Sci fi london shorts 2024. time and space

The Burden, Tish Arana

I read the pitch, and frankly, before the film started, I was ready to dislike it. The premise of a trial: I’m a mixed-race man who grew up in multi-cultural south London; both my parents were immigrants, and one of my main memories of my formative years is the focus on proving my worth to EVERYONE, being an H-Breed, aunties who taunted and muttered why I ‘don’t look like no Dilution’. Enduring Black bullies in my teens because they could take their fuelled frustrations out on me and not have repercussions…I believe in black lives matter; I have seen sufficient evidence to stand by deconstructing systems which are geared towards oppression, with an emphasis on black people. However, empathy will not be part of my forte regarding personal validation. Tish Arana’s film works wonderfully in deconstructing those elements with humour and compassion while never veering from the intergenerational trauma that pervades black communities. The focus on black pop culture can be a bit disproportionate, but given that this is a sci-fi film in 10 minutes, the ability to hook and have zingers is the priority. Our Asian American on trial reminds me of the ‘Piggers’ of the 90s, Helping emphasise how some words are best left unspoken. Make an effort; it’s elegant, stylish, witty and heartfelt, and the cast is on point with every line. Think of ‘The Blackening’ but with a straighter focus and better jokes. P.S. Everyone knows it was season 4. They had replaced Aunt Viv, worked harder, and read some James Baldwin, not the film star! FFS!

I needed it yesterday: Chris Smith.

I’m a sucker for office comedy and absurdities. Two guys are being shat on by their boss, and how they react. Jack, the more amenable layman and Chris, the excited adventurer who seems to go on some sort of Walter Mitty quest to break the fourth dimension. It’s paced well, and their chemistry will appease those missing the BOOSH. It has excellent dramatic beats of the time travel film you watch every week and the humdrum comedy you watch once a month. Get a ticket for it…. immediately.