comes “Deliberate”, a compelling and urgent short film that examines predatory relationships with unflinching honesty. Roncada’s film is rooted in personal experience which informs her courageous approach to the story. Kelly Lou Dennis plays Alice, a young woman who pays a surprise visit to her former favorite teacher, Mr. Jacobs (Carl Beukes). As their classroom conversation intensifies, we learn the two had a sexual relationship when she was his student. Roncada employs two fascinating perspectives, finding the humanity in both characters while shrewdly exposing what lies at the heart of such abuse. This is a powerful treatment that will resonate with abuse survivors while calling others to much-needed awareness.

VERDICT – 4.5/5

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In director Thomas Glinkowski’s “Draft Night” we follow a highly-touted basketball prospect (played with an infectious charisma by Joseph David-Jones) through one tense and stressful evening as he waits to see if he will be the #1 pick in the NBA draft. The young prodigy’s facade is one of confidence and swagger. But underneath he struggles to suppress a growing anxiety brought on by the weight of expectations from his family, his agent, and himself. The film is brilliantly conceived, shot, and edited. And while it can be a little on the nose with its messaging, Glinkowski and screenwriter Shawn Williams challenge us to look beyond the glitz and the glamour to see the young man’s soul underneath. That alone is a powerful lesson we all should take to heart.

VERDICT – 4/5

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Director Alex Hanno and screenwriter Wes Hopper tackle our modern day digital addictions in “Detox”, a horror(ish) short film laced with breezy yet spot-on satire. Like so many of us, Shelly (Caitlin Morris) spends too much time online, perusing social media and consuming hours of content. So she makes the bold decision to go on a 48-hour “digital cleanse”. She follows the advice of a self-help guru (voiced by Bill Prokopow) and rents out a remote rural house to focus solely on herself. But when the most unexpected thing in the world happens, we learn that she (and probably a lot of us too) need more than a couple days at an Airbnb to cure our digital addictions. Clever, well-crafted, and wildly entertaining.