Cultural Commentary Disguised As High School Comedy

Read Time:5 Minute, 30 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
11:11
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Genre: Short, Comedy, Fantasy, Drama
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 15m
Director(s): Mahnoor Euceph
Writer(s): Mahnoor Euceph
Cast: Tara Raani, Mahaela Park, Caiden Falstrup-Finney, Caleb White, Taylor Geare, Meghan Kolb, Stella Sepaniak
Where to Watch: showing at the 2025 HollyShorts Film Festival

RAVING REVIEW: A wish at 11:11 feels harmless enough, until the wrong wish changes everything. In Mahnoor Euceph’s short film 11:11, the seemingly light premise—a teen girl wishes to be her crush’s type—becomes the foundation for a pointed exploration of identity, belonging, and the dangers of self-erasure. In just fifteen minutes, the film blends humor with an unshakable undercurrent of discomfort, crafting something both deeply specific and universally relatable. (It’s incredible to me that within a month, I saw two films with an incredibly similar story but that feel like two entirely different messages; both were so powerful in their own ways.)

The story follows Noori, a sixteen-year-old Pakistani-American navigating the hallways of a predominantly white high school in 2009. Her social world is mapped out in cliques, casual cruelty, and the unspoken hierarchy of who gets noticed and accepted. When a rejection cuts deeper than expected, Noori makes an impulsive wish: to be exactly what her crush wants. In just moments, she finds her reflection transformed into that of a white, blonde, blue-eyed girl. What might, in a different film, be a setup for slapstick instead becomes a surreal cautionary tale.

Part of the film’s strength lies in its refusal to treat this transformation as a joke. Euceph leans into the absurdity, yes, but always through the lens of Noori’s disaffection. There’s a quiet horror in how quickly people treat her differently, how her authenticity is stripped away in favor of an image. The body-swap trope is familiar, but here it’s reimagined as a way to examine discrimination, assimilation, and the price of chasing acceptance. The fantasy element is the hook, but the subtext is the spine.

Tara Raani carries the weight of that subtext beautifully. Noori is understated but layered, allowing the audience to feel the pull between curiosity about this “new” life and the creeping fear of losing herself. The supporting cast adds texture without stealing focus. Mahaela Park’s Jasmine, in particular, offers moments of genuine connection that hint at what true belonging might look like—free from reinvention.

Visually, 11:11 effectively embraces its period setting without overwhelming the story with nostalgia. Costume designer Lara Hall nails the late-2000s aesthetic, from casual school attire to slightly overdone party looks, while production designer Sara Millan populates the world with subtle markers of its time—Facebook statuses overtaking MySpace, pop culture nods to Obama and Michael Jackson. Cinematographer Lee Müller employs a glossy, sunlit palette for the world and subtly shifts the lighting to create a dreamlike atmosphere in the altered reality of the wish.

The direction shows a steady hand with tone. Euceph allows for levity—some of the film’s dialogue has the bite of a teen comedy—but never loses sight of the story’s thematic weight. One moment might make you laugh, and the next leaves you with a pit in your stomach as the implications sink in. That ability to balance shifts without undercutting either is rare, especially in shorts, where there’s little time to recover from a misstep.

Thematically, the film excels at using a setup like this to expose real-world pressures. It’s not just about Noori’s journey—it’s a commentary on the ways people from marginalized backgrounds are conditioned to conform to ideals that erase them. By framing this within the lightness of a crush and a magical mishap, Euceph makes the commentary accessible without diluting it. This approach has the added benefit of hitting harder when the emotional cost becomes clear.

If there’s a comment to be made, it’s that the setup’s familiarity might lead some viewers to expect the style of a more conventional comedy. Those expecting hijinks may be surprised by how much space the film gives to discomfort and reflection. But for those willing to engage with what it’s doing, that choice is a strength. It uses audience expectations as a tool, setting them up for a lighter ride before steering into more challenging territory.

In the end, 11:11 succeeds because it understands that a wish to be “someone else” is never just about looks—it’s about the longing for validation, and the danger of what we give up to get it. It’s a short that stays with you, the kind that makes you reconsider how you once wished to be different, and whether that wish came from a place of joy or shame.

Given its balance of humor and languish, its visual style, and performances that ground the fantastical, this is a film that welcomes Mahnoor Euceph as a voice worth watching. It’s both entertaining and unsettling, and that’s not an easy combination to pull off. The story may center on a single wish, but it’s crafted with the kind of intent that suggests a much bigger future.

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[photo courtesy of FAMILIAR STRANGER]

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