Two narrative features and short films from Reel Love Fest: each dealing with love in their own ways, whether romantic, familial or beyond.

Lorelei (2020 | USA | 111 minutes | Sabrina Doyle)

I’m very rarely speechless about a film even as the lights are just pulling up during the end credits, but I had to sit in quiet for a few after watching Lorelei. It wasn’t particularly moving or life-changing, but it uprooted feelings of nostalgia and long-gone tropes from my past.

Wayland (Pablo Schreiber) is finally released from prison after a 15-year sentence whittled his youth away and separated him from the love of his life. In turn Dolores (Jena Malone) had her love ripped away just as she was making plans to get out of their hometown and dare to dream a different life. Flash forward and they are both living in circumstances more akin to their worst case scenario than the dreams they first conjured. They quickly try to pick up where they left off but reality is always harsher than we want it to be and while Wayland fights to stay straight and out of prison, Dolores fights to regain a sense of the young woman she once was.

Nowhere near perfect, you still want Dolores and Wayland to find some semblance of happiness. While they’ve both done terrible things, we all see a bit of ourselves in the desire to be loved and to love someone that gets and accepts exactly who we are. It left me feeling a bit dazed but most likely ruminating on their story for days. Schreiber and Malone were superbly cast and each added depth to their character that strengthened and sharpened the pain and subtle joy each obviously had roiling inside. No wonder it won a Reel Love Fest Jury Award.

Through the Night (2020 | USA | 75 minutes | Loira Limbal)

It’s no secret that black and brown communities have been left to care for themselves and their children for decades. With little to no help from the government and a system that is set up to keep these communities poor and undereducated, they have to turn to each other for the love and support they desperately need. That’s not to say they aren’t fully capable and incredibly strong people, but they certainly can’t count on outside help. That’s where Deloris “Nunu” Hogan and her husband Patrick “Pop pop” Hogan come in.

A pillar of strength and light, these two have become surrogate family members for mothers, fathers, and children alike. In New York state they run a 24-hour daycare that allows folks with little choice but to take a low-paying job and far too many hours to keep a roof over their heads and food in their children’s bellies. Documentary, Through the Night, follows them as they happily trudge a never-ending job both physically and mentally exhausting. It also sheds light on the toll something like this can take on someone who cares more about others than themselves. Despite the short run time, the film packs a wallop and throws you into the protagonists’ shoes in the hopes of garnering empathy and truth from their story.

The Poet and the Plant (2019 | USA | 10 minutes | Tom Basis, Robert Summerlin)

Quirky and enchanting, this short is narrated by a plant whose countenance is reminiscent of Emma Thompson in Stranger Than Fiction. As I sat there watching, surrounded by my my new family of pandemic plants, I couldn’t help but feel slightly attacked and very seen. Feeling not so lonely surrounded by constantly growing friends that need you to survive is something I’m very familiar with and in the end was delighted by this vague re-enactment of my own story.

Still Wylde (2020 | USA/Canada | 12 minutes | Ingrid Haas)

I thought I’d already reached the epitome of gut-wrenching in this fest until I encountered Still Wylde. A brash and honest look at pregnancy in all its forms and how loss can change you even if you come out ok on the other side. Director and lead Ingrid Haas is affecting and charming; I look forward to seeing her in features (and/or directing them) in the future.