BFI London Film Festival: Thrill Shorts: Fight or Flight?

The characters in these tense and highly-charged films experience adrenaline-fuelled reactions in response to some extreme situations. One feels the buzz of a pre-performance ritual, while another seeks thrills though a shoplifting spree. Others suffer police harassment or experience absolute terror.

Simon Young Oh-Be-Joyful (dir. Susan Jacobson, UK 2015, 14 mins.)
Rita is about to kick the bucket, but before she does she has one last job to do: drag her granddaughter out of the closet.

Completo (dir. Iván D Gaona, Colombia 2014, 16 mins.)
A rural milkman insists that his significantly younger partner collect the overdue payment from their most difficult customer.

Band Call (dir. Max Beesley Jnr, UK 2015, 20 mins.)
In the last moments before he goes on stage, an ageing performer of old school cabaret rehearses in his dressing room. Or so he thinks.

Stop (dir. Reinaldo Marcus Green, USA 2014, 9 mins.)
A young man’s livelihood is put to the test when he gets profiled and stopped by the police on his way home one day.

The Stomach (dir. Ben Steiner, UK 2014, 15 mins.)
Frank is a professional spirit medium, but wants to quit. Part body horror, part crime thriller, part ghost story, this is a great example of supernatural noir.

Operator (dir. Caroline Bartleet, UK 2015, 6 mins.)
Gemma wakes to find her house on fire. Trapped with her son, she dials 999. The operator who answers holds Gemma’s life in her hands.

The Brain Hack (dir. Joseph White, UK 2014, 19 mins.)
Two film students create a visual stimulant that induces hallucinations of God, but soon find themselves attracting unwanted attention from a religious cult.

Warning: this film contains flashing images and strobe effects

Total running time 99 minutes