CUT SHORT (2021)
A young nonbinary person comes to terms with a difficult new reality while giving a haircut to their father as he dies of cancer.
My dad was my best friend. I spent my whole life, from birth to adulthood, relying on him in every moment of need. He braided my hair in the mornings before preschool (one of many activities that led people to call him Mister Mom), he taught me to drive, and he took care of me while I was recovering from gender-affirming top surgery in 2015. He was my own personal superhero.
In February of 2019, my father was diagnosed with an incredibly rare form of cancer called Adenoid cystic carcinoma. I did not get to visit or help out nearly as much as I wanted to during the year he spent in treatment, and I made Cut Short with that in mind. The role reversal that the protagonist, Cade, undergoes with their ailing father is quietly painful. Once a child in need of guidance and support, Cade is now a caretaker during their dad's final months. We see the pair try to avoid the unavoidable while reminiscing on simpler times. In these memories, we also see a love that doesn't waver as time goes on and identies evolve.
IT'S OVER (2020)
With only five minutes to go until the end of the world, Alice makes the unimaginably brutal decision to break up with her girlfriend, Bex.
I think we can all agree the year 2020 went down in history as one of the most chaotic years on record for the planet as a whole. From wildfires and other natural disasters, to unimaginable levels of racism and transphobia, to a pandemic that has caused an inconceivable number of deaths around the planet, I’m sure 2020 felt like the end of the world to a lot of people. My world ended in 2020 when I said goodbye to my father, who died in February from a rare cancer called Adenoid cystic carcinoma. I spent the eleven months since re-learning how to exist in a world without my dad, and filmmaking has been a huge force for healing in my life.
In “It’s Over,” Alice is facing certain death and the world is literally collapsing around her; however, she still chooses to prioritize her needs and wellbeing in her final moments, even though she may not have much time to enjoy the outcome of her decision. Although Alice isn’t very kind in carrying out her choice, this reflects a huge lesson I learned in 2020—the importance of practicing kindness toward others and myself while also setting healthy boundaries with the people I invite into my life.
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