Santa Barbara Shorts(2017): USA

Reviewed by T. Luke Madenwald. Viewed during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2017.

The Santa Barbara Shorts event at the SBIFF showcased many wonderful short films but two undeniably stood out from the crowd:  Someone’s Hero(2017) and Twinsburg(2016)

Someone’s Hero, directed by Amalie Lintrup, tells the story of a young man following in his brothers footsteps of becoming a police officer but after failing to carry on his family legacy, he decides to go out at night alone and try and help in any way he can.

This is Amalie Lintrup’s directorial debut and she shows that she had a great idea from start to finish. Notable highlights of the film include cinematography, lighting, story development, and a talented lead actor. There are great tracking shots that help tell the story without telling you. That, in my opinion, makes any kind of cinematic story elevate to a higher level of quality. Hunter Paul plays the lead and its obvious from the start he has a lot of raw talent. It will be interesting to see how his acting career proceeds from here if he keeps up these kinds of performances.

Twinsburg, directed by Joe Garrity, shows the curious life of two twins who go to the Twins Festival in Ohio. Through clever comedic interactions the audience is peppered with so much beautiful originality, quick one-liners, and a song that will be stuck in your head for a few days after. But don’t be fooled, Joe Garrity touched on a piece of magic that only a few films have ever been able to tap into. Films such as Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, and 500 Days of Summer. 

Each shot is saturated with so much visual delight and oddities that give the world a sense of overwhelming charm. Thats the perfect word to describe this film: Charming. Its so unbelievably charming that when I found out it was playing twice at SBIFF,  I skipped a screening of another film and went back to watch Twinsburg again for a second time.