2024 Academy Award Qualified Short Film ‘Perspectives’ in a Nutshell

On a hot day in Israel, a young female soldier named Ari goes from having fun with her girlfriend on a bus trip to slipping into a tense face-off with a man named Khaleel whom she suspects is a suicide bomber in the 2024 Academy Award qualifying short film Perspectives, written and directed by Neer Shelter.  

Ari must now choose between the other passengers’ lives and a potentially innocent man, with the world watching via live streams. Blending found footage with movie cameras, Perspectives is a 9-minute thriller that sends viewers on a choose-your-own-adventure journey while delving into the intricacies of how social media and cultural biases influence the narratives to the point of people being unable – and in some circumstances, unwilling -- to separate reality from fiction. 

Carmel Bin and Joy Rieger star in 'Perspectives' a 2024 Academy Award qualified short film directed by Neer Shelter. For Your Consideration in the Live Action category for Best Short Film.From the onset of the film, the two main characters seem glued to their cell phones and so fixated on snapping selfies that at first glance, it’s easy to wonder whether they are YouTubers or long-lost lovers. 

 As the plot thickens, we're quickly reminded that even in this hyper social world, many people remain stuck in their ways, living within narrow minded social bubbles while consuming propaganda from the news and social media feeds that keep people fearful and angry. 

Khaleel is silent throughout the entire movie, communicating only through body language. Ari thinks he’s weird and is concerned about him looking at her. Yet, she didn’t care about the older woman passenger who seemed annoyed with her making out with her girlfriend earlier during the bus trip.

Carlos Gharzuzi and Joy Rieger star in 'Perspectives' a 2024 Academy Award qualified short film directed by Neer Shelter. For Your Consideration in the Live Action category for Best Short Film.So, what makes Khaleel innocent, or is he a suicide bomber as Ari suspects?

If you’ve concluded that the latter applies in this situation when you watch the film, then what led to him becoming that way?

As a soldier, is Ari just trying to do her job or is she hateful or Anti-Arab?

Or, is she paranoid based on past experiences and/or teachings that have informed her thoughts and beliefs, and as a result, how she behaves in this particular situation? 

Perspectives illustrates how biases rooted in conflict that appear to have lasted from one generation to the next, leads to harassment and discriminatory acts as well as racial, ethnic and religious profiling that too often escalates into violent attacks – especially now in a time when social media tends to instigate drama, exploit harmful narratives and hinder pathways to peaceful resolutions between people from different cultures. 

Watch Perspectives here at this link to make up your mind about whether this interaction went well or sideways! 

Perspectives is currently vying for a spot on the Oscars shortlist for Best Live Action Short Film, following its premiere at BAFTA and Academy Awards qualifying Flickerfest.  

Perspectives also won Best Screenplay and Best Film at the Academy Awards qualifying St Kilda Film Festival. 

7 Movies to Watch for Artists Sunday This Weekend

The Madlab Post has joined artists and organizations from coast to coast for Artists Sunday, the world’s largest art event dedicated to encouraging the public to buy something special, unique and handcrafted this holiday season – from paintings, sculptures, and pottery to multimedia works, textiles, music, photography and more. 

Artists Sunday is bringing 500 communities around the country together for the fourth time in a movement to recognize the importance of art in our lives and its impact on the local economy.

“It’s a day to fill our lives with beauty, creativity, and joy,” says Christopher V. Sherman, an aerial photographer, videographer and entrepreneur who loves experimenting with cameras and digital software tools. 

What We're Doing This Holiday Season 

There's a lot going on...to start, on Sundays I will be introducing you to several indie film directors, writers and producers who you can support by renting, streaming or buying their films and other merchandise. You can also support many of them by attending the festivals where their films are screening. 

Documentaries to Watch this Weekend...

See extra footage from the documentary Reinventing Freedom directed by Robert J Moore and Eleftherios Koutinas when you rent it to stream from a computer, TV, or mobile device! Reinventing Freedom tells the incredible journey of resilience, redemption, and triumph from homelessness and years behind bars to global recognition. 

Interdisciplinary Artist Anitra Nelson directed, wrote, produced, narrated, and did photography seen in her documentary film Beyond Money: Yenomon -- lively thought experiment of a postcapitalist world without money — a world satisfying everyone’s basic needs, living within Earth’s limits and offering power to people. The documentary is based on a chapter of Nelson’s book Beyond Money: A Postcapitalist Strategy, drawing on activists engaged in a fight for a money-free society.

