After the Flare

A phenomenal performance by Tim Simpson centered on loneliness and the need for connection, as a late night disc jockey struggles with Karens on the other end of the line and impending solarstorms.

Nitro are the genuine heart and soul of this competition and stripping their story back to the raw essentials allowed them to tell a resonating universal tale here. The audio is some of the best I've heard in the comp, a genuinely perfect earworm that draws you in like Eric Bogosian in TALK RADIO. Only here this is no shock jock, this is someone trying to engage and connect with his audience, crazy warnings of zombies be damned.

What really elevated the film for me were a couple of things. Firstly the expiry date commentary was sly but clever, and then honestly the direction of the film. Tim takes us from a gorgeously framed studio to an eerily quiet dairy and back, and the effect is indeed quite chilling; the happy go lucky contrast with silence and space bringing about a beautiful sense of melancholia

I've never been happier to see a team make a Wellington final. Well done Tim <3

'After The Flare' had some really strong elements, including lovely dialogue and simple visual compositions that aided the storytelling and created a sparse, lonely world. Overall though, for me personally, this film fell a little flat. Although it was praised for its simplicity, it left me wanting a little bit more, and I'm not sure I completely understood the all of the clever clues the film left for me on the first watch. Perhaps I didn't follow the breadcrumb trail closely enough. Overall, a strong film that might hit better the second time that I watch it!