Short of the Week
When we launched the inaugural edition of our Pride Shorts competition back in April, our hope was not only to discover compelling new LGBTQ+ stories, but also to uncover some of the most exciting emerging voices working in this space. While Short of the Week was founded to champion innovative short films online, over the years we’ve come to recognise that we’re also helping introduce audiences to the filmmakers behind them. We’re therefore delighted to report that the submissions we received for Pride Shorts did exactly that, revealing an impressive range of talent and perspectives. So even if your film wasn’t selected as one of our finalists – or as this year’s winner – please know that your work made an impression. You’re now on our radar, and we’ll be eager to see what you create next.
Although the Short of the Week team screened every submission, the responsibility of selecting the winner and three finalists was entrusted to our exceptional jury: S/W alums Carlen May-Mann and Charlie Tidmas. We invited them to take part because their own films, Romance Package for Two and Pillow Chocolate, embody the kind of bold, distinctive storytelling we hoped this competition would attract. As you’ll see from their jury statement below, they were deeply impressed by both the breadth of stories being told and the overall quality of filmmaking on display.
Of course, there could only be one winner.
Winner: Between Us by Cailleah Scott-Grimes
At its core, Between Us is a story about a strained relationship – a couple attempting to navigate their differences and find a path forward. Yet beneath that seemingly simple premise lies a far more complex and deeply rewarding narrative. Rich in cultural specificity, emotionally universal and handled with quiet confidence by writer/director Cailleah Scott-Grimes, this intimate short gradually unfolds into a thoughtful exploration of time, place, identity, and belonging.
We couldn’t be happier that our exceptional jury selected Between Us as the winner of our first-ever Pride Shorts competition. It’s a powerful piece of filmmaking that not only exemplifies the kind of storytelling we hoped to champion through this initiative, but also sets an impressively high benchmark for future winners to follow.
Jury Statement: The selection of films was fantastically varied and demonstrated the wealth of global queer talent and voices working in film. Between Us stood out to us for its tender and unique perspective on queer relationships. The setting of an onsen, a space that is traditionally rigid in its application of the gender binary, is more than just achingly beautiful; it is a springboard for a moving examination of safety, belonging, and passing from two very different perspectives. Between Us deftly balances global queer concerns and cultural specificity, all while staying grounded in a relationship between two characters asking themselves and each other if they can surmount the walls between them.
Congratulations to the winner, finalists, and everyone who submitted. We had a great time watching all of the films and we can’t wait to see them shine!
▶︎ Read our Review and Watch the Full Film
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Finalist: Ebbing by manon poelman + Judith Van Eenooghe
A quiet and reflective short that invites its audience to spend an all-too-authentic 19 minutes in the company of a couple whose relationship is in its final throes, Ebbing proves that a film doesn’t have to raise its voice to be heard. With dialogue sparse throughout much of the first half, the camera spends its time lingering on the protagonists and their holiday surroundings, allowing unspoken emotions to fill the space between them. When conversation becomes more frequent in the latter stages, it offers clarity but little comfort. What makes the film so affecting is the inescapable sense that we are witnessing the end of something we never had the opportunity to see at its best. That absence creates a profound feeling of loss, giving the film a powerful and lingering impact.
What made this a story you wanted to tell?: We liked the idea of a couple that’s in love but the problem isn’t the lack of love, more so the lack of feeling loved. If you don’t feel the love someone gives you, nothing can change that, not even a picturesque holiday.
What are you working on next?: Right now, we’re developing our first feature film about an insecure twelve year old boy, Kamiel, going on a seaside holiday in 2008 with his tomboyish little sister Rune. There, he tries to break away from her and fit in with the older boys, sacrificing their bond and transforming his identity. Manon is also developing a dramedy series with two other emerging writers about four twenty-somethings living in Brussels.
Bio: Manon Poelman studied writing at RITCS School of Arts. She’s searching to tell intimate stories in which we discover the different versions of ourselves. When she is not writing she teaches writing classes to children and adults. Judith Van Eenooghe studied Radio and Sound Design at RITCS School of Arts. Drawn to storytelling in documentaries, she became interested in writing. Her films are driven by a curiosity for human connections and the ways in which stories can be told through a different gaze.
Filmmaker Links: Manon’s Instagram | Judith’s Instagram
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Finalist: Hot Sheet Motel by Alexandria Lane
With a narrative exploring a side of LGBTQ+ communities that is still relatively underrepresented on screen – that of older generations – Hot Sheet Motel offers both an enjoyable hangout film and a quietly compelling examination of the challenges involved in revealing one’s true identity. Writer/director Lane crafts a slice-of-life story that understands its own scale, never attempting to be larger or more dramatic than it needs to be. Yet within that modest framework, the film uncovers surprising emotional depth. Through its understated ‘will-they-won’t-they’ dynamic and its exploration of the lingering fear of judgement and persecution, Hot Sheet Motel becomes a thoughtful reflection on desire, vulnerability, and the complexities of finding connection later in life.
Bio: Alexandria Lane is a screenwriter and director whose dark comedy digs into the raw, unruly depths of human connection. A seventh-generation Texan raised on contradictions – cowboy mythos meets queer feminist reality – Lane builds character-driven stories that subvert stereotypes, challenge power and center a fiercely female gaze.
Filmmaker Links: Instagram | Website
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Finalist: Zari by Shruti Parekh
A touching and assured short about trying to find your place in the world, Parekh’s Zari follows an Indian American teenager who feels increasingly out of place amid preparations for their sister’s wedding, while drawing an unexpected parallel with a sari shop assistant whose life outside work is spent as a rising internet drag performer. Confidently executed, the film offers a perspective on the queer experience that extends beyond familiar Western narratives, grounding its themes within a specific cultural context while remaining universally resonant. More than anything, Zari feels like the work of a distinctive and emerging talent – one that will be well worth following in the years ahead.
What made this a story you wanted to tell?: As an Indian American kid on family trips back to India, I remember being dragged along on shopping missions with my mom to buy saris, a quintessential Indian women’s garment. I didn’t love dressing in feminine Indian clothing, so I was often bored – but one thing would catch my attention: the salesmen (and they were always men) regularly modeled the beautiful saris for their female customers. Even at a young age, I knew how transgressive this would be in the US – yet it was normalized in India. At the same time, I witnessed how patriarchal and homophobic Indian society could be. The image of the sari-wearing men stuck with me as a delightful symbol of casual subversion and inspired me to write Zari. In the liminal space of the sari store, I wanted to explore the connection between two outsiders from different cultures as they learn how to be their truest selves amidst societies that push them to fit the mold.
What are you working on next?: I have another short making the rounds in festivals now called Homebody, which is inspired by my real-life experiences battling landlords in NYC. I am also currently writing a feature called La Brea, which is a thriller set in LA.
Bio: Shruti Parekh is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker working across fiction and documentary. Shruti was named in MovieMaker Magazine as one of Austin Film Festival’s 25 Screenwriters to Watch. Her narrative short Zari was a winner of the CAPE/Janet Yang Productions Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge, screened at over 50 festivals, and has won top awards at NewFest, Cannes American Pavilion Emerging Filmmakers Showcase, Inside Out Toronto, SLO Fest and more. Shruti’s most recent short, Homebody, was a recipient of the 2024 NYC Women’s Fund.