Official synopsis: A corporate employee finds himself in a fight to survive Monday morning after breaking the most sacred of office rules: If you don’t have a good weekend, we can’t have a good week.
No matter the group work setting, the social norms of folkways, mores, taboos, and laws are at play, though they of course can differ from place to place. One folkway in the average office setting is the Monday question of how a fellow coworker’s Friday evening through Sunday went, with the expected reply of “Good!”, which writer/director Cam Banfield sends up in his existential horror comedy short How Was Your Weekend?.
Steven (James Morosini) isn’t off to a hot start on the Monday morning in which the short is set. His girlfriend broke up with by way of voicemail, and he repeatedly listens to it. Before he even starts his workday, coworkers begin to barrage him with the titular question. When he can’t honestly reply in a positive manner, his supervisor Nancy (Rachael Harris) harangues him about how the whole office can be affected by his negative manner. From here, the short escalates into a dizzying display of existential horror.
Morosini nails the confusion and angst that his character suffers, while Harris plays her villainous boss with verve. A large cast of supporting players is likely to remind viewers of people they work or have worked with.
Banfield tackles the absurdities of groupthink and the awkwardness that can be found in workplace culture, serving up a wickedly funny short that will hit all too close to home for many viewers. How Was Your Weekend? builds toward a crazy climax, including a nerve-wracking sequence with a familiar piece of office equipment.
How Was Your Weekend? had its world premiere on March 8, 2025, at SXSW. The festival took place March 7–15 in Austin, Texas.
