Midlands Review of Broken
midlandsmovies • July 10, 2020
Midlands Review of Broken
Directed by Immanuel Dube
2020
Dube Productions
A woman wakes up to the sound of a man entering a flat in new short film Broken from student director Immanuel Dube.
Carrying an empty bottle and staggering to the couch, David (Darren Daly) is confronted by his partner Amanda (Michelle Darkin-Price) who chastises his destructive behaviour as she had planned a romantic night for the two of them.
But the drunken man upsets his partner by reminding her of their failure to have a baby pushing Amanda to break down crying.
Based on a true-life couple of the writer, Broken has honourable themes at its core as it tries to represent the difficulties and heartbreak of infertility and hard work involved in IVF.
And at the doctor’s surgery, the audience are reminded of the cost of the treatment and are told that this is the 4th round of treatment without success and other options could be considered.
Enjoying the floating camera work, the acting is solid but the locations are a little bland. However, they function appropriately as mere background for the two characters’ despair.
The issue of a couple struggling to conceive a baby is a unique subject matter and you feel for the character’s disappointment early. On the technical side, the short is adequate across the board without any flaws standing out but it is a little ordinary. Some further thought on lighting and cinematography would really assist its representation of the characters’ sentiments and emotional journey.
That said, it tackles hard-hitting and emotive themes in a respectable manner and leaves the audience with some alarming statistics about infertility in the UK. But also, as it does throughout, Broken makes you think about a subject matter that’s little talked about but does leave room for a bit of positivity amongst all the heartbreak.
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Pete Key, Jai Blanks and Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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