BARBARA-ANNE **** Canada 2018 Dir: Kat Webber. 6 mins
The directorial debut for music video filmmaker Kat Webber, this has a disarming performance by screenwriter / producer Katelyn McCulloch as a modern-day Toronto woman who lives as a conventional 1950’s American housewife. The opening shot captures a lovingly prepared, colour-coordinated dinner spread after she has laboured over a tuna casserole…while her ungrateful husband stares at his phone. In fact, he’s generally so inattentive, he fails to even notice his own carefully planned, imminent demise. This stylish, well cast, great-looking short has skewed angles, great attention to detail and remarkable use of colour, while slyly misdirecting the audience en route to its clever conclusion. As an added bonus, Jane’s Party perform a splendid cover version of the title track.
Review by Steven West
