In its seventh year, the /slash Filmfestival is going to give out an audience award for the first time, for the best short film. The winner wasn’t announced yet (I’ll update this post as soon as we know), but below you’ll find very short reviews for each and every one of them.

Night of the Slasher
Easily my favorite one from the entire selection. A nice and funny homage to slasher-flicks in general and “Halloween” in particular (the killer’s mask alone was brilliant), it had a great and intriguing concept, and was really entertaining from start to finish. Probably its major strength for me, however, was its impression of having been shot in one single take. I guess they could have hidden cuts in those quick tracking shots, but as long as they aren’t noticeable, I don’t mind.
8/10

Eat my Shit
Actually, the idea itself wasn’t too bad, and it told a nice misfit-story. But ultimately, the basic idea was already to gross for me, and the final scene didn’t help with that one bit. Those you can stomach – or might even enjoy – potty humor may like it more.
3/10

The Procedure
The second-worst of the selection for me. I don’t find farts particularly funny, and the screaming as well as the alarm got on my nerves very quickly. At least it’s really very short, with just four minutes, but ultimately, it’s also completely pointless.
2/10

Tiny Creatures
Sweet desserts (cupcakes etc.) are fighting against fruit (I know which side I would pick!) in this very funny, charming and – dare I say it – sweet stop motion-animated short film.
7/10

Summer’s Puke is Winter’s Delight
While I liked the message that this very strange animated movie arguably tried to convey, it ultimately just was too weird for me, and was just the first animated short film that seemed to invite LSD-consumption. Nah.
3/10

Heaven
Another weak and totally worthless entry, “Heaven” features 13 minutes of varied shots of nature (mostly insects), accompanied by loud breathing sounds. What the actual fuck? Ok, granted, the shots in itself were nice to look at, but that’s about it. Ultimately, it just went on for far too long, and sooner rather than later, I just waited for it to finally be over.
2/10

Conibear
Definitely one of the better entries. Extremely well shot and thus offering a couple of beautiful images, and then telling a nice, gripping story in itself! Only the constant slow motion got a little tiresome after a while.
7/10

Voiceless
At first, I thought that this would be about the pigs that are slaughtered, who are the voiceless victims who, through this short film, are given a voice. Instead, it went into a totally different direction, and while said shift was pleasingly surprising, it was also a little weird. However, it also was beautifully shot, mostly black and white, but with speckles of color here and there (a particular style that so far, I haven’t grown tired yet).
7/10

Arcana
The make-up of the witch was great, and I loved how it worked with sounds to let certain images (for which they didn’t have the budget) come up in your mind. Nevertheless, it was quire thin on the plot-front.
4/10

Gwilliam
Together with “Tiny Creatures”, the funniest of these short films. A neat little story, told in just a couple of minutes, but ultimately, also rather inconsequential.
6/10

Don’t Tell Mom
Those crazy Japanese guys strike again, with yet another far out animated film that had me wish I would have brought some controlled substances. Again, far too weird for me, but at least it was short enough to not get too irritating.
3/10

Squame
The idea might have been interesting, and it was pretty to look at. But ultimately, I didn’t have much use for it.
3/10

Wild Skin
My third-favorite of the short films presented here, and I wouldn’t be surprise (let alone upset) if this should turn out to be the winner. The setup reminded me a little bit of Dominik Hartl’s brilliant “Spitzendeckchen” (if you haven’t seen it, check it out). It was a nice idea and story, told really well in just a couple of minutes, and carried by an enthralling lead performance by Marilyn Castonguay. Mesmerizing!
8/10

The Laughing Spider
Strike three for crazy Japanese animation. In this case, I found it quite reminiscent of the clips of Monty Python – but without their elegance. With a running time of seven minutes, it was also way too long for its own good, and thus turned out to be the worst of the three, at least in my book.
2/10

Voice of Apocalypse
A great short musical about the last night before the end of the world, and how the guests of a club have to decide who of them will get a second chance on life, thanks to the time machine of a brilliant scientist (however, unfortunately not brilliant enough to make it usable for more than two people). Great songs, a nice love story, and a sublime final twist. Brilliant!
8/10

Lost
As much as I’d like to support local filmmakers, I’m sorry to say that in my book, “Lost” was clearly the worst of the short films presented here. Mostly because it felt so lazy. I may not have like some of the rest, but at least they put some real effort in. This no-budget attempt, however, really seemed like a sorry excuse to be able to participate in this competition, and ultimately didn’t work for me at all.
2/10