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"So much space, so little time." As always, it's nice to come across a short film that puts you in a good mood by the end. Boldly Gone is a short written & directed by Mark Buchanan that has been playing on the film festival circuit most of last year. It's finally online in full (running time of 12 minutes) for free and it's worth watching if you've ever built your own rocket from scratch (I remember building one in middle school and at Cub Scouts back when). The film is about two estranged brothers who try to figure out how to launch a rocket with their father's ashes into space. It reminds me of October Sky, with Jake Gyllenhaal as Homer Hickam, who builds his own model rockets while Wernher von Braun is working on the Apollo program. Description from Vimeo: Boldly Gone is the tale of two estranged brothers who...

Why Watch? Michael (Emun Elliott) has burnt hours studying, pushed his body to the limits and sacrificed greatly for a chance to be part of a space mission to Mars. But he’s not going on one. Blending the towering universal with the blisteringly personal, this short film from Mark Buchanan puts a father/son relationship (and their respective failures) into stark contrast in order to fight through loss to find hope on the other side. Punctuating heartbreak upon heartbreak, it’s a sympathy magnet that’s shot gorgeously (and intensely) and anchored by a stirring performance from the young Peter Strathern who embodies the fragile fear of being tiny at a time when the big person in charge of you loses the map. What Will It Cost? About 21 minutes. A New Short Film Every Weekday...

Why Watch? Tapping into human nature means scanning the stars and the self. It might have been easy for director Mark Buchanan to deliver airy faux-philosophy with this concept, but he wisely avoids it in exchange for a genuine human story of a troubled family, a piece of technology meant to find life on other planets, and a reminder that we’re not alone. Part science-non-fiction, part Lives of Others, this film is effortlessly engaging through a smart blend of camera work and sound where voices often come from off screen, and writing that makes us ache to learn the people behind those voices. This is human foibles and failings and drama and humor done brilliantly well. What does it cost? Just 12 minutes of your time. Check out The Search for yourself: The Search (2009) Trust us. You have time for more short films.