Order for Pickup
2023 · 13m · USA
Directed by Jackie! Zhou
Genres: drama
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, surreal
Trapped in a cycle of work and self-isolation, burnt-out Kelsey's reality starts to blur inside a ghost kitchen until an irregular order for pickup disrupts everything, forcing her to confront the numbing patterns of her existence.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Burnt-out ghost-kitchen worker, dialogue delivered via Siri texts and voicemails. The Siri-voice-as-isolation gambit could be lacerating or could be a vibe — burnout shorts are now an industrial output and I'm already suspicious.
Zhou conveying isolation through Siri-read texts and voicemails inside a ghost kitchen is the precise formal answer to digital-loneliness cinema — Hillman Grad backing, Lena Waithe executive producing. Thirteen minutes of correctly observed disconnection.
Delivering most of the dialogue through Siri-read texts and voicemails matches the protagonist's ghost-kitchen isolation at the sound-design level — the mediation IS the alienation. 12:33 with Dan Deacon scoring; the formal choice for burnout is the craft win.
Reviews
Zhou crafts a sensitive and relatable story, capturing that feeling of being stuck and unable to change a pattern, and how sometimes we go through periods of funk that we have to break out of.
Zhou found the idea of a ghost kitchen to be the perfect backdrop to reflect on the blurry state of existence stirred by capitalism, using stylized shots and surreal moments to visualize the main character's feelings.
Festivals
- Tribeca Film Festival 2023
- Palm Springs International ShortFest 2024
- Seattle Asian American Film Festival 2024
- Richmond International Film Festival 2024