Holding Out (14:29)
James Adams; YouTube

This short was released on the YouTube channel Dust, which is for science fiction, but this felt to me a little bit more like fantasy. Actually, I wasn't entirely sure how to classify it. Could have been "paranormal", or "drama", and I considered putting it under "comics", because it's about superheroes. But I didn't go with that just because this isn't based on an actual comic book. So even if I'm not completely comfortable calling it "fantasy", that's probably the best fit among the categories of short films that I have on my site.

Anyway, a young man named Mark goes to visit his grandmother, Elizabeth, at an assisted living home. We soon learn that she's 125 years old, though she looks much younger than that. And we learn that she used to be a superhero, but now she has dementia. She forgets things, and often calls Mark "John" (who was her husband). Most importantly, she can no longer completely control her powers, so she keeps accidentally breaking things with her super strength. Because of this, she gets kicked out of the retirement home, and has to move in with Mark. He obviously cares about her very much, but is also frustrated with her. I don't really want to give away any more of the plot, but the dramatic aspects of caring for an elderly relative whose faculties are slipping parallels quite well to similar situations with real, non-fantastical people. So the short works well on that level. It's also very sweet. And the ending is about as happy as one could hope for, given the circumstances of the story.