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Michael Davies (2008). 'What's Virgin Mean?'

Alison Maclean (1989). 'Kitchen Sink'
Synopsis: "The film revolves around a lonely woman who pulls at a strand of hair that seems to be caught in her sink, only to discover that it’s actually linked to the body of a grotesque creature that has entered her house. Interestingly, her fear eventually transforms into feelings of longing as the idea of the monster strangely morphs into that of a man whom she cleans, grooms and shapes according to her ideals and desires" (Bose, S. D., 2023). Additional: https://www.kanopy.com/en/bournemouth/video/333551
Discussion: The film can be interpreted in terms of a concept/phenomenon, which Julia Kristeva describes as the 'abject'. See the following clips as further clarification: https://newpractices.co.uk/grotesque/
Related: "Julia Kristeva describes the term 'abject' [Wikipedia] as that which threatens the self, as it cannot be included in society or defies comprehension by rational thinking (1). The main feature of the abject for Kristeva is its ambiguity, since it elicits both attraction and repulsion (1). The abject is constantly challenging social norms and the unstable border between good and evil, the acceptable and the unacceptable (4). It is a menace for the status quo because it cannot be classified according to mainstream values. Instead, the abject uses socially approved rules for its own advantage, subverting them and undermining their significance (15)" (Santamaría Ibor, V., 2022, p.148).
Bibliography: Bose, S. D. (2023, April 19). "'Kitchen Sink': Alison Maclean’s vision of domestic horror". Far out Magazine. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/kitchen-sink-alison-maclean-domestic-horror/ Kitchen Sink. (2026). New Zealand Film Commission. https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/kitchen-sink [imdb] Santamaría Ibor, V. (2022). "'I Eat Boys': Monstruos Feminity in Jennifer's Body." Babel – AFIAL Aspectos de Filoloxía Inglesa e Alemá: 145–166. [academic source]

Katie Wolfe (2008). 'This Is Her' *excerpt*
Bibliography: This is Her | Short Film | NZ On Screen. (2008). @nzonscreen; NZ On Screen. [NZ On Screen]

Simon Perkins & Paul Swadel (1995). 'A Little Death'
Note: that this is an extremely low-quality PAL [Wikipedia] transfer from the original 16mm film print.
Argument: "It's a long time since I've seen a film as genuinely disturbing as A Little Death. The title refers to the phrase 'un petite mort'. French slang for orgasm. This surreal film explores all the ambiguity of that phrase to devastating effect. A couple are making love. Or rather having sex – the hostility between them is palpable. The moment of climax flings them both into another dimension where the emotional savagery of their relationship is played out for real. Luscious colour photography gives way to crisp black and white, as [Josephine] Davison [imdb] crashes through their bed into an identical room where everything, including her lover, is literally two–dimensional, bleached of life but tilled with an almost impersonal hatred. The tension that previously simmered beneath the surface is unleashed in images of extraordinary violence. [Jed] Brophy, [imdb] trapped in the 'wallpaper' of this unnatural room, can only scream as she takes her revenge. This ambitious script is well supported by its technically immaculate execution. It is tightly constructed, beautifully edited and the superb soundtrack is unusually effective, an integral part of the film rattler than (as too often happens) an afterthought. Much of the power of the film has to do with its purely visual logic, it didn't start to make sense to me until I stopped trying to figure out what was going on and just let the images wash over me. This is one of those rare films that can stand repeated viewings (providing you can) and serious philosophical debate, despite the fact its violent take on gender relations is more than a little disturbing. A Little Death is an uncommonly brave and passionate piece of filmmaking that stays in the mind long after it's been seen" (Shannon, P., 1995). It must be noted that this review is based on a theatrical screening of the film in a cinema (and not simply that of this low-quality YouTube copy).
Bibliography: Perkins, S., & Swadel, P. (Directors). (1995). 'A Little Death'. James Wallace Productions. 16mm, 11 minutes. [imdb] [Wikipedia] [folksonomy] [Simon Perkins] Shannon, P. (1995). "Don’t Skimp on the Short Ends!" Pavement, Autumn 95(16), 26–27. [folksonomy] Perkins, S., & Swadel, P. (1995b). 'A Little Death' [16mm film]. New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua me Ngā Taonga Kōrero. https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/search-use-collection/search/F26180/

