There’s an arresting tenderness to these films that flies in the face of conventional portrayals of labour. Though concerned with the socio-economic, political and moral impulses of their characters, these films nevertheless find hilarity, softness and beauty in their often-challenging settings. There’s dance to be found in the brutal angles of a dockyard, outlandish characters at an abandoned lido and defiance in the face of gentrification. Singing with spirit and coloured by nostalgia, these shorts are cinematic depth-charges – incendiary and vital despite their brevity. * Films: Bulldozer (dir. Sorcha Bacon, 13’), Carrying Us (dirs. Elsa Monteith, Hazel Davis, Adam Laurence, 4’), Look At Us (dir. Hussina Raja, 4’), You Can’t Automate Me (dir. Katarina Jazbec, 20’), Fish Fingers (dir. Lars Mulle, 8’), Salt Water Town (dir. Dan Thorburn, 15’), Hanging On (dir. Alfie Barker, 10’), Happiness Is A Journey (dirs. Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan, 12’)
