Fantasia 2019 Shorts Review: LILI Provides A Quick Punch

Reviewing a short can be a difficult endeavour, especially one which is only nine minutes long. At that length, it's hard to tell people what a film is about without spoiling it almost entirely.

So rest assured I will keep the description of Lili to a minimum. Basically what we get to see is an actress during an audition, doing the same line-reading over and over again, following the instructions of a mostly off-screen director (Dutch acting veteran Derek de Lint). At the beginning everything is nice and fine, but... well, you're never more powerless than when you apply for a job, and we all know the stories about what happens during auditions, right?

Director Yfke van Berckelaer (Xangadix Lives, All the Single Ladies) deftly leads viewers step by step into ever more uncomfortable waters, helped by stellar acting from her lead actress Lisa Smit (T.B.S., All the Single Ladies) as the titular Lili.

It is a simple idea, very well executed, and it contains a proverbial kick-in-the-balls for the audience. It will be shown this coming Saturday at the Fantasia film festival, as part of their Born of Woman shorts selection, and I highly recommend watching it.