David Sandberg (2013). 'Lights Out'
Synopsis: "Lights Out is a 2013 Swedish supernatural horror short film directed, written, produced, shot, and scored by David F. Sandberg and starring Lotta Losten. The feature version of the film was made for $5 million and grossed $150 million at the box office."
Comment: This is the film's 'inciting event/incident/catalyst moment'. [Wikipedia] Notably, this occurs very close the beginning of the film - allowing the rest of the story to centre on the actions of the film's protagonist as they work to confront phenomena in a causally-related i.e. 'plot-centred' way (avoiding overuse of 'exposition'): https://www.youtube.com/embed/FUQhNGEu2KA?start=18
Bibliography: Indie Film Hustle. (2021, March 12). "David F. Sandberg’s Short
Film: Lights Out". Indie Film Hustle. https://indiefilmhustle.com/david-f-sandbergs-short-film-lights-out/ [imdb] [Wikipedia]

Michaël Dudok de Wit (2000). 'Father & Daughter'
About: "Viewed as allegory or truth the consequent sense of grief and a longing for the return of the father is so intense that one attaches an individual interpretation or significance to the movie, be it a lost father, child or love. In the creator’s own words it is about 'longing' that never diminishes despite the passage of time, defeating all logic."
Bibliography: "Father and Daughter by Michaël Dudok de Wit". (n.d.). Short of the Week. Retrieved March 4, 2026, from https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2008/02/10/father-and-daughter/ [Wikipedia]

René Laloux (1973). 'La Plane?te Sauvage[Fantastic Planet]'

Raine Allen-Miller (2018). 'Jerk'
Synopsis: "Winston arrived in London from Jamaica back when the streets were paved with promise. A lifetime later, he’s become the smiling face around the neighbourhood that everyone knows—the friendly local jerk chicken shop owner. Today, the mask is beginning to slip."

Darren Doherty & Nick Smith (1994). 'The Wooden Leg'

Jasmiini Ottelin, Pinja Partanen & Elli Vuorinen (2009). 'Benigni'

Haider Zafar & Asase Amoah (21 October 2022). "Good Hair: Perceptions of Racism (award Winning Short Film)", OpenLearn from The Open University
Biography: Haider Zafar [LinkedIn] Asase Amoah [LinkedIn]
Bibliography: 'Good hair: Perceptions of racism'. (2022c). Open Learning. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-development/good-hair-perceptions-racism

Linda Hughes (1990). 'Face Facts'

Philip Sansom & Olly Williams (2008). 'The Black Hole'
Synopsis: "The story involves a sleep deprived office worker who accidentally photocopies a 'Black Hole'. As a whole new world of possibilities open up, the worker’s greed grows exponentially as well" (Small, C., 2014).
Criticism: Despite the cleverness of the film's 'portal/photocopy-black-hole' conceit, the majority of the storyline centres on a protagonist 'setting-up' an eventual 'pay-off' / joke 'punchline'. As in fact, the film's 'inciting event' i.e. the point where the protagonist is forced to act after becoming trapped in the safe: https://www.youtube.com/embed/RSmjqss0XKQ?start=131 is used at the story's dénouement - in effect, the plot terminates as it begins. In this sense, the film's storyline is best understood as a 'one-liner' [Wikipedia] where everything, which happens before the 'pay-off/punchline' is reduced to 'exposition' rather than plot (because such events aren't centred on a protagonist struggling to resolve conflict that had been initiated at the story's inciting event). This said, the story is short enough to remain engaging and its allegory about greed and selfishness is still compelling.
Bibliography: Small, C. (2014). "Shorts Spotlight: 'The Black Hole', directed by Philip Sansom and Olly Williams". Cinema Axis. https://cinemaaxis.com/2014/04/11/shorts-spotlight-the-black-hole-directed-by-philip-sansom-and-olly-williams/ [imdb] [video clip]

Sam Evenson (2022). 'The Changing Room'
Point: The film plays on the idea of the 'infinity mirror' phenomenon [Wikipedia] where reflections creating a recursive loop of the reflection within itself recursively - following a similar logic to that of 'mise-en-abîme' [Wikipedia] where objects are positioned within themselves recursively. This follows a similar logic to Christopher Nolan's 'Doodlebug' (1997) [see]

Andrew Bancroft (1995). 'Planet Man'
Bibliography: Bancroft, A. (Director). (1995). 'Planet Man'. In @nzonscreen. NZ On Screen. [NZ On Screen] [imdb]

Jaron Henrie-McCrea (2018). 'Peephole'
Point: The film uses the compositional technique called 'mise-en-abîme' [Wikipedia] which positions objects within a recursive loop i.e. the object within itself recursively.

