EDFF 2025 Rundown: Southern Made Short Films with Block

The El Dorado Film Festival saved one of its best short film blocks for last. As its name reveals, the Southern Made selections highlights a wonderfully curated assortment of short films that have a distinct Southern flavor to them. Together they make for a diverse and entertaining collection that once again promotes a wide arrange of styles and visions.

Here are a few impressions out of the nine films included in the block...

“Love is Neat.” takes the simplest of titles and the oldest of stories and turns it into a bittersweet tale of self-discovery. Director, writer, producer, and editor Taylor Deville attempts to add her own unique spin to the storybook romantic comedy. She starts by introducing us to James (Caleb Lemon) who genuinely hates his job as a barista at a small coffee shop. But he sticks with it because of Jessica (Anne Nichols Brown), a regular customer who won’t give him the time of day. He obliviously believes she is his dream girl, but over time reality sets in with the help of a straight-shooting bartender named Kate (Ivy McGrew). Deville’s romcom inspiration is hard to miss. But her film has a lot of charm and a good central message that comes together nicely by the end.

VERDICT – 3.5/5

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Of the many films at the 2025 El Dorado Film Festival, there was nothing quite like “Fast”. This entertaining psychological horror and black comedy genre blend came from the mind of writer-director Clayton Henderson who puts a gonzo spin on his own personal experience with fasting. Desperate to lose weight, Jake (Samuel Bosh) is put on an extended fast by his maniacal personal trainer (Donnovan Roe). It’s an intense regiment consisting of seven days with no food. During that time, all he is allowed to drink is bone broth. He’s doing it for his girlfriend Sydney (Sara Patterson), but over time he begins to mentally unravel, culminating in a suitably bonkers finish that’s sure to get a reaction. Henderson has a blast dabbling in horror while making his audience laugh. At the same time, his themes of self-confidence and fulfillment really strike a chord.

VERDICT – 4/5

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David Michael Long grabs your attention with his work in front of and behind the camera in “The Artiste”. Long directs, writes, and stars in this dark dramedy of sorts that follows his character Terrence, a frustrated and temperamental street mime who encounters a man named Ben (Paul Petersen) who starts as a nuisance and turns into an admirer before becoming a rival. “The Artiste” is equal parts funny and sobering with much of its energy coming from Long and Petersen’s well-tuned chemistry. But most of all it’s the themes at its core that gives the film its identity. Holding onto your legacy, art versus entertainment, fleeting fame in the viral era – just some of things on Long’s mind in this well-conceived and well-made short.

VERDICT – 4/5

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Shirley Ford (Gail Cronauer) is an 83-year-old widow from East Texas who gains an unhealthy infatuation with a fellow she sees as the spitting image of the Marlboro Man in director Diffan Sina Norman’s shrewd and unpredictable film “Pasture Prime”. Shirley first lays eyes on Marvin Clope (Patrick Kirton) when he pays a visit to her church. The two have a friendly greeting which (for Shirley) turns into a wild obsession. Her son Dean (Chris Alan Evans) and daughter-in-law Debbie (Susan Kirton) plead for her to leave Marvin alone, but for Shirley that’s easier said than done. Norman and screenwriter Carolyn Purnell approach the story with an almost Hitchcockian verve. But sprinkled in with the eerie music and earnest narration are moments of well-timed humor which help give the film its form.

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A seasoned but disillusioned magician prepares for his final performance in director and screenwriter Jeremy Enis’ “The Stage”. A terrific Lance E. Nichols plays Arthur, a classic magician who has owned and performed in his own theater for years. But just as he’s about to go onstage, he surprises his faithful and longtime assistant, Evelyn (Sherri Eakin) with the news that this will be his last performance. Even more, he’s determined that he doesn’t need her for his final show which he will end with a brand new trick. But as the two cut through their frustrations and begin pouring their hearts out, the film reveals a real beauty in tragedy. Enis puts a lot of heart into this well-written two-hander that is ultimately a showcase for Nichols and Eakin. The two beautifully convey the emotional stakes through an onscreen exchange so rooted in truth that you nearly forget you’re watching a screen.