(spin)
2023 · 15m · UK
Directed by Precious Wura Alabi
Tones: humorous, tender, whimsical
A first date unfolds in a London launderette, where Zekiel has exactly one wash cycle to convince Izzy they're worth seeing again — the spinning drum becomes both countdown clock and central metaphor for the emotional stakes.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Launderette first date, structured around the wash cycle, frame tightens as they get closer. Cute concept, deeply Short-of-the-Week-shaped — I won't remember it tomorrow.
Alabi structures the entire short around a washing-machine cycle with progressively tightening frame — a tidy formal conceit in the Rye Lane register of contemporary British romance. Charming, if not redefining.
Structuring the entire narrative around the washing machine's cycle timer with cinematography progressively tightening as the characters grow closer — that's clean formal-spatial parallel and exactly the kind of London laundrette-rom-com you want for a Rye Lane lineage. 15 minutes is the right size.
Reviews
The kind of film that reminds you just how good the often misunderstood romcom can be, (spin) brings a fresh and modern take to the genre by pushing its boundaries and playing with its tropes.
Wura Alabi as Izzy and Samuel Adewunmi as Zekiel have an instant on-screen chemistry that makes you immediately root for both of them.