December 25

Saw "December 25" at the 2014 Newport Beach Film Festival as part of the "Femme Factor" shorts program. If only making a short like this was that easy!

The premise of "December 25" consists of words being typed on a computer screen and nothing else. It is of sentences being typed, then the cursor erases it and corrects the sentences. It's a Christmas letter being typed by a daughter addressed to her father. The letter starts out funny and heartwarming, but then has a shocking ending.

Although "December 25" is only a minute long, the message from this short was very strong and powerful. This short will leave lots of audiences thinking and will probably stir debate over how much of a message can you really deliver in only a minute.

If a shorts program at your local film festival is playing this film, I strongly urge you to see it.

We saw this short film as part of ShortFest in Palm Springs last weekend. What an impactful one minute! Wendy Dent really grabbed the audience - first making them laugh, then making them gasp...all in the space of one minute. This film won a competition whose only parameters were: 1 minute in length and use the number 25. We got a chance to talk to Wendy after the festival, and got a window into her creative process. It was a joy both to see the film and to meet the director/writer/creator.

Wendy's work is getting a lot of attention both in Australia and in the US. Kudos to Wendy on her success, and I can't wait to see what she does next!