Shannon Goodfellow says her prayers in her review of Nadia Moosa's debut short.
Confronting deep inner shame is much like peeling an orange, stripping the pristine outer layer away to discover that rot has already set in. After leaving Utah and the Mormon Church behind, new student Mark (Leighton Hester) meets Anna (Sophia Maiorano) on his first day of senior year. As romance blooms, Mark finds himself at odds with desire and religious guilt, his turmoil festering and warping his reality with disastrous consequences.
In her debut short film, writer and director Nadia Moosa explores the consequences of religious trauma and obsession, and the terrible ripple effect it causes. What initially plays out like the beginnings of a rom-com, set in a vibrant and picturesque suburbia to the strum of a jaunty guitar, soon shifts to a tone of unease. The camera becomes more dynamic and involved, focusing heavily on religious motifs, as the tentative romance turns hostile.
During moments of connection between the characters, Mark is plagued with imposing visions of Anna. They strike in flashes, parallel shots that are quite literally day and night, showcasing the mirrored reality Mark slips into. The imaginations are initially ethereal yet ominous as Mark feels the first spark of attraction, Anna appearing like a misshapen angel. As the film goes on, the visions become filled with malice, the demonic vision of Anna taking over as the real Anna is slowly eroded from the narrative. The excellent make-up and styling in these portions, paired with desaturation of colour and harsh lighting, greatly elevate this chilling insight into Mark’s psyche.
Moosa crafts a suffocating atmosphere that impressively touches on several ways institutional-instilled shame is a blade turned outwards as well as in. Specifically, how Mark’s feelings of repression and fixation lead to lashing out at Anna. The volatile impulse to place the blame on a woman for “tempting” and “corrupting”, with a lack of accountability for his own thoughts, highlights the undercurrent of misogyny in his mindset.
Within such a short timeframe, Moosa skilfully conjures a layered and sharp short, showcasing how mortification and entitlement cause a perpetual cycle of misery.
In The Season Thereof screened in Strand C at Imbolg: Women Who Terrify Film Festival on 31st January 2026 and won the Síle na Gig Award for Best Student Film.
