Somebody Cares

Sundance 2025: Sweet Talkin’ Guy, Somebody Cares, We’re Not Done Yet

It’s easy to get swept up in the conversation around the high-profile feature works screening at a festival. However, the shorts programmes are often where one can find some truly exciting works and discover new filmmakers in the process. Sundance has always been a breeding ground for talent and their short film selections are a perfect example of this. Here are just a few of the shorts I have been fortunate to see at this year’s Sundance Film Festival:

Sweet Talkin Guy

Sweet Talkin’ Guy

One of the wonderful aspects about writer-directors Dylan and Spencer Wardwell’s Sweet Talkin’ Guy is that its protagonist doesn’t even need to utter a word. Her presence alone is the rope from which her suitors will hang themselves with. The film follows a trans woman (played by Dylan Wardwell who is fantastic in the role) as she dates three different straight men (played by Jimmie Fails, Daniel Olson, and Pierce Abernathy).

Intercutting the men’s dialogue, and relying heavily on the woman’s facial expression, the film captures the repetitive nature of the men and their insecurities. It is in exposing the fragility of the male ego where Sweet Talkin’ Guy is most delicious to devour. Despite the film’s brief running time, the Wardwell’s crafts an engaging and smart examination of sexual identity and the way men often wear a costumed version of masculinity to hide their true desires.

Somebody Cares

Somebody Cares

Life is filled with many hardships, but simply knowing one person cares for you can make a world of difference. That is the message conveyed in Julien Lasseur’s amusing film Somebody Cares. The film’s protagonist Barry (Shawn Parsons) is a lonely middle-aged man who is having one hell of a day. Not only does he have no one to spend his birthday with, but his own estranged sister has him listed as “dipshit brother” in her phone. Making things worse for the sullen man is the fact that a hit man (Cjon Saulsberry) abducts him due to outstanding gambling debts.

Barry’s only chance of survival is to convince his sister to send him his share of their recently deceased uncle’s inheritance. Lasseur’s film finds plenty of mileage out of its premise by observing the ways Barry attempts to delay his assailant from completing his job. Anchored by Parsons delightful performance, Barry manages to be equally annoying and endearing. The audience understands why everyone has little patience for the character, while simultaneously wanting this sad sack to find the money he needs. Confidently constructing a film that is rich in humour, and moment of genuine heart, Lasseur displays a keen talent for making even the most outlandish moments somehow endearing.

We're Not Done Yet

We’re Not Done Yet

A weekend getaway to a beach house proves to be anything but relaxing for a mother and son duo in Joseph Longo and Sofia Camargo’s drama We’re Not Done Yet. Single and lacking a driver’s license, Alex (Longo) seems to be stuck in a sullen rut. On the opposite end of the spectrum, his 70-year-old mother Bettina (Barbara Sukora) is all about living life to the fullest. She not only openly flirts with a local contractor (Danny Mastrogiorgio) working on her beach house, but is also contemplating possibly adopting a child.

Using the growing conflict between the pair as a springboard, Longo and Camargo’s film dives into the complicated waters of familial bonds. As Alex attempts to assert his dominance, in hopes that Bettina will wake up and act her age, We’re Not Done Yet contemplates the notion of reconnection. The filmmakers understands that parent/child dynamics rarely remain static. Now at a different stage of their respective lives, Alex and Bettina must learn how to see each other as individuals again. Although the branches of their family tree go in different directions, the love that fertilizes its strong roots remain the same. Bringing a delicate mixture of tenderness and humour, We’re Not Done Yet is an engaging tale of family bonds that are rarely in our control.

All films screened as part of Sundance 2025’s Short Films Programme.



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