Spending his days in a café in Paris watching people, Antoine falls for a woman he sees walking to the cinema. Paul Rigoux directs “Thus Began Antoine's Down-Going,” a poetic contemplation of love, art, and self; both an iconic depiction of a youthful French romance and a meta dissection of one. He invents a name for the woman — Albertine — who emerges from the subway on a daily basis and turns for the movie theater. One day, Antoine works up the courage to speak to her and ask her for coffee. There they enjoy a free-flowing conversation on films, books, and self-realization. But when they step outside for a smoke, the spell begins to break. With understated style and performances, Rigoux’s film isn't afraid to shift moods suddenly, or to present both the charming and the cynical at once. -KA. Director: Paul Rigoux. Cast: Abraham Wapler and Mélodie Adda. DoP: Noé Merckle. Editor: Helio Pu. Sound: Hugo Cohen and Valentin Keung.
In a moment of tense negotiation, Joyce and Mims haggle over a vintage Hank Aaron baseball card inside a sweltering pizzeria. “Card Shark,” directed by Alex Fabry, is an oddball comedy vignette about a should-be simple exchange turning into a strange encounter. Mims arranges a meet-up at his usua...
Two strangers meet by chance and form a romantic connection. Julissa Yasmeen Ramirez directs “Future Memory,” an experimental short (just over 1 minute long), shot on Super 8mm filmed primarily in close-ups of hands. Under a pressing electronic score, the young couple moves through New York City ...
While dealing with sexism and mistreatment at work, Lee finds solace in her relationship with her best friend, Evelyn. One of the more off-the-wall selections we’ve featured of late, this short feature (42 minutes) by Mitch F. Anderson is perhaps most notable for a striking absence — an on-screen...
