Fitting in
Short film ‘David’ a touching tale that ‘tackles the issue of being different’
Shawn Darling wanted to make a film — one with a message.
The filmmaker and actor Jaime Powers were sitting around one morning and having a conversation about film.
Out of that, the seed was planted for the short film “David.”
Darling is the writer and director of the project.
The short film is a touching tale of a man, David, played by Powers, with an affliction and how he struggles with daily life and a difficult past.
“It has a message that tackles the issue of being different,” Darling says. “It leads you on this journey of discovery. It could be someone who is on drugs or someone who is transgender. I wanted to look at people who are bullied or looked at differently.”
Darling and Powers completed the film in about three days.
The nearly six-minute short was shot in one continuous take.
“We were fighting the sun going down,” Darling says. “It was very cool. We got a chance to focus on line delivery.”
Darling’s forte is in makeup and creatures, so making “David” was a welcome break.
“I had the opportunity to pay attention to the editing and coloring,” Darling says. “It has this very raw feel to it.”
Powers was attracted to the film because it speaks to a lot of people.
“It was simplistic dialog,” Powers says. “I had to just get raw with the dialog and the emotion. It was also great to feature this skill. I want people to see that I can do the emotional edge. The film has a documentary feel to it, and he allowed me to stretch myself as an actor.”
Powers says the script and he understood Darling’s vision.
“I was going from memory,” Powers says. “It came out exactly how it was written. Shaw has good direction skills, and it was a very fast production.”
The film can be viewed on Facebook and YouTube, and Darling says it has been submitted to about 40 film festivals.
It also was accepted into the Mesa Theater’s Indie Film Showcase in Grand Junction, Colo.
Darling also wants to set up local screenings.
“We had about 2,000 views in just 24 hours,” Darling says. “The feedback has been really good, and we’re looking forward to hearing more.”
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