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Captured by the Los Angeles-based filmmakers Liv Layhee and Caydon LiRocchi during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Beautiful! (2020) follows the young couple as they face a potential unplanned pregnancy. Shot on VHS, the grainy home video aesthetic adds an intimate layer to the proceedings as the two take turns filming while they await life-altering news. The resulting short is distinctive in style and endearing in its honesty, capturing the drama that inherently accompanies such a pivotal moment, as well as the mix of humour, creativity and numerous cats that makes their relationship idiosyncratic.
Directors: Liv Layhee, Caydon LiRocchi
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Technology and the self
A haunting scene from ‘Minority Report’ inspires a voyage into time and memory
7 minutes
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Family life
The stream-of-consciousness thoughts and memories that emerge while cooking a meal
5 minutes
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Family life
The precious family keepsakes that hold meaning for generations
10 minutes
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Neuroscience
This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience
2 minutes
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Information and communication
Coverage of the ‘balloon boy’ hoax forms a withering indictment of for-profit news
17 minutes
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Childhood and adolescence
Marmar is living through a devastating war – but she’d rather tell you about her new dress
8 minutes
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Meaning and the good life
Wander through the English countryside with two teens trying to make sense of the world
10 minutes
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Art
A puppeteer makes sense of an overwhelming world by shrinking it down to size
5 minutes
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Personality
A ‘dumpster archeologist’ reconstructs strangers’ stories via what they’ve discarded
14 minutes