Friday, January 25, 2013

Incredible Short Film: La Culpa

Last year, Youtube tried an experiment.  They launched their own film festival, online, open to anyone.  It was called "Your Film Festival", and judging by the results, I'd say it was a success.  They had over 15,000 submissions, of which 50 were chosen as finalists for the world to vote on.  The top ten were then shown at the Venice Film Festival, and voted on by a panel.  The winner was a short film entitled "La Culpa" ("The Guilt"), by director David Victori.  I would suggest watching it fullscreen in HD.


This is a stunning piece of work.  It has an intriguing story that draws the viewer in, told with a minimum of dialogue.  All the technical aspects, the camerawork, the lighting, the sound, art direction, and visual effects, enrich the story and contribute to the emotional depth.  However, they do so in such a way that they never distract from the story, in fact, the technical aspects are almost invisible on the first viewing.

On closer inspection, it is all these small technical details that create such good visual storytelling.  The camerawork, in particular, is used to display the characters' emotions without any dialogue.  As the intensity builds, the camera motion becomes more and more erratic, which echoes the emotional turmoil and confusion that the characters are feeling.  There are also some great shots where a character snaps into focus right when they have a realization or change of heart.

Overall, this short film is extremely well done, with great writing, acting and production.  You can check out David Victori's other films on his Youtube channel, and the other finalists at Your Film Festival.  No word on whether Youtube will be hosting this festival again in 2013, but here's hoping!

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