Unhinged

A reunion film that quickly develops into an exploration of deepest secrets and love triangles.

Performances and direction were strong here. To me the edit whilst having no real technical issues (though the dissolve cut from the exit sign seemed like a strange choice) was paced in a very disjointed way and the SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE style finale made no real sense.

Camerawork was generally really nice particularly with framing, though a couple of shots when reliant on street lighting lost their lustre due to the lack of a defined grade, but then on the other hand gave the film the variation it visually needed, as those were 'out of the limelight' scenes that let the drama really unfold.

And where the film shone was the revelations were startling and intense and intimate and well delivered. Pretty brave shooting the entire film handheld, but I get the stylistic choice for putting us in the rattled mind of the protagonist. But as a well rounded short? Not quite sure it fully landed for me.

The strong, naturalistic performances and delicious world building sucked me into the film this team created and despite an edit that definitely needed work (and you should do that work now you're out of competition), cut you through to the shortlist this year. I want to know more about these characters! Please keep working on this film, and please come back and deliver to an even higher level next year. Much like Kākāpo did with their film in 2021 - Nutty Mosquitos show all the signs of a future finalist.