Today we dive into another maze-ish related short film from 2016, Iteration 1, directed by Jesse Lupini.

Iteration 1 (2016) (IMDB)

Here is the premise of the short film Iteration 1 : A woman (played by Katharine Isabelle who you might know from Ginger Snaps) wakes up in a bed in the middle of a well-lit white room with black grids on the walls. She has 60 seconds to, well, after 60 seconds she collapses and everything resets. Her goal, although never stated is to find a way out of the place she is in (which is about as specific as I can get because it isn’t really clear except this place is maze-like). Each time she awakens a voice declares the Iteration # she is on. This feels like a time travel/groundhog day movie where our character needs to learn from their mistakes to move forward in the time loop. And it happens after just 60 seconds in this Iteration so things are sped up.

The film is weird with little dialogue but actually fun to watch. You’ll find yourself talking to the woman and giving her suggestions based on what you might do in this situation, like, hey, maybe try this (or that). Definitely worth a viewing ! I give it a 7/10 and suggest you invest the 14 minutes you will need to watch this film.

Bonus points to the designer of the poster who used a labyrinth for the “O” in Iteration but made it off center so it looks something like a thumb print. Is this a clue ? Here is a close-up of the design in higher resolution.