Christopher Nolan (1997). 'Doodlebug'
Point: The film [forum] uses the compositional technique called 'mise-en-abîme' [Wikipedia] which positions objects within a recursive loop i.e. the object within itself recursively.

Joey Greene & Paul Houston (2017). 'Polaroid'

Michael Evans (2013). '2AM: The Smiling Man'

Don McGlashan & Harry Sinclair (1988). 'The Lounge Bar'
About: this classic New Zealand short uses parallel past/present storylines, which ultimately collide in the film's dénouement.

Marc-Henri Boulier (2015). 'Juliet'
About: "In a near future, the SEED company launches with great fanfare, JULIET1, the first generation of synthetic pleasure beings. But as technology evolves and new styles come and go, it becomes more and more difficult for mankind to find their own place." [imdb]

Coralie Fargeat (2019). 'Reality+'

Benjamin Cleary (2015). 'Stutterer'

Nirvan Mullick (2012) "Caine's Arcade"
About: "Over a summer, Caine constructed a complex cardboard arcade in front of his father's used auto parts store in Los Angeles, with thoughtful details, like a security system made out of calculators. Monroy and his arcade gained national attention after a Los Angeles filmmaker, Nirvan Mullick, [channel] who stopped by the store to pick a car handle, became Monroy's first customer. 'For adults like me, Caine's arcade brings you back to your childhood,' said Mullick in an August 2012 story on NBC News. Mullick used social media sites including Facebook and Reddit to organize a flash mob [Wikipedia] to surprise Caine and created an 11-minute documentary chronicling Caine's story. Since the film Caine's Arcade posted on YouTube (and Vimeo) on April 9, 2012, it has had over four million views on YouTube alone" (Sun, C., 2014).
Bibliography: Sun, C. (2014). 'Transmedia and Education: How Transmedia Is Changing the Way We Learn'. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/many-ways-to-tell-a-story-how-transmedia-is-transforming-education-in-and-out-of-classrooms Mullick, N. (2019). "Caine’s Arcade". https://www.nirvan.com/cainesarcade Lieff, L. (2020, July 9). "Caine’s Arcade and the Power of Creativity". [LinkedIn] Medina, J. (2012, April 19). "Caine’s Arcade, Built of Cardboard and Tape, Brings Fast Fame". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/us/caines-arcade-built-of-cardboard-and-tape-brings-fast-fame.html

Erin Davis (2015). 'The Land'
About: https://www.newday.com/films/the-land
About: https://playfreemovie.com/about/
Related: https://www.youtube.com/embed/vHKrH51ygok
Related: "The school with no rules: A school principal in New Zealand lets his pupils do what they like at playtime. Is it good for learning, or has he gone too far?" https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-school-with-no-rules/yfyi2vyvy

Sebastian Lopez (2026). "That's AI"

Taika Waititi (2013). 'Blazed - Drug Driving in Aotearoa'
About: "this extended public service announcement uses humour to address the dangers of motoring under the influence of marijuana. A trio of tamariki imitate their Dads' stoned antics, driving home what's at stake when getting behind the wheel while 'blazed'." [NZ On Screen]

Luke Scott (2012). 'TED Talk 2023'
Synopsis: "February 28, 2023. After drinking a glass of whisky and readying himself, Peter Weyland steps out into Long Beach Arena, packed with thousands of people attending the annual TED conference. After narrating a scene from Lawrence of Arabia, in which Corporal Potter asks Lawrence about his habit of extinguishing matches with his bare fingers, Weyland goes on to explain the myth of the Titan Prometheus, who gave the secret of fire to mankind and was punished by the Gods as a result. Considering fire to be man's first invention, he goes on to list various other breakthroughs throughout the course of human history, including the wheel, gunpowder, the automobile, television, spacecraft, terraforming and the curing of most cancers, before concluding that mankind's technological prowess now makes them akin to gods. However, he laments that the almost limitless potential of the technologies humanity possesses is currently being squandered by overbearing rules and regulations. Finally, Weyland introduces himself to his audience, before promising, 'If you'll indulge me, I'd like to change the world.'" [pop culture wiki] [Wikipedia] [imdb]
More: Studio Yutani [channel] 'Prometheus transmedia campaign' (2019) https://www.youtube.com/embed/XqW4JgI4-Vw [video clip]
Related: Ridley Scott (2012). 'Prometheus' https://www.youtube.com/embed/HHcHYisZFLU?start=6 [Wikipedia] [imdb]

