Elijah's Ladder

What a powerful film. So impressed it was a solo project, and your film poster is perfect for this too. I don't even know if I can find words to convey what watching this was like. It gripped, and it left me feeling all kinds of things. I needed a beat afterwards to process, and I wanna go watch it again.

Repeating the words as you climbed built the anticipation. I wanted to see what you saw, I wanted to connect the dots too. The whole thing felt like a poem.

So, so good.

Also your team intro was great haha.

A stairwell, a cellphone camera, intrusive thoughts, and a trip to Warehouse Stationery is all you needed to create one of the most effective character pieces 48Hours has had in a while. By accepting severe limitations, your film forces the audience to interpret what exactly Elijah is going through. A creative risk that paid off. An thoroughly engaging film. Top stuff!

This was the most memorable film of the evening. An extremely heartfelt film, clearly based on the real-world experiences of somebody. As a conservative Christian I found this deeply thought-provoking, a valuable reminder that some people's experience of religion is sadly one of hate rather than love, and a personal challenge.

From a filmmaking perspective, the film starts very humorously, and draws the viewer into the serious topics being addressed in a gradual manner, gradually stepping "up the ladder" in a way that keeps the viewer engaged with Elijah's experiences without ever feeling "preachy". An enormous amount of information and emotion is conveyed with a small number of carefully chosen words and well crafted delivery.

I enjoyed speaking with Mark after the heat, and am very impressed that he was able to film this in only half the weekend, having also filmed for another team before beginning this! From what I've seen so far, this would be my pick for best solo/duo film. Well done.

For me I was really drawn into the film, big time, and its a strong reminder to everyone that a lot of the most successful shorts are a slice of action. There's a reason they changed the time limit to 5 minutes max in this comp and this is a perfect example of how to make your short work and stand out.

An intriguing, surreal and surprising film that calls to mind several genre films from yesteryear. The looping staircase, the mysterious 'Elijah', and our protagonist who were are genuinely along for the ride with whether POV up the stairs or straight into their eyeballs for comedic relief.

Where the film shone was by breaking up any idea of the stairs being mundane by ramping up the revelations with each beat. From a simple action, to a relationship reveal to dark familial territory it was never obvious where the film was going to go.

A journey that may divide audiences, but I felt absolutely captivated by. Great work Mark!

What got my attention:
Intentionally unsettling in the continual, literal journey up the staircase symbolising both the struggles with sexuality but also, since the camera follows around and around on repeat, the frustration with feeling like you’re going around and around with finding yourself. The discovery of little treasures that trigger happy and painful memories was super clever, and we got a fully committed performance from our lead.

Take it or leave it:
As we pretty much saw the same stairwell (given the position of the cars outside didn’t change are we to surmise that this was intentional (the going round-and-round bit) or just efficient film-making and not wanting to traverse the stairs over and over? Probably all three - and smart! However, you do look out for the cuts (hope they are there ha-ha as it is well edited) which did pull me out of it a bit. Likewise, the close-ups on the eyes are wildly out of focus, but again, you can claim it was an intentional choice and get away with it – the lack of clarity of our sole character. It’s sure a risk to do things on repeat, but you are drawn in and intrigued at what our lead will find next to haunt or inspire him.

Final hot air:
A really heartfelt, absorbing short that is no doubt very personal. You could argue that a lot of the situations are cliché, but I imagine that is the experience and the frustration with it. And who am I to argue with that? Great job!

Loved your film. So good. So so sad, that's such a distressing experience for Elijah, and for the parent. I hope the entire family shunned the church and stuck together. Made me want to cry.
I love this is a solo film, so inspirational.
Such a veteran of 48Hrs, of course you pulled it off!
Just brilliant