Cinequest Film Festival 2025 – Writer/director Lukas Galle‘s short film One Last Dance is set in an unknown sci-fi world. Yet, this universe is quite contained. In fact, it never leaves Clara’s (Lara Ziffer) room. Like any good sci-fi work, the short is grounded in human emotions and relatable conflict.

In the opening seconds, Clara informs her mom that she won’t be coming to dinner. Very shortly after, it becomes clear why Clara won’t attend dinner or meet up with her family. She connects with her lover Victor (Emmanuel Ajayi). He appears as a hologram, and the thought of connecting with a lover, whether dead or alive, through a hologram, isn’t that far-fetched. We’ve already seen companies create holograms of Tupac, Elvis, among others, for various concerts and other entertainment events. It’s likely that in a near-future we can perhaps interact with holograms of loved ones. That’s why the general premise of this film doesn’t seem all that unlikely.

It’s evident that Victor and Clara have a loving and intense relationship. They hug and cling to each other, though because Victor is a hologram, their time together has its limits. There’s a clock set to three minutes. The two simply try to make the most of their limited time together. Yet, Clara makes a decision at the film’s conclusion, despite Victor’s warnings. It’s the conflict at the center of the short. What’s unclear, however, are the stakes. What happens if Clara goes with Victor and time runs out? Does she die? Does she transport to another dimension? The film doesn’t clarify the consequences of ignoring the clock.

One Last Dance offers a concept that’s not all that fantastic, the idea of connecting with a lover through a hologram, AI, or whatever you want to call it. This seems like a near future scenario. Galle has an interesting concept here that deserves more attention. This short is an intriguing tease of what I hope expands to a feature-length film.