Night Shifts (film)

Night Shifts is a 2020 Canadian short comedy film written and directed by Finn Wolfhard, starring Billy Bryk and Artoun Nazareth.

Night Shifts
Directed byFinn Wolfhard
Written byFinn Wolfhard
Produced by
  • Susan E. Kavanagh
  • Brando Crawford
  • Faith Sparrow-Crawford
  • Ryan Thomson
  • Eric Wolfhard
Starring
  • Billy Bryk
  • Artoun Nazareth
  • Malcolm Sparrow-Crawford
CinematographyCole Graham
Edited byJeremy Schaulin-Rioux
Release dates
  • August 24, 2020 (2020-08-24) (Fantasia)
  • February 14, 2021 (2021-02-14)
Running time
4 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

The short made its Canadian premiere at the 2020 Fantasia International Film Festival on August 24, 2020,[1] where it also received the silver Audience Award for Best Canadian Short.[2]

Synopsis

Friends sometimes drift apart over time. Occasionally, they reconnect. Not always under the circumstances they may imagine.

— Mitch Davis[3]

A convenience store clerk is robbed at gunpoint. The gunman is revealed to the audience and the clerk to be an old friend of the clerk from high school.

The two reconnect on the floor of the store. As they are conversing, the police show up as a result of the silent alarm being pressed.

When the police man enters, he too is an old friend of both the clerk and the gunman.


Cast
  • Billy Bryk as Billy
  • Artoun Nazareth as Artoun
  • Malcolm Sparrow-Crawford as Elijah

Production

On December 10, 2019, Wolfhard launched a fundraising campaign to produce the short film through Indiegogo, offering various incentives to those who donated[4] and attained its goal of $26,000 Canadian dollars in a day.[5]

The short was shot over the span of 12 hours in a Vancouver convenient store.[6] During filming, an attempted robbery occurred.[7]

Release

The film premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival on August 24, 2020.[8] It had its American premiere at the 11th Annual Atlanta Shortsfest on August 29, 2020.[9]

Night Shifts was also an official selection for the 2020 Calgary International Film Festival.[10]

The 2021 TIFF Next Wave festival presented a free screening for 45 minutes on February 13, 2021.[11] Wolfhard released Night Shifts on YouTube the next day.[12][13]

Reception

In a positive review, Kat Hughes of The Hollywood News rated the film 4/5 stars and stated that Night Shifts "demonstrates that Wolfhard has clearly been paying attention to the directors he has worked with as an actor" and found the dialogue to be "tightly written, funny, and conveys an impressive multitude of history and information in such a small amount of time" while adding that the film is "a clever and stylish little short that more than exemplifies that, should his acting work dry up, Finn Wolfhard has a promising career as a director."[14] Diego Andaluz of The Global Film Podcast praised Wolfhard's "witty screenplay" and felt the film "proves that [Wolfhard] may have quite a future behind the camera."[15]

The film received the silver Audience Award for Best Canadian Short.[16] Wolfhard received the Best Director award for Night Shifts at the 2020 Atlanta Shortsfest.[17]

References
  1. "Fantasia Fest To Give John Carpenter Lifetime Achievement Award, Unveils Final Titles Ahead Of Virtual Edition". Deadline Hollywood. 6 August 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  2. "ANNOUNCING THE AUDIENCE AWARDS OF FANTASIA'S 24th EDITION!". Fantasia International Film Festival. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  3. "Night Shifts". Fantasia Festival. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  4. "'Night Shifts: A short film by Finn Wolfhard". Indiegogo. December 10, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  5. Pearce, Tilly (December 11, 2019). "Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard raises $20,000 in one day to launch his own movie". Metro. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  6. "'[ Fantasia 2020 ] A talk with Finn Wolfhard – In conversation with Jay Baruchel". YouTube. August 29, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  7. "'[ Fantasia 2020 ] A talk with Finn Wolfhard – In conversation with Jay Baruchel". YouTube. August 29, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  8. "Fantasia Fest To Give John Carpenter Lifetime Achievement Award, Unveils Final Titles Ahead Of Virtual Edition". Deadline Hollywood. 6 August 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  9. "BIG NEWS PART 2!!!!! Night Shifts has been accepted to Atlanta Shorts Fest 2020 and will be playing in Shorts Block Four on Saturday, August 29th at 8:30pm!". Night Shifts Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  10. "Calgary International Film Festival releases full lineup for online and in-cinema programming". Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  11. "Special Screening: Finn Wolfhard's Night Shifts". Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  12. Brunner, Raven (February 15, 2021). "Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard releases new short film: Night Shifts". Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  13. Wolfhard, Finn (February 14, 2021). "Night Shifts". YouTube. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  14. "Night Shifts' Review: Dir. Finn Wolfhard [Fantasia 2020]". The Hollywood News. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  15. "FANTASIA 2020: Night Shifts". Clappercast. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  16. "ANNOUNCING THE AUDIENCE AWARDS OF FANTASIA'S 24th EDITION!". Fantasia International Film Festival. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  17. "2020 ATLANTA SHORTSFEST AWARD WINNERS". Atlanta Shortsfest. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
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