Glasgow Short Film Festival — A–Z of films

Gardner... shows respect for Wojtek’s intelligence without anthropomorphising him or rendering him just a cartoon.

Selfishness, shame and a fear of connection are underscored by affection. The result is uncomfortable and sometimes very funny.

Every shot feels carefully considered, making the film feel "larger" than its short running time would seem to indicate.

Even these fantasies are grounded in locale.

Filippone and Meltzer find power in silence, content to watch and keeping themselves out of the frame, so that the emotions of those they capture can be fully channelled through the lens.

Čadež employs the gouts of smoke to disturbing effect, fogging up the action and making passive aggression feel like a punch.

Never did a doily indicate such doom, nor the vain hope of a banner on a Coronation mug convey such gloom.

Morag McKinnon's script is loosely off its head, part hilarity, part nonsensical innovation.

The model work is magnificent, from the appropriately terrifying design of the TV characters to the careful distinctions in style between that world and the apparent reality of the one in crisis.

Uncertainty is drawn to different poles like a malfunctioning compass.