Brunch Solstice

Guy goes to brunch at his girlfriend's house for the first time, and gets more than he bargained for!

I loved the use of 'holiday' for this, I've never been to a brunch solstice before, but this has affirmed I never will! What a fantastic and quirky premise!

While I didn't entirely understand everything about the film (What was this cult's purpose? Did the sock transport him to another dimension?? Turn him to ash??) I didn't feel I needed to know entirely in order to get the mystery of the cult.

Absolute highlight for me was your main actor, fantastically goofy, awkward, and charming all at once! Even despite letting the sacrifice get, well, sacrificed because his girlfriend was hot I just felt worked because of how charismatic he was, so kudos!

Great work team, looking forward to seeing more going forward!

Whoever directed this must be super charismatic and handsome.
And the guy in the floppy hat was an amazing actor.
Also that soup looked delicious and expertly made.
Great Job!

Very well written script, and excellent acting. The sock is a good surprise ending, and set up well at the start. I also like how the chainsaw is sitting on a shelf in the dining room, ready for use, just captured briefly in the background of one shot - a lot of thought went into small details. My favourite part is the dialogue between the visitor and the sacrificial victim, where he says he knows she's going to die but asks her to just "take one for the team" because the girl he's trying to impress is hot - such an unexpected conversation, and despite how nice a guy he is it helps to remove any pity you might feel for him before his inevitable demise!

An examination of the ridiculous lengths to which people will compromise their values just to get what they want.

I loved this film. Some great visuals and hilarious dialogue.

As someone who was raised in a cult, I was tickled by the protagonist's pitiful attempts to fit in. It really is easier said than done to learn the right language, the dos and don'ts, and avoid any faux pas. You can spot an outsider a mile away.

I missed the bit about not touching the sock, so the film's ending – while funny – came out of the blue. Maybe that warning could have been clearer? You wouldn't want to overdo it though, and I did pick up on the chainsaw warning.

This film is awesome! The dialog is very well written, and is delivered very convincingly.
I love the awkward deadpan nature of the whole thing!

You had a good variety of shot types as well! It kept switching up and worked in conjunction with a great script and acting, keeping us (the viewer's) interested and hooked!

The twist end was also very well set up and satisfying to watch! Great work!

Such a well done script on this. Incredible use of foreshadowing to set it all up at the start, then slowly pull each thread one by one. And great performances too. The lead really rode the line of being charismatic enough to keep me invested, but douchy enough to deserve the ending. Excellent job.

So weird, and SO good! Loved the setups and payoffs! Great use of an otherwise dull setting. Loved the all 4 elements at once trope! Just a ton of fun allround! Nothing sub-par about this team!

I had to wait until after finals so I didn’t spoil this team’s score win hahaha, thanks for your patience! Here is your review.

Brunch Solstice was such a tasty treat. A clever idea with some fun twists that earned its shortlist spot. This film had so much going for it, and was a hot contender for the best school spot, you should be very proud of your achievements!

The biggest achievement of course being the score. Absolutely phenomenal. That Icelandic 7/8 time signature cult music elevated the whole experience, giving it a lived-in feel that was truly a step above everything else we heard this year. A technically brilliant piece of work, and a real feather in your cap - it’s not often that a non-finalist takes out an award of this calibre! And it was well deserved.

The performances were also a real highlight - by far the strongest from the school pool this year. Goofy, awkward, and charming in all the right ways, with dialogue that struck that perfect balance between dry and ridiculous, but also fully committed! Some excellent setups and payoffs too, with the foreshadowing sprinkled throughout. Would have loved to see more from the character of Leviticus ahaha I understand something had to be cut for time? Gutting.

We’ve gotta give a special shoutout to your “all four elements at once” moment though — an absolute gem, and something that would’ve maybe gotten more love if you’d been a finalist.

On a technical level this was the most competent from the schools this year - great shot structure, composition, lighting etc. But it’s a shame you had to squash/noise isolate so much of your dialogue, particularly at the start, it was quite distracting.

Sadly the story itself ended up too clogged and for the judges to really embrace. Also there were critiques that it’s not holiday enough/didn’t really align with the expectations of this genre, something that many films got called out on this year. We also feel perhaps this story would have been better set outdoors, in an environment that allows the whole cult vibe to really be embraced, as opposed to what is clearly just a teenager's home.
At the end of the day, story is king, and when you’re up against death itself hahahahahaha

THE BEST THING: That music! And an overall very strong contender this year, wonderful given how young you all are.

THE NEXT THING: Given you have so many great things going for you as far as performance and technical is concerned, all you need is a tighter story. Don’t break our heart and not come back next year, we want to hold onto as many graduating teams as we can - don’t let us down!