Film Shorts – Exceptional Encounters
Our second Shorts Block offers an excellent selection of six short films highlighting relationships, intimacy, family drama, and other exceptional encounters. Films include Wife Me, The Book of Ruth, The Other Side, Butterflies, Give it Back!, and The Newlyweds Guide to Physical Intimacy.
Butterflies
Directors: Yona Rozenkier I Israel I 2019 I Drama I 8 min
Another Sunday in April. A kibbutz in the North of Israel. A natural phenomenon. A family on an impromptu ride, maybe the last one…
The Book of Ruth
Director: Becca Roth I United States I 2019 I Drama I 14 min
Margo, Dan, Jordan, and Lizzy visit grandmother Ruth for Passover. Later that night, Lizzy finds Ruth watching a midnight news story about Anne Frank’s death. Lizzy then confesses to have known a related secret for years and Ruth is left with some explaining to do.
The Other Side
Director: Billy Kent I United States/Argentina I 2020 I Drama I 5 min
The loneliness of the long-distance relationship. In quarantine.
Wife Me
Director: Greg Fox I Canada I 2019 I Drama/Comedy I 13 min
Wife Me is a short film that tells the story of a young couple that is forced to unpack a difficult topic of discussion after a particularly turbulent family event. The film is an intimate character piece that examines the importance of transparency in a relationship, and deals with the fact that, sometimes, there may just not be a right answer. Other themes explored include juggling family and romantic relationships, the importance of tradition, and how much one should change for the ones they love.
The Newlywed’s Guide to Physical Intimacy
Director: Julie Benko I United States I 2020 I Narrative I 8 min
Inspired by a real self-help book of the same name, “The Newlywed’s Guide to Physical Intimacy” follows a recently married Hasidic couple who arrive home on their wedding night. The trouble is no one ever taught them what comes next.
Give it Back!
Director: Ruchama Ehrenhalt I Israel I 2019 I Drama I 8 min
Olivia just moved to Israel from New York. Throughout her first day of school in the 6th grade she tries to survive, navigating through the new country she just landed in, her new school and new peers, unsure where she will end up at the end of the day.