Little Grey Bubbles
2018 · 14m · Canada
Directed by Charles Wahl
Genres: coming-of-age, drama
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, tender
After her online-only best friend Marlon dies mid-message, Kim travels to his funeral and must defend the legitimacy of a friendship forged entirely through screens.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
The premise wants to be provocative—grief over a screen friendship—but it plays it disappointingly straight, settling into sincere coming-of-age beats instead of interrogating what it means that we're supposed to believe this friendship was *real* in the first place.
Wahl positions this within a recognizable lineage of intimate digital-age dramas, and the restraint is admirable; there's a formal control here that trusts the audience to sit with ambivalence about what intimacy means across screens.
The decision to let Kim's defense of Marlon play out through small, specific moments of connection at the funeral—a shared laugh, a recognition of an inside joke—rather than through confrontation or explanation, is what makes this land; it's economical and true.
Reviews
Writer/director Wahl uses this premise to explore a new kind of friendship, brought by the digital era, and what happens when it's forced to escape the cloud and becomes IRL. Wahl tackles these topical questions by awkwardly situating Kim at Marlon's funeral, forcing her, in a way, to stand trial against Marlon's family and acquaintances in order to defend the legitimacy of the connection she and her online friend shared.
Festivals
- SXSW Film Festival 2019, Official Selection
- Palm Springs International ShortFest 2019, Official Selection