Josiah Cuneo's ‘LILT’ is the kind of movie every reviewer wants to see and write about. Why? Because it is provoking through some aspects that are quite rare in this jungle; also, it is hard to put it in a specific category because it combines some styles and themes in a perfect way, making it the ultimate dance-experimental movie.

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The score of this short is purely mesmerizing! We hardly can remember a short that had such a brilliant and perfectly tailored score for an idea that doesn’t look that interesting at first, but starts shining through its normal course. ‘LILT’ has a side not many shorts have – you can listen to the score and still understand at least half of what this short has to say.

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Another aspect that is mesmerizing about ‘LILT’, and this may go for the female viewers mainly, is the main actor, Ben van Berkum, that does an amazing work being the centerfold of every scene. His lines seem to be bits of a great poem that is written as the movie goes by, and as the dialogue builds up. Also charming is the other main focus – the dance. You don’t need to be a professional dancer or an expert to understand the depths of those moves that are delivering more than simple messages, but deep and intense emotions.

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Even though the editing was not really what we had expected, it comes unnoticed when the dialogue and the score are put together. Coming back to establishing the genre, we think that experimental is the best word for it, an intelligent, well thought experiment combining two complementary arts (dance and poetry) and delivering a short movie that can shine in any great festival around the world. Not only do we recommend ‘LILT’ to every movie enthusiast, but we will go as far as saying that it is the best dance experimental we’ve seen in this festival so far!

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Written by Vlad A. G