In her book, Nelson aims to deepen our understanding of how money is the driver of political power, environmental destruction and social inequality today, arguing that it has to be abolished rather than repurposed to achieve a postcapitalist future. Beyond Money: A Postcapitalist Strategy is available as a Paperback and Ebook. 

Historical & Romantic Drama Movies to Watch this Weekend...

Listen to the Soundtrack of the The Astronot by Pennan BraeA reclusive wishful astronaut strives to overcome his fear of loss during the space race of the 1960s in The Astronot by screenwriter, actor, co-producer & music composer Pennan Brae and Co-Producer/Director Tim Cash. This historical drama film is available to stream on Amazon Prime in the U.S. and UK. 

A singer-songwriter named Sarah Jane moves to London to make it in the music industry, where an industry executive named Russel D leads her down a path that is difficult for her to return from in Purple Beatz written and directed by Lola Atkins. Set in the underground drum and bass scene of 90's London, this coming-of-age romantic drama is available to stream on Tubi, Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Apple TV, Google Movies and YouTube. 

Comedy Movies to Watch this Weekend...

When a gym bag goes missing, the lives of a ride share driver and a slap fighter intertwine in the comedy Slapped Straight by David Anderson & Raynel Almonte of Luminary Figures Group. You can directly support the artists who created this project by renting the film for 48 hours, or buying it for unlimited streaming. You can also get your very own Slapped Straight gym bag and SFC (Smack Fighting Championship) T-Shirt to match your movie night viewing of this story about a man who gave up on life until he gets slapped into a new perspective by a fighter named Hothands who gives him the courage to face his fears.  

Science Fiction Movies to Watch this Weekend

The Art-house Sci-Fi Drama Foreclosure by Maki recently made its VOD debut and is now available for rent on Gumroad, where you can watch this movie about alien colonization, the desire to live forever and a global Armageddon. Foreclosure re-imagines footage from a 1960s post-apocalyptic Italian horror film based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel, I Am Legend. 

Horror Movies to Watch this Weekend...

NOW AVAILABLE on Amazon: Stream the horror film Many Keys - The Heartbreak Monologue by Mike Messier, for Artists SundayHeartbreak welcomes her new friends to "this odd reality" in the horror film, Many Keys - The Heartbreak Monologue by producer, writer and director Mike Messier.

The film features a monologue extracted from Messier ‘s novel/feature film screenplay, A Distance from Avalon - When the Dying and the Dead Reunite.

 Many Keys - The Heartbreak Monologue is available on Amazon. 

The Madlab Post will be highlighting and promoting the giving of art-focused items and experiences for the holidays.

“Every artist that you invest in, whether it's buying something to hang on your wall, or something for your kitchen, or something that you wear, or jewelry, that's going back into the local economy,” says Sherman. 

Another way you can support Artists Sunday is by making a holiday wish-list and encouraging your loved ones to gift you items from local artists and makers. Then send your list to your friends and family. Be sure to include your favorite movies from the list above and upcoming spotlights here on The Madlab Post! 

What fills your life with beauty, creativity, and joy?

Which of these films would you like to watch first?

Spokane Film Events This Weekend: Sci-Fi drama 'Foreclosure' by Maki makes Northwest Premiere ahead of 'V for Vendetta' at Garland Theater

Movie showtimes in Spokane include a surprise treat at Washington's historic Garland Theater this weekend. The short film Foreclosure is making its Northwest Premiere on screen right before V for Vendetta begins at 7:35pm on Sunday, November 5, 2023. 

Directed by Maki, Foreclosure is an art-house science fiction drama re-imagined from the classic movie footage of The Last Man On Earth, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror classic directed by Ubaldo Ragona. 

Showtimes this weekend: See the Northwest Premiere of 'Foreclosure' by Maki when you attend the encore screening of 'V for Vendetta' at 7:35pm on Sunday, November 5, 2023 at Garland Theater

Foreclosure explores the conflict and tangles between two opposing main characters by playing on the human fear of alien colonization, the desire to live forever and a global Armageddon to create quite a good end-of-the-world story.

You can see Foreclosure when you go see an encore screening of the dystopian drama V for Vendetta now showing at the Garland Theater this weekend only!

Moviegoers are also treated to a selection of beer, wine and food to choose from including pulled pork sandwiches and fully loaded nachos in the theater's cocktail lounge.