Not a short story, but a short film this time: Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody? by Miranda July puts a surveyor in the position of asking a very uncomfortable question. How people assess how others assess them can lead to some discomfort.

This is a spare, simple film, only a few minutes long and with a cast of four. But it’s evocative, as a short story should be: who is this man giving this odd survey? Is he working for someone, or is this a private question? And what does his wife, who has him giving away oranges, think of this behavior?

If short stories are endangered by limited outlets for exposure, short films are even more so. If the story collection is overshadowed by self-help books and potboiler thrillers, what of the short film against blockbuster special effects vehicles? Show this neglected art form a little love if you get a chance; like the short story, they work on subtle, quiet levels that will haunt you much longer than the last remake of an old action flick.