A single-shot scene may not be the most ground-breaking of film techniques, but they are still more often than not hugely impressive. Our Short of the Week Growth is no different. Short film director Sil van der Woerd creates a stunning and mesmerising single-shot by carefully stitching together multiple takes. Set in just one room in a family home, the 9 minute film covers two decades as we see the ups and downs of the parents and their two sons. Characters drift in and out of shot, looking in one direction and then appearing from another.

If you want to truly understand exactly how Woerd and the crew achieved this magnificent single-shot effect, Woerd has also put together an immersive behind the scenes video. Camera movements were cleverly duplicated through a programmable rig, giving a seamless look and feel that is never jarring. You may find yourself straining to see the joins between the shots, but you won’t have much luck.

The story itself is a fairly lightweight one, with a once happy family home slowly breaking apart and creating an air of tension. A marriage becomes strained as the years go on and the children grow up and come to resent their bickering parents; Growth is nothing original in that respect. But the film is shot in such a beautiful and absorbing way that you can look past the slightly unoriginal narrative.

The passage of time is not only shown through the children getting older and the décor around them changing, but you genuinely feel like you’re travelling through two decades as you hear snippets of music which drag you back to years gone by. It’s a subtle and gentle journey, and even though it is ultimately a sad one, it’s also one you won’t regret taking.

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INFORMATION

CAST: Gijs Blom, Sil Bosch, Medi Broekman

WRITER: Philip Delmaar

DIRECTOR: Sil Van Der Woerd

SYNOPSIS: Growth portrays the rise and downfall of a family over the course of 20 years, in one living room, in a single shot.