WORTH WATCHING

Watch: Excellent Short 'Are You Still There?' About Dealing with Grief

by Alex Billington
January 10, 2022
Source: YouTube

"Do you know how many times I jump started the car?" This excellent short film made by filmmaking duo Rayka Zehtabchi & Sam A. Davis is worth your time to watch. It screened at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival and Seattle Film Festival last year, and is available thanks to Short of the Week. Are You Still There? is about a young Iranian-American woman stuck parked in a parking lot with a dead battery. It's about much more than just that, dealing with grief and the journey of processing it. "Safa's been through a lot. Now her car battery's dead in a strip mall parking lot." It's best to let you experience and pick up on everything as the film plays out. It runs only 14 minutes and every single minute is valuable. Starring Safa Tarifi as Safa, and Rima Haddad as Roya. It's shot in Los Angeles on a hot summer day. Made by super talented filmmakers.

Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip on this one. Short description from YouTube: "On the list of most frustrating things that could happen on a given day, having a car that won’t start is definitely up there. Safa already has a lot on her mind, so when her battery dies in a parking lot, she is stuck, frustrated, and is given reason to confront more about her life than an unreliable automobile." Are You Still There? is both written and directed by filmmaking duo Rayka Zehtabchi (visit her official site) & Sam A. Davis (visit his official site) - known for SHn(y)o͞of and the 2019 Oscar-winner Period. End of Sentence. This is produced by Reef Oldberg, co-produced by Sarah Bazzi. With cinematography & editing & sound design also by Sam A. Davis. For more details on the short, visit SOTW or Sam's site. To discover more shorts, click here. Your thoughts?

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