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"Those of you who continue to meet targets will be safe." After all the new trailers this week, why not take a look at a dystopian sci-fi short from an up-and-coming filmmaker named Michael Gilhooly. The short is titled The Listener and stars actor Amit Shah as a "Listener" named Jeremy in a dystopian future where everyone is constantly under surveillance (not so far off from modern reality as is anyway). His loyalty to the Directorate is challenged when a charming new coworker arrives. This is a longer short than usual, running at about 22 minutes, but it's worth it to get fully invested in this story. And for those complaining about the short films we post not having much of a story, this one should be more than satisfactory. Take a look below. Description from the official site: In a society where everyone is monitored, Jeremy is an ambitious young...

The Playlist team spends of lot of time watching, debating and writing about films, but when the lights are turned off at the office each evening, our passion for the medium doesn’t end there. Over the years, the site has seen contributors take their love of cinema and put it into practice. Filmmaker and Playlister Christopher […]

The post Exclusive: Watch BAFTA-Longlisted Sci-Fi Short Film ‘The Listener’ Starring Amit Shah & Harriet Walter appeared first on The Playlist.

"I'd like to see you try and make a movie," goes the occasional taunt from commenters on negative reviews. It's a pretty unfair stance in a lot of ways, mainly because most critics do what they do out of a genuine love for both film and criticism, and treat it as an art in and of itself and have no secret desire to go off and make movies themselves. That said, there are a number of writers or directors who started their careers by writing about movies first. Like the guy who made "The Last Castle." And, uh, me. When I'm not writing here at the Playlist or elsewhere, I'm a screenwriter, and earlier this year I wrote a short called "The Listener," which was directed by Michael Gilhooly and produced by Sam Swann and their colleagues at Good Shout. It stars Amit Shah, who you might have seen this summer in "The Hundred Foot-Journey,...