SNAPSHOT
After a desperate criminal takes a bar hostage, six people must face their demons – past and present – in order to survive. But one of them is keeping a big secret that could change everything in an instant. Directed by Alex Albrecht, produced by Roddenberry Entertainment, lead by Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, who is the son of legendary Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett, the film stars Tyler Hilton, Manu Intiraymi, Phil Morris, Emily Chang, Tony Janning, and Tara Perry. (synopsis via First Showing)
If you could travel anywhere in time, where would you go?
As hypotheticals go, it’s a doozy and it sits at the heart of Instant, a beautifully-told 21 minute film that starts off as a garden-variety hostage drama and ends up becoming so much more.
Naturally, I won’t come even close to revealing spoilers or an ending but suffice to say this left me crying with its beauty and its emotional intimacy, with first-class writing and characterisation adding to the short film’s emotional punch.
There are a great many well-made short films out there that tell great stories and leave a mark, whether profound or whimsical – many of which I’ve featured on this site – and Instant is very much at the top of the pile, a rare piece of cinematic storytelling that communicates so very much in such a short amount of time that it will leave you gasping in admiration.