We Have Decided Not To Die

I saw this not too long ago. It was really late at night and I couldn't get to sleep. The television was on and I found myself participating in the common act of channel surfing. I can't remember what station I finally bother to stop on, but it had been showing various short films. I decided that I could watch worse things and decided to give the short movies a try. What I ended up watching blew me away.

I was utterly entranced by what I saw on my screen. People. All in white. And they were... I couldn't be sure of what I was seeing. It confused me greatly. Confused, yet at the same time I understood what was taking place. It made sense in a surreal way, I could see the logic in this thing that confounded me. But this made it all the more perplexing. What was this thing I was seeing?

I would later come to find that I was watching what can probably be considered one of the greatest short films of all time: Daniel Askill's We Have Decided Not To Die. A highly decorated Australian, Daniel Askill's film has aired in multiple film festivals world wide and has won several awards including (but not limited to) Flickerfest's Best Australian Film, Brooklyn Film Fest's Best Experimental Film, and the South by Southwest BAFTA Award. And it isn't hard to see how Askill could gain so much recognition.

We Have Decided Not To Die is a powerful picture despite its almost ten minute run time. The cool tones and colors create an almost distilling effect on his characters and locals, making the images on the screen come to life yet keeping them uncomfortable and dead. There's an air of unease, of pondering through out the film and one can't help but feel the surreal chill that appears to waft from the screen and into one's chest. And though strange, it feels a little too familiar.

Hopefully, you'll understand once you watch it for yourself.

Link to the short film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSO-PJXnj7o

Link to list of awards: http://www.wehavedecidednottodie.com/