R&A Shorts: Do the Right Thing

Life is made up of everyday choices, some big, some small. One moment you may be pondering what to cook for dinner. Another, you may face a decision that could shape the course of your own life – or someone else’s. Among all these, the choice to stand up against injustice is one of the most important.

Favours places the viewer in the middle of a crowded train station, where the film’s protagonist suddenly finds herself with a mystery in her hands. A stranger has asked her to look after her baby while she goes to the toilet – but now the mother has vanished, leaving the child behind. The story unfolds with a Kafkaesque intensity that keeps the viewer on edge.

In the film Left-Handed Pen, a teacher who is also a mother is forced to weigh up her professional role against protecting her offspring. Her son has screwed up an important exam, and her job gives her the opportunity to rectify the situation, but just how much is she willing to risk?

The Masterpiece introduces a nihilistic, sleazy couple who, wrapped in the arrogance of upper-middle-class security, imagine they can dictate the rules to a father and son of immigrant background who make their living by collecting scrap. But in the end, who’s pulling the strings?

Bad for a Moment depicts a design company’s team-building wellness day, during which the gentrification their work has helped bring about suddenly hits the consciousness of a middle-class architect.

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short. It is based on a true story and takes place on a train where paramilitary forces board to collect certain civilians. Will anyone dare to speak up in their defence?

Annu Suvanto (translated by Pauliina Jännes)