The coronavirus lock-down has seen a number of high-calibre independent filmmakers opt to display their work with audiences for free. Recently this saw WANTOKS: Dance of Resilience in Melanesia director Iara Lee share the bulk of Cultures of Resistance’s documentary archive with viewers out of solidarity in this difficult time.
This week, director Marie Vandelannoote has decided to follow suit, posting two of her most recent short films for viewing on Vimeo. Funeral – which received a 4.5 star review from Indy Film Library – can be viewed for free for the remainder of this week, along with 2018 horror The Shroud.
In his review of Funeral, critic Aftab Bose said of the film:
Vandelannoote’s script is at once harrowing and heart-warming, exploring themes of suicide, depression and how society – specifically family – deals with them. The subjects that unfold here, while distinctly personal, will speak to a number of broader social factors that surround suicide. The dialectic contradictions at the heart of the film symbolise the process of catharsis we each undergo in the wake of personal tragedy.
The Shroud also comes highly recommended, having played and won at a host of independent film festivals around the world – and can be viewed in full below.