Marshall Curry (2019). 'The Neighbors Window'

Tom Turner (2019). 'A Glimpse'

Jan Švankmajer (1982). 'Dimensions of Dialogue'

Don McGlashan & Harry Sinclair (1987). 'Walkshort'
Criticism: This short as a 'cyclic structure' where the plot leads back to the story's eventual starting point. While the story events are causally-related i.e. they have consequence for their subsequent events, the effect of such 'doubling back' diminishes the significance of the overall plot. The approach reminds me of the dénouement for Alligator (1980) where after vanquishing a giant mutant alligator the story concludes with yet another (presumably, similarly mutant baby) alligator appearing in the sewer system i.e. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hSejOjEOIHU?start=377

Lisbet Byler & Grace Wagner (2019). 'Afraid'

Sean Louis Kelly (2021). 'Tunnel'

David Fritzson (2019). 'Wireless'

Alex Spear & Andrew Clabaugh (2022). 'The Tunnel'

Devon Avery (2014). 'One-Minute Time Machine'

Catherine Prowse, Hannah Quinn (2018). 'Laymun'

Eli Powers (2022). 'Skin & Bone'

Claire Dix (2011). 'Downpour'

Michaël Dudok de Wit (1994). 'The Monk and the Fish'

Vincent Gallagher (2010). 'Crossword'

Jessica Swale (2018). 'Leading Lady Parts'

Thomas Pilling & Frankie Price (2021). 'Controller'

Steph Green (2007). 'New Boy'
Context: NITVShorts [channel]

Chris Overton (2017). 'The Silent Child'

Mat Kirkby (2013). 'The Phone Call'
Context: NITVShorts [channel] https://www.networkirelandtelevision.com/news/2023/11/22/the-perfect-example-a-short-film-the-oscar-winning-the-phone-call-is-now-streaming-on-nitvs-youtube-page
Production: Starring Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent, this one is the benchmark against which all others are compared.

Nolt Vutthisak (2020). 'The Wait'

Tristan Heanue (2019). 'Ciúnas [Silence]'

Michael Mohan (2013). 'This Is How You Die'
Criticism: The short has an episodic structure composed of a series of thematically related vignettes (of various characters meeting their end in surprising ways). And so, interest lies in the 'spectacle' of each vignette/death rather than through the escalation of causally-related events producing conflict for a protagonist.

Fiona Nova & Pier Paolo Piccoli (2021). 'The Laundromat Off Malibu'

David Maddox (2017). 'Alternative Math[s]'

Tim McLachlan (2010). 'Mr Frosty and the BMX Kid'
Bibliography: Credits | Frosty Man and the BMX Kid. (2026). NZ On Screen. [online] Available at: [NZ On Screen] [Accessed 4 Mar. 2026]. [imdb]

Michael Davies (2010). 'Love at First Sight'

Andreas Pasvantis (2013). 'December'
Comment: The film's storyline is structured as a 'one-liner' [Wikipedia], which in doing so, reduces everything, which happens as mere 'set-up' for the eventual 'pay-off' / joke 'punchline' i.e. such events function purely as 'exposition' and not plot (which necessitates that a protagonist struggles to resolve conflict).

Caroline Bartleet (2015). 'Operator'

Pepe Danquart (1993). 'Schwarzfahrer [Black Rider]'

Rupert Höller & Bernhard Wenger (2015). 'Ausstieg Rechts [Exit right]'

Nina Paley (2012). 'This Land is Mine'
Bibliography: "'This Land Is Mine' by Nina Paley". (2015). Blackbird, 14(2). [digital archives]. Fall 2015. [imdb]

Andrea Arnold (2003). 'Wasp'

Steve Cutts (2017) 'Happiness'

Steve Cutts (2012) 'Man'

Ben Woodhams (2011). 'The Loving Trap'
About: this is a parody of Adam Curtis documentaries such as: Adam Curtis (2002). 'The Century of The Self' https://newpractices.co.uk/persuasion/#eJ3RzGoQC4s etc.
Example: and examples such as Curtis, A. (2011). 'All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace'. [Wikipedia] https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/bbc-all-watched-over-by-machines-of-loving-grace/ [site archive]