On the lighter side, though somewhat creepy at times, is the short film Squish, written, produced by, and starring Allie Leonard, and directed by Keith Powell. This is an interesting dramedy that doesn’t always go where you think it will. Squish reminded me of a more adult Toy Story movie. In those movies, the toys come to life when the kids who owned them played with them. In this film, the oddly shapeless plushy doll that Allie forms an attachment to comes to life with her own inner anxieties and her desire to escape her thoughts and feelings that she is working through in therapy.
What could have been a trite or sentimental metaphor in the Squish becomes more nuanced as being blank, it starts to reflect the very same worries that Allie was trying to push away by embracing it. Squish starts out as the relief to, and becomes the manifestation of, her anxiety. The humor and chemistry between Allie and her therapist and roommate in this film is fun, and the short ends on a positive note where Allie realizes she can have Squish, and she can have an escape from her thoughts and feelings—it’s just not realistic to think you can have that all the time.
You can watch Squish in Shorts Block No. 3 of the virtual festival for FREE from now until 11/3: https://watch.eventive.org/mentalfilmness2024/play/67020c7b64a67e00480d87a3?m=1
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