SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2025 REVIEW! The camera’s power to assault regular life is showcased in the low-res anarchistic comedy short The Sweater, written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Maziyar Khatam. Anya (Anya Chirkova) is fed up with all the piles of clothes on the floor and demands Maz (Maziyar Khatam) go donate them. He does so reluctantly and later complains to his buddies Dylan (Dylan Ray Hatton) and Jake (Jake Shannon) about the whole ordeal. Maz is especially downtrodden about losing a sweater with a big mushroom on it that his grandmother gave him. He never wore it at all, but it had sentimental value to him. His buddies harangue him over giving in so easily. If Maz gives in to Anya over this, she will lord over his every move moving forward. Plus, it’s his sweater, dammit! Goaded up, Maz wholeheartedly agrees and goes on a quest to local his donated mushroom sweater. It isn’t easy at all.
“Maz wholeheartedly agrees and goes on a quest to local his donated mushroom sweater.”
It may be all about a pullover, but The Sweater is a kick in the pants. The high amusement factor here is the guerrilla method employed by Khatam by not informing pedestrians that he is making a movie. This gets especially funny when passers-by try to help Maz get into the donation box at night. All the dialogue is improvised, which unleashes a natural energy that runs around kicking the walls down. According to Khatam, the short’s momentum is fueled by a healthy admiration of the works of Harmony Korine. This is easily seen in both the prank setups and the lo-fi visuals on vintage cameras. If you are a connoisseur of outdated resolution like I am, then you are in for a feast here. The standard frame image is filled with more grain than a wheat field and is absolutely visually delicious. Most satisfying of all is how Khatam wraps everything up with the perfect tone being struck. The Sweater is rough on purpose, raw by nature, and amusing as f**k.
The Sweater screened at the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival.
"…unleashes a natural energy that runs around kicking the walls down."
