Sundance Shorts 2008: Drama (2008)

Shorts. August 15th (China, 22 min, crimes are committed on a mountain-road bus, 4 stars), Cherries (UK, 15 min, Homeland Security reaches into a racially tense private boys' school, 3.5 stars), Crossbow (Australia, 15 min, neglected son of emotionally unavailable parents seeks an exit, 4.5 stars), Dugong (Australia, 18 min, a long-lost brother shows up with a quiet surprise for his kid brother's wedding, 4 stars), Lloyd Neck (US, 16 min, two teen boyfriends hang out with kid sister tagging along, 2 stars), Man (US, 16 min, a teen girl has a rendezvous with an Internet horndog and a sister "has her back" in several ways, 4 stars), On the Assassination of the President (US, 6 min, high-tech forensic briefing is unsealed, 5 stars), Pariah (US, 27 min, lesbians visit a strip club, 1 star) [viewed only 3 min], Scoring (Ireland, 3 min, paraplegic narrates closeups of kissing, 4 stars), Smile (Canada, 18 min, Chinese emigrant family prepares for a portrait, 4.5 stars), Soft [instant viewing not available], The Deep (US, 7 min, Brazil meets Pi, 5 stars), The Execution of Solomon Harris (US, 6 min, state execution goes awry, 4.5 stars), The Loss of a Wrestling Match (US, 9 min, undefeated high-school wrestler loses a match, 3 stars), The Second Line (US, 20 min, two Katrina survivors find day labor for another FEMA camper that goes awry, 3.5 stars), The Sound of People (Ireland, 8 min, an intensely personal examination of death, 5 stars), Wind Ten Years Old (Iran, 23 min, girl attends Islamic school with anti-Western aspirations, 4.5 stars). Overall 4 stars.