Here’s another mini-review of one of the many great films that were a part of the DC Shorts Film Festival.
Despite our affluence, Americans suffer from record levels of depression. People feel disconnected from life, even in the midst of busy urban environments.
What’s missing? Jen McGowan examines this problem in her film, Touch. It’s a simple setup – two women on a train platform. Lily Knight’s performance in this short is amazing. The camera is close on her face for nearly the entire film and she communicates incredible suffering, nearly wordlessly.
We never learn why she is in pain. But, following a chance encounter with a stranger, we discover what she has come to the train platform to do.
In the Q&A session following the screening of Touch, director McGowan explained that finding her lead actor was the hardest part in making this movie. She looked for months until she saw Knight, who had a bit part in another film.
Touch is a beautiful short that demonstrates the power a simple act of kindness can have on someone’s life.
