Making a short film on a tight budget is nothing short of a miracle. This year’s AFDA student film selection featured some brilliant concepts, compelling narratives, first-rate cinematography, resourceful producing, razor sharp writing, fine performances with some very professional Q&A sessions.

Here are Spling’s favourite short films from the 2024 graduation film festival in Cape Town, ranked.

Detour

Detour is a crime comedy caper about a newly separated couple who get hijacked along with their Uber driver. This spirited 24 minute short film captures the same bubbly hijinx of movies like Date Night and We’re the Millers as a couple are unexpectedly reunited.

Starring Vikesh Jeram Patel, Mihle Mcube, Kgolagano Khunou and Liyabona Ncana, the compelling performances play into the Detour’s infectious sense of humour without alleviating its sense of danger. The scene-stealer is Kgolagano Khunou, whose effortlessly cool and confident swagger lifts the production… with Liyabona Ncana serving as a strong counterpoint.

A vibrant, well-composed and sure-footed student short film from directors Oliver Boje and Mila Nieman, Detour works across the board, offering enjoyable entertainment through charismatic performances, sharp writing and clever comedy set pieces.

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Grief

Dark comedy is a curious balancing act, which requires the right mix of pathos and parody. In Grief, Bernard navigates the financial troubles of his late mother as familial pressures and an array of oddball guests threaten to capsize the memorial service.

Sonwaba Madolo, Akhanani Antony and Lintle Mohanoe star as siblings who are trying to stay strong and pick up the pieces. Starting with aplomb, Grief takes a page from Death at a Funeral in rounding up its cast of usual suspects with high-kilter energy.

Genuinely funny and equally heartfelt, the dark comedy and upbeat performances keep things moving at full tilt with a sharp edit. A picturesque backdrop and many funny characters and comedy moments make this bittersweet affair entertaining and sentimental.

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Smile for Me

Morgues are cold, dark and dead places. For two weary morticians, a desecrated body’s arrival brings with it a mystery that will blur the line between reality and their darkest nightmares. Smile for Me is a chilling psychological horror short film that meshes two polar opposite worlds. A clinical morgue and woodland forest contrast as a mortician begins to question reality.

Smile for Me is led by a well-balanced performance from Steph-mari Marais as Marli, who is ably supported by Burger Du Plessis, Marshane Ground and Tatenda Makuvatsine. Interspersing local elements to bring it home, excellent makeup, resourceful filmmaking, convincing performances and sharp sound design transform this unsettling horror into something special.

The short film’s modest budget converts into high value film-making as directors Tess Davis and Bizo Maxegwana manage to throw a net over Smile for Me. Amplifying the creepiness, selling the horror and operating with restraint gives this simple yet effective horror it’s punch.

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Break My Bones

When it comes to student filmmaking, it’s typically best to work within your limits. For the ambitious filmmakers behind the horror comedy Break My Bones, their never-say-die attitude pushed them to extremes on what they describe as a “blood-soaked rollercoaster”.
Taking on a tonal quality in the same arena as Zombieland and Resident Evil, the violent short journeys through a dystopian wasteland with a woman who has regenerative powers. Starring Suné Nordejee, Matthew Greeff and Kelly Murray, this rollicking road movie is fired up and wickedly funny. Nordejee has a Milla Jovovich vibration as the kick-ass Daisy who contends with her nefarious co-stars in Greeff and Murray.

From its in-your-face trailer to its closing credits, André Smith and Steven Henry drive the grindhouse horror comedy’s rebellious spirit. Dark, gross out and gore comedy rules as Daisy finds herself in one precarious situation after another. A bold, brave and ultimately fun movie, it’s flaws are floored by pure attitude and fighting spirit.

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Doos

All films are political. Being in South Africa, in many ways a microcosm for the world, it’s easy to understand how we’re still healing from the scars of apartheid. While many South Africans would prefer to forget and focus on the future, it’s in telling these painful stories that we can hope to seek truth and reconciliate.

A provocative title with the tagline “You have the right to remain silenced”, Doos is set in Apartheid South Africa where an interracial feud develops over life, land and heritage. Set in the 1980s, this is a beautifully composed political drama and Doos keeps things simple and rural in order to steep itself in authenticity of the life and times.

An emotionally-charged drama from directors Shaun Smith and Elzaan Daniels, Doos leans on its earnest ensemble with Marshane Ground, Isabella Persent, Matthew Cohen and Johané Venter.

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Honourable mentions: Massamba’s Echo, Flora and The Ride.