A Bride, a Secret, and No Easy Answers

MOVIE REVIEW
Travel Plans
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Genre: Drama, Short
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 3m
Director(s): Zoey Sidwell
Writer(s): Krista Amigone
Cast: Krista Amigone, Sean-Michael Boozer, Jared Boghosian
Where to Watch: shown at the LA Shorts International Film Festival

RAVING REVIEW: You think you know where it's going—until you don't. TRAVEL PLANS is the kind of short film that weaponizes brevity, using its compact runtime not to rush through a narrative but to unearth discomfort. It's about what’s said but what’s never spoken aloud. Marking the directorial debut of Zoey Sidwell, this film is sharp, quiet, and deeply unsettling in all the right ways.

The premise sounds simple: a bride, just married, finds herself needing to deal with something unexpected before she can step into the future she’s just promised. But TRAVEL PLANS isn’t a wedding drama or a relationship dissection in the traditional sense. It's a moral pressure cooker. The script barely spans a few pages, but the weight of what happens in that space will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Sidwell has a knack for choosing material that challenges audiences. Her director’s statement highlights a fascination with the uncomfortable subject matter, and this exploration is evident here. Rather than flinch from a morally ambiguous situation, she zooms in—figuratively and literally. The film doesn't force an answer on the viewer. Its restraint is what makes it feel so haunting. There's no grand declaration, no closure, just a series of glances, choices, and the sinking realization that the story isn't quite finished when the screen goes black.

What makes this short remarkable isn't just its subject matter—it's the way Sidwell handles it. She doesn’t go for shock value or melodrama. Instead, she leans into tension and stillness, knowing exactly how to let silence stretch and weigh on you. The direction is confident, never rushed, with a clarity of tone that’s rare even in more seasoned filmmakers. The camera stays close, almost claustrophobically so, within the constraints of the car, heightening the emotional pressure.

The casting deserves considerable recognition. The lead performance by Krista Amigone as Erin, the bride is raw and grounded, capturing a particular mix of joy, fear, and doubt that bubbles up during high-stakes life transitions. There's a vulnerability to her silence, a quiet resilience in the way she processes what’s unfolding. Even without extensive dialogue, Amigone (who also wrote the film) conveys a storm of conflicting emotions that are impossible to ignore.

One of the most effective aspects of TRAVEL PLANS is its ambiguity. It's the kind of film that some viewers will want to discuss immediately, while others may sit in silence, unsure of how to process their feelings. It doesn’t offer a definitive moral stance, and that’s exactly what makes it so impactful. Sidwell isn’t interested in answers. She’s interested in reactions. And when that statement arrives, you're left turning over every line, every pause, wondering what it all meant.

Some viewers might crave more resolution or more detail. But Sidwell’s choice to withhold clarity isn’t a flaw—it’s a calculated decision that gives the story its edge. Not every film needs to guide its audience by the hand, and TRAVEL PLANS trusts its viewers to navigate discomfort on their terms. I think that lack of knowledge makes the film far more powerful.

The short’s premiere at the LA Shorts International Film Festival—a major platform with Oscar and BAFTA qualifying status—makes sense. While other debut films try to impress through complexity or visual gimmicks, TRAVEL PLANS takes the opposite route: it’s confident in its quiet, trusting that the premise and performances will speak louder than spectacle ever could. I want to know more, I want to hear the full story, but I also love that I don’t have all the pieces to this puzzle.

As a debut, it's a clear indicator that Sidwell is a filmmaker to watch. Her voice feels formed, her choices deliberate. It’s hard to believe this is her first outing behind the camera, given the precision of tone and the maturity with which she tackles such thorny material. And with her multicultural background—growing up in Israel with Moroccan and Polish heritage—it’s no surprise that her storytelling instincts are rooted in complexity and nuance. She doesn’t paint in black and white; she leans into the gray.

TRAVEL PLANS isn’t just a strong debut—it’s a signal of intent. Sidwell has a voice, a vision, and a fearlessness in approaching the kind of stories many would rather ignore. It’s a quiet triumph, the kind that leaves a lasting impression, not through resolution, but by handing the audience a question and letting them sit with it.

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