Attention Seekers

Parents are called in for detention because of their kids. This movie was fantastic! The acting was superb, the story was simple and well written and it almost had me crying. I expect to see this in the AK finals at least. Awesome work. The message in this film was also well delivered and would easily work as a short outside of the competition

A unique premise with an emotional twist. Great performances from the ensemble cast, and a fairly polished technical execution. It's not easy making people laugh and get emotional all inside a 5 minute run time, but Attention Seekers attempts just that. That being said, it's possible the emotional ramp at the end was a little jarring. Youth suicide is a sensitive subject, and if the mark is missed, it can feel a little heavy handed. It's possible the shift in tone towards the end of the film may have left the audience with a bit of whiplash.

Oh man, I struggled with this one, I mean technically flawless, and a subject matter that, in whatever form it takes, is essential to talk about, I just wonder whether it lacked the pathos that it was striving for. I'm sure others will disagree and that's cool, Obviously this is all opinion so whatever, but i think if you're gonna take on topics like youth suicide then you gotta really earn that moment at the end. I just don't think this film did. Was a very polished production though with talented actors I was just left feeling that it was all laid on a bit thick Really good to see a team tackling the heavy stuff in a comp usually dominated with comedies. I just wish it landed more with me.

Great little film. What initially seemed like such a silly premise (I think everyone in the cinema was ready to laugh) turned into quite a serious piece. However I think this actually worked in the film’s favour. This film could’ve so easily crashed and burned and felt like an after school special, but due to the maturity behind the camera, this was avoided. Solid performances and a tight script really did this film a bunch of favours. One of my favourites of the night. Also the performance from the teacher was great. If you told me he’s not a teacher or principal in real life I would just straight up call you a liar.

It's always tricky to review a film like this. They went after such a serious and difficult topic and you've got to handle it carefully so as not to be branded as callous or overly flippant. I don't think this team succumbed to either of those pitfalls but something about it just didn't sit right still. Maybe it was too serious? Maybe the juxtaposition of the drama and the comedy was a bridge too far? I'm not sure. This is a team with some significant members and while 48 Hours is tough for anyone, I feel like you have to expect a higher standard from pros and while the film was technically on point, I felt that the flow did not seem to work so well and ended up feeling battered about by the 'message'. Yes it's imperative to talk about topics such as this but this film made it feel like we were in detention with the parents. Swing and a narrow miss, guys.