We were really impressed with the trailer for The Shaman when it came out in March. And now, after a successful run at film festivals, you can finally see it for yourself.
At seventeen minutes, The Shaman is a bit longer than many other shorts, but that’s not to its detriment. It just contributes to the overall sense that what you’re actually seeing is a full cinematic feature film—which makes sense, since it was originally conceived as one. Marco Kalantari (Ainoa) uses every second he has to full effect. We have would-building, effective exposition, action scenes, and a confrontation that’s all about willpower.
The premise is that a war is being waged–a war in which shamans are used to visit the afterlife, in order to talk to the souls of the enemy’s war machines. A few minutes of conversation can bring these souls over–a victory for the shamans. But in a battle with one of them, a shaman gets a bit more than he bargained for.