Marriaginalia

Bluesky

“One who lives must be prepared for change,” says a caption at the start of this very short short film, which screened at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. it’s one of several inspirational quotes that appear between scenes, establishing a sort of serene social acceptance of the events they address.

These are the sort of events that might occur in any marriage, albeit somewhat exaggerated in form. Two of them have medical connotations which might be worrying, but the fabric of the relationship stretches and resettles, prioritising comfort, reassurance. The other is just peculiar, out of proportion to daily life, appropriately presented using forced perspective. At the time there is uncertain silence; one can imagine that in the future, at weddings and, perhaps, funerals, it will be talked about again and again, each telling accompanied by uproarious and thinly justified laughter.

An acknowledgement that it’s not usually the big things like births and affairs and career decisions that shape a marriage, but rather all the little details round the edges, Marriaginalia is a delightfully surreal slice of life. Great set dressing fills out the story of the couple and their doting chihuahua, giving them intense particularity. Stars Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll and Kayla Lorette give the film a lived-in feeling and a lot of heart. It’s another triumph for the persistently inventive Hannah Cheesman, and a bite-sized reminder of why even marriages that seem mediocre to outsiders can be desperately compromising and a source of secret joys.

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