Otherwise Engaged
2015 · 5m · UK
Directed by Alicia MacDonald
Tones: darkly comic, humorous
A would-be marriage proposal collapses into chaos when the bride, groom, and entire wedding party prioritize capturing the moment for social media over actually living it. A sharp five-minute satire of digital-age courtship.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A vague Vimeo-curated British comedy with empty premise and unusual_element fields — no one bothered to summarize, why should I bother to care? Festival laurels do not a watch make.
Alicia MacDonald's BFI London Film Festival selection with a Best Comedy win at London Short FF is a credible pedigree, but the metadata here is thin and the page summary tells me little about formal gesture. I would need to see it before committing further.
BFI London selection, Leeds Audience Award, London Short Film Festival Best Comedy at 4:33 — that festival run on a sub-five-minute comedy tells you the punchline architecture is tight. Page summary doesn't get specific about craft, so calling this conservatively well-built.
Reviews
A cringeworthy piece of social satire that shows what smartphone cameras and social media have done to many of our special moments.
A wonderful short film... a romantic social media satire for the online age.
Festivals
- BFI London Film Festival 2015
- Leeds International Short Film Festival 2015, Audience Award
- London Short Film Festival 2016, Best Comedy