‘Nadine’, ‘Carve’ & ‘Don’t Forget to Smile’ Short films (Reviews)

These are reviews by Daniel Mazz for three 2025 short films: Nadine, Carve and Don’t Forget to Smile.

Nadine

Directed by Tash Ann.

Nadine is based on true events and follows a young, famous actress named Nadine (Grace Caroline Currey) in the 1950s, who works in Hollywood but feels trapped and taken advantage of. It’s a story of her finding freedom. The film also stars Tyler Posey who I think played the director.

I really enjoyed watching Nadine. As someone with a passion for filmmaking and acting, I believe that experience definitely enhanced my appreciation of the film. The cast all deliver fantastic performances. Visually, the film is stunning — from the detailed set design to the beautifully chosen costumes, every element works together to transport the audience back to the 1950s. The attention to period detail is impressive and really helps to immerse you in that era. Knowing that the film is based on true events made it even more powerful. Nadine is an enjoyable watch for its strong performances and visuals, but also because of the real-life history behind it.

Carve

Directed by Erin Dutton.

Carve follows a girl who has a statue business and can make statues of people but unknown to everyone else she turns people who want full-body statues of themselves into permanent ones.

I really enjoyed Carve it had a good cast and a unique plot.

Despite this being a short film I really wanted to see more and wish it had been longer. It had an interesting story but I just wanted more information about the characters and if she would be caught. Some of the shots and music were good and the cast were all talented. An interesting short film that I enjoyed but left me wishing for more.

Don’t Forget to Smile

Directed by David Dulev.

Don’t Forget to Smile follows a teen girl who gets a mysterious follow request from a random account but is there more haunting to it

I found this short horror film to be rather strange and odd it had an ok start but it left me with more questions than answers and I didn’t think it explained or answered anything. Don’t 4get2 smile felt like the opening scene for a full horror supernatural film but it didn’t tell us anything about the haunting. I was also curious to see if people who had smiled would they have survived yet it didn’t show us. This short film was sadly a bit of a let-down

Thank you Imagine Fantastic Film Festival for the opportunity to watch Carve and Don’t Forget to Smile.