A Familiar Feeling

High production value, well shot and edited and with a really great script. Both actors were perfectly convincing and relatable and delivered the script convincingly and genuinely. The ending was perhaps a bit cliche, but certainly had the cringe element that the genre required. I would expect to see this one at the city final for sure.

Definitely the cringe film that made me cringe the most so that was well executed. Felt like perhaps the scenes leading up to the funeral lingered on a little too long, could have been interesting to see their relationship develop a little further than it did, perhaps a couple of dates maybe even preperations for a proposal considering how 'connected' they were? Audience lapped it up just as it was though so perhaps it's more of a personal taste thing. Production quality was water tight, really great job!

A man and woman meet in a bar and get familiar with each other. Funny, but this short has a familiar feel about it, Eh? Super slick in all technical departments and obviously well-acted. The double-take requirement is big and obvious but it also stands out in the memory. The story is engaging and the ending, albeit not unexpected, perfectly landed. Great job!

Wow. First off. That production value! Watching this heat you find yourself seeing varying levels of camera quality and shot composition. And you see some of the better films of the heat and you think to yourself " Yeah that looks good. That looks like a movie." And then you see the first shot of this film and you realise OMG! Thats a movie picture! So first up absolutely professional cinematography and sound throughout. As for the story it was a classic simple story told well but the level of ACTING and comedic timing to really get every bit of beautiful cringey comedy gold out of this concept was incredible. In a less experienced team this idea and execution may have fallen a little flat but it was handled so brilliantly by all involved that it was a joy to watch. I have the ability to turn off my "try and guess whats happening in the plot" part of my brain sometimes and for me I didn't realise where it was going until the toilet speech rehearsal scene. So the pay off at the end was great. One of my favs of the heat and no doubt finals bound.

Absolutely terrific. What a team and genre pairing. Perfection from the performances and perfection in the film making letting the performances take centre stage. It’s a simple Idea done painfully well. Finals bound. Grand finals bound too no doubt.

As Shakespeare probably once said, a team by any other name would look as sweet. And while this isn't exactly the Eh Team reborn, there's enough core team talent involved to make it worth mentioning, and it certainly makes this film worth watching, because this team have delivered a wonderfully nuanced and beautifully polished little short. Cringe comedy is the sort of genre that can vary wildly depending on the talent involved - at its worst, you'll be cringing at the film itself, not the characters or situations. But one of the secrets to theatre of the awkward is that a little goes a long way, and this film understands how to milk maximum value out of the smallest of character moments. Of course it doesn't hurt that it features two wonderful actors in Hamish Parkinson and Phoebe Hurst, adding both comedic sensibilities and just enough naturalism to make us care (at least a little bit) about the characters. And I appreciated the restraint of the story, choosing not to indulge in a shopping list of hilarious cringeworthy scenarios (and I have no doubt the minds involved here could have come up with any number of wonderfully awkward ideas), but instead pretty much focus on a single unfortunate sequence of events, and steadily lay the groundwork to ensure that the end beat of the tale lands properly. The two meet at a bar, and we see a scene of stumbling flirtation. I liked the fact that this scene had lots of almost-cringe fail moments, especially from the guy, but unexpectedly it all actually works out, and they end up sleeping together. Again, in the post-coital bed scene, the conversation teeters around being weird, but the characters are ultimately comfortable with the situation. Of course, this all leads us to the final scene, and sure, once she mentions it initially, it's not hard to guess where this is going to lead. But even without the surprise, the reveal, for both the audience and the characters, is executed note-perfect. (Additionally, I'm pretty sure there were a few lines early on that will take on a new meaning upon a second viewing.) Not much for me to say about the technical side, except that it looks gorgeous, and it all flows effortlessly. Loved it.

I thought this was great fun. I loved all the setup work you did, all the gentle nods to negroni families and feeling so connected that all fall into place. A really elegant, laugh-filled script with some great performances and a Bean-ian double take. Well done, a deserving winner.

Has there ever been a better marriage of team and genre than Snack to the Future and Cringe Comedy? This is a real "stars aligned" situation, with Christchurch prodigal son Hamish Parkinson BORN to play a main character in a cringe comedy. I loved this film, and it was so great to see it after being so excited to see you guys at the hand-in! This film is pretty much firing on all cylinders, and it is INSANE that the team is so small. You don't get sound design this good, usually, with teams this small. And the sound design is of course complimented by the *perfect* cinematography, the *hilarious* performances and a story which adheres just as well to the genre as the actors. I think you guys 100% deserved all the awards you won. I cringe every time I watch it at Hamish's stuttering apology at the start, and it only gets more embarassing as he and Phoebe whisper sweet nothings in each others ears. The film gets a lot of mileage out of some very simple scenes. The script is so good. "You only drink Negronis if you're from a Negroni family" is such a great little omen for things to come. One thing I really like with how the story is told as well, is that it almost feels like you knew the audience would work out the 'twist' ahead of time, and so it's actually quite a slow reveal. If you haven't realised what's going on by the time Hamish is practising his speech, the story basically lulls you into putting the pieces together as opposed to a hard and fast reveal. It's a complete film, BUUUUUT if I were to point out one *tiny* little thing that wasn't necessarily missing, but I would have loved to have seen, is the speech the characters are asked to do at the funeral. I understand the decision to end at the apex of awkwardness, but all the same part of me wants to see them stutter through that speech together. What happens next? Does the speech make it even worse or lead their love to grow even stronger, incest be damned? Who knows. Maybe we'll find out in the future. TITLE REVIEW: A FAMILIAR FEELING is perfect. A mild spoiler, but only when you watch it for a second time.

Best use of genre was well earned! This film is so cringey that it hurts to think about it! You really understood what the term meant and delivered a fantastic film. The bed scene - whispering sweet, extremely cringing nothings to each other was a brilliant moment. I never saw the ending coming but a second watch highlights how well the premise was set up. Good luck for the national finals!

This is the first Grand Finals winner that I've actually ever enjoyed (well, in recent memory) The awkward moments didn't really seem cringe, actually they we're quite relatable. lol But the end, oh man, what a brilliant twist. WHAT A BLOODY MASTERPIECE!!!1 Well deserved win guys.

a great little 2 character piece. nice dialogue and a great little story. the use of the double take worked particularly well as it was tied to the story. nice film over all even though the overall premise was very simple. but a simple story executed well, is better than a complex story executed poorly