Sometimes, it’s difficult to keep a solid grasp on reality. With the many self-conscious, self-indulgent neuroses we as humans possess, it is amazing we can manage to walk down the street without consuming ourselves in overwhelming feelings of guilt, fear, doubt, love and anxiety. But this is life. As the movie says: “This is just something to get through, that’s all.” And this is the simple truth of Christopher Ewing’s short film “THRU,” screening Friday at the Wisconsin Film Festival.
It is impossible to give an objective perspective on a film that is sure to touch viewers in a unique and personal way, but that is the beauty of this short film. “THRU” spends 18 minutes and 13 seconds indulging us in the story of two individuals whose complexities work together with such emotional sincerity that is simultaneously tragic and touching. It is a film that portrays love and guilt in its purest, most vulnerable form, and it comes from a young filmmaker who once walked down Bascom Hill and who will always hold a special place in his heart for the city where he saw his first film festival.
Ewing started at UW as a business major, but found his true calling when he switched his major to journalism and English to pursue creative writing. A former ArtsEtc. editor at The Badger Herald, Ewing finished his degree early and decided to take as many film classes as possible during his last year in Madison.
“People in my creative writing classes always told me that my stories were very cinematic,” Ewing said. “So that pushed me in the right direction.”
When describing the premise of “THRU,” Ewing explained he knew he wanted to tell the story of man exploring a strange world without getting totally unhinged. The protagonist of “THRU,” an agoraphobic musician dealing with the guilt of a past trauma, faces the burdens of his irrational fears every day under the protection of a red sheet that allows him to hide from himself.
“My next thought,” Ewing said, “was ‘Who would fall in love with this guy?’And from there formed the central relationship.”
When anxiety-prone Dullis Overby meets opinionated artist Avel Soleil, the two flawed characters use one another for comfort, inspiration and friendship, until Avel uses Dullis’s biggest fears to create her latest and most creative art instillation.
From Ewing’s perspective, the most rewarding part of being a filmmaker is hearing how your film resonates with viewers. While making it’s way through the festival circuit, Ewing described a moment in which a woman, after seeing “THRU,” approached him to share her story. She proceeded to tell Ewing how a man very close to her had accidentally killed someone while defending her, and after seeing her loved one go to jail because of something she felt responsible for, she was deeply moved when watching “THRU.”
“It was the first time she could see that guilt manifest itself on screen,” Ewing said, “And it was amazing that she felt for the characters in that way.”
And for residents of Madison, “THRU” manages to portray fragile creatures with such raw power that the number of awards it has won thus far seems like an understatement. Winner of Best Short Film, Best Cinematography, Best Narrative and Best Editing at different festivals across the country, the editing and cinematography alone adds an entirely new dimension to the film that is completely consuming. This film will leave you both uncomfortable with its poignant take on the human psyche, yet touched and warmed at the same time.
“Sometimes reality gets iffy,” says Dullis in his opening monologue. But for those moments, films like “THRU” will bring us back down to earth, take the blanket off of our heads and open our eyes to something fresh and fearless.
“THRU” screens as a part of Shorts: Friday @ Cinemateque, 8:30 p.m., followed by a post-screening Q&A. Saturday, Ewing will be a panelist for Hollywood Badgers: Making it in Los Angeles at the Pyle Center at 1:30 p.m.
