EMERGENCY (2018)

This week we’re highlighting short works from filmmakers that had movies at SXSW 2022.

During Shorts Programs at film festivals, the most common answer to “what’s next for you” seems to always be “turn this short into feature”. Often this gives me pause because many of these movies do not seem like they could expand beyond their 10-30 minute runtime. And when the short is turned into a full length project, a fair amount of those validate such concerns with belaboring jokes, wafer thin characterizations, and stuffing 10 pounds of plot into a 30 pound bag. But…there are those filmmakers that find ingenious ways to grow their shorts that realize the potential and deliver something even more engaging and rewarding.

EMERGENCY was easily one of the highlights of SXSW 2022 for me.

Director Corey Williams, working from a script by KD Davila, essentially combines SUPERBAD with LA HAINE to produce something unique that is hilarious, dramatic, surprising, tense, that also finds a way to blend in a sense of one night with a group of friends while commenting on much larger social issues.

It is an exceptionally entertaining feature that delivers on a brilliant premise in surprising ways. And the brilliant EMERGENCY started as a short in the beforetime of 2018, making the festival rounds at that year’s Sundance, SXSW, Traverse City film festivals amongst others and winning top awards as well.

But, upon watching the short, was there enough there to build upon?

This concern was on Williams’ mind as he developed his acclaimed 2018 short into a full length feature. In an interview with Filmmaker Magazine, Williams speaks about this process and how he and Davila worked on finding ways to deepen the relationships between the characters and add more events into the plot. And while the duo found ways to expand into a longer runtime, it shouldn’t take away from how accomplished the 2018 short was. It doesn’t feel like there are obvious gaps to fill, aided by excellent performs and strong sense of style, making it a comprehensive and finished short film in its own right. Really, it’s the best of the situation where a short is turned into a longer piece.

The plot summary is as follows:

Faced with an emergency situation, a group of young Black and Latino friends carefully weigh the pros and cons of calling the police.

Enjoy EMERGENCY and watch for its feature-length form to hit Amazon Prime later this year.