My first superb instance of a live short film is something that was created nearly a decade ago, but it still portrays the personalities and happenstances of cyber-culture very well, particularly that of chat rooms and message boards.
The Parlor
Written & Directed by Geoffrey Haley
Released as a feature in 2001
A group of people come together in an anonymous waiting room.
All are wearing name tags. As they exchange small talk, though, we realize there's something odd:
some of them are saying things about themselves that are clearly false,
like the middle-aged man "Beth" and another middle-aged man hitting on a 14-year-old girl.- Won the AFI Fest Audience Award, as well as the Sundance Film Festival Short Filmmaking Award