Fear is inevitable. Worry is inevitable. Grief is inescapable. Can technology help?
These are classic sci-fi questions, and they’re the subject of the short film “Rewind”, written and directed by Stephen Eigenmann. Starring Sheila Traiser as Sheila and Alec Lang as Melo, an assistant robot, this is a story about a widowed mother trying to cope with her daughter’s tour of duty in a foreign war. It’s a story about nostalgia, and fear, and finding ways to move on.
The centrepiece of the film is the sweetly awkward relationship between Sheila and her Melo, underpinned by Sheila’s constant fear over the possible loss of her daughter. It’s a sweet, sad thing, a look at how the pain of loss can shape us and how technology can play into it.
Shared on the YouTube channel Dust, which collects a lot of short films, it’s a striking little thing. Even though Melo does, um, kind of look like a Stormtrooper. Could use a redesign, that guy. In its own way, it’s a Christmas story, albeit a sad one. Give it a watch.
[referenced id=”1655694″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/12/sci-fi-short-alone-packs-all-the-drama-of-a-feature-into-20-minutes/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/05/oxlvs7ug8hez6z1tdua6-300×144.png” title=”Sci-Fi Short Alone Packs All the Drama of a Feature Into 20 Minutes” excerpt=”Marooned after a disaster on her ship, alone and dangerously close to a black hole, Kaya Torres (Steph Barkley) sends a distress call into the void — and is shocked when a similarly lonesome stranded traveller named Hammer (Thomas Wilson Brown) responds. In Alone, we see the surprising outcome of…”] For more, make sure you’re following us on our Instagram @io9dotcom.