Shorts 6: Comedy – Awkward Laughs

Synopsis

The works in this program muck around the dark corners of human experience, bringing forth the darkly comedic, can’t-help-but-laugh moments that arise in difficult times. Featuring works by Daniel Sinclair, Malia Ann, Azadeh Navai, Lou Marino, Peter Collins Campbell, and Éric K. Boulianne.

A surprise interruption during a fruitless therapy session brings a married couple closer than they thought possible in the hilarious The Breakthrough (U.S.). A lonely man is perplexed when his mother passes away and leaves him with her heart in a jar in the beautifully tender The Heart (U.S.). The endlessly charming Rizoo (Iran, U.S.) follows a rebellious 8-year-old who recently moved back to Tehran from the United States as she navigates familial and societal expectations. An intimate and endearing work of docu-fiction, Geranios (Chile) follows best friends whose effortless charisma and fierce dedication carries them through tough times. In the delightfully idiosyncratic Variations on a Theme (U.S.), a couple starts literally splitting into multiple versions of themselves. The ups and downs of a couple’s journey trying to get pregnant are humorously and compassionately explored in Making Babies (Canada).