Movie Review: Straight 8 2023

It's not often I go to a movie premiere. And it's less often that I go to a movie premiere of a film starring my mum!

Straight 8 is an intriguing idea for a film competition. Film-makers have exactly one roll of Super8 film - which runs to about 3 minutes. The only editing they can do is in-camera. There's no audio - a soundtrack is submitted separately. And the first time they see the film is when it is shown on the big screen.

The premiere at the BFI showed the top 25 films from the competition. The best 8 also had a showing in Cannes and, I'm incredibly proud to say, my mum's film was among them.

The films themselves are an eclectic mix. Lemonade Stand-Off is 3 minutes of perfect silent comedy - with the most laughs per second that I've ever seen. The Bezoar by Jeff Zorrilla and Mía Miceli is a viscerally little horror film. Orlando Cubitt's Quinacridone Gold tells the story of the UK's first President via the medium of AI generated images. Every single one either told a perfect story or had something interesting to say. It's amazing how much you can pack into 3 minutes.

Here's the trailer. My mum is the woman covered in blood. Because of course she is.