Bjorn Engstrom's TANGENT ROOM (2017)

An acting workshop, cleverly disguised
As some stoned  physics student's lamest thought
Experiment, just slightly stylized
Should not be watchable, yet here we've caught
A right rare'un. I won't say I sat on edge,
My pulse a-pounding, but neither did I fall
Asleep, at any rate, or so I'd pledge;
No one was watching me. We cannot call
This bloated, as films go, at least; it's lean
On cast and set and story, true lo-fi
Sci-fi, or maybe student work. That's mean
But that's most what this felt like. You and I
Could better spend our time than watching this,
Unless we'd spend it watching the abyss.

Matt Sears' THE SKY (2020)

I love my lo-fi sci-fi, and it seems
The genre has a future, if the Earth
Continues turning, if small, nimble teams
Of young filmmakers keep at it. At first
This seems the most lo-fi, two women sit
In folding chairs out in the wilderness
And talk, and then decide to have a bit
Of magic mushroom as the End will bless
Or curse the whole world soon. Good cam'ra tricks
And psychedelic FX sure would be
Enough, but here the actresses, script, mix
Well with the other efforts. I will see
As much of Matt Sears work as e'er I may,
And hope we've years yet 'til the here-shown day.

Aindriu Green's RAIN (2018)

The trolley problem, one that's old but good
Is illustrated in a brand new way.
A simple set and no effects e'er should
Be put to uses such as these, I'd say
(Though here, the valley is too canny - the
A.I. is just a human actress in the room,
Though excellent. But my own disbelief
Should be suspended for a short!). A doom
Has come upon a big tycoon. No grief
For him, though, only duty to find out,
Not whodunnit, but why. As stories go
This one is tight and challenging. I'd like
To see more of this fellow's work, to know
What else he and this crew, too. This strikes
Me as a good beginning all around.
Each aspect's great, yes, even light and sound.

Marek Polgar's EXIT (2011)

The cam'ra does what we are not allowed

To do: look straight up in a city scape,

Or closely at small textures that the crowd

Around us shoves us past. Here we may gape

At these and more! And there's a story, too,

Of those who treat their city as a kind

Of puzzle to be solved. I like to move

Through urban spaces as they do, to find

What others miss in passing. Ghosts, they go

From shot to perfect shot, exchange remarks,

And take their cryptic notes. I want to know

The world they are escaping with their charts. 

Another fascination: talking scenes

Are strangely cut, as though these are my dreams.