Comedy Shorts Program

Plumbing disasters. Overgrown gardens. Unwanted pests. Unfiltered skin. First periods. Last calls. And maybe even a princess or two. Unruly & Unfiltered is a bold, laugh-out-loud collection of comedy shorts that revel in life’s messiest, most awkward, and unexpectedly tender moments. From cringe-worthy encounters to quietly subversive character studies, these films find humor in discomfort and heart in the absurd.

Brattle Passes Not Accepted

Program:

The Plumbing
Charlotte Istel • 9 min • USA • English
Between a clogged sink, a pregnancy scare, and a first date who refuses to leave, boundaries are broken and secrets exposed in this claustrophobic comedy that doesn’t leave the bathroom.

Paisley & Willis
Isaiah Frank • 12 min • USA • English
When two incompetent gardeners accidentally derail a political fundraiser, they embark on a desperate struggle to prevent their sexy boss from finding out. Can true friendship survive lust, murder, and poor pool maintenance?

The New Gardener
Ryan Parma • 16 min • USA • English
Larry and Leo’s long-term relationship is put to the ultimate test by the arrival of a very sexy, very criminal young man posing as their new gardener.

Cockroach
Heather Older • 9 min • USA • English
Juliette tries to survive a recent breakup with her longtime girlfriend by chronically masturbating and trying to convince herself to start dating men. Her delirium is finally relieved (sort of) by an unexpected stranger. Like cockroaches, love always finds a way to survive against the odds.

Poreless
Harris Doran • 13 min • USA • English
A fabulous, queer, Muslim beauty entrepreneur competes in a Shark Tank-like contest after suffering an untimely allergic reaction.

Period
Kat Olson • 10 min • USA • English
Trapped in a nightclub, a trans man must brave the women’s bathroom after an invasive visit from that time of the month.

Last Call
Tricia Hagoriles • 10 min • Canada • English/Spanish
A lesbian couple must rely on a jaded bartender to work through their recent-breakup bubble to survive a sudden zombie attack inside a dying Queer bar.

Princess Sparkles
Marlena Lerner • 15 min • USA • English
When her girlfriend dumps her for being an unreliable mess, Lucie accidentally signs up to pet-sit a “Princess”–only to discover she’s actually a nippy, Fox News-watching pig. What starts as an inconvenience turns into an unhinged crash course in responsibility, as Lucie learns that sometimes the only thing standing between you and self-improvement… is 200 pounds of attitude on a leash.

She Raised Me
Ben Lewis • 13 min • Canada • English
SHE RAISED ME is a dark comedy about a struggling playwright named Louie, whose plan to break up with his boyfriend goes awry, when he discovers his boyfriend’s mother is Marilyn Muff, an actress (and gay icon) Louie grew up idolizing. Louie quickly clings to Marilyn like a childhood security blanket, but what lengths will he go to to hold onto her?