For my first "mini" experience, I went to the Esquire Theater with Ian to watch a short, Indie, art film titled Krisha. We both arrived early, which is rather unusual for me in reference to movies, got our tickets, and found some seats in the quaint theater. The movie lasted 83 minutes, and I have got to say that it was an incredibly moving, touching, and inspiring film about a life struggling with substance addiction.
Perhaps the most interesting and intriguing aspect of the movie is the story it has off the screen. After watching the movie, I got lost in a Wiki hole, reading article after article about the various aspects of the movie. First of all, it was popular in 2015, and won three prestigious awards at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The director, Trey Shults, is only 27 years young and created Krisha as his debut feature film and has since been sky rocketed into the film industry with offers coming from every direction of every magnitude. The lead actress, Krisha Fairchild as Krisha, is Trey’s aunt and has been acting her entire life and only now has been really put on the map. Trey says that he designed the entire movie for his aunt, and when they were finally ready to start filming, they did it completely in 7 short days. Trey’s whole family stepped in! Even their senile great grandma made an appearance as just that kind of character. I encourage you to read up about this movie if you decide to see it or not.
Since hearing yet another story of a young person achieving incredible heights in an industry that seems to be locked down by a huge corporation, in this case Hollywood, I have been inspired to stay persistent in my passions no matter what the obstacles seem to be. In the end, they may be a blessing. If Krisha had more than a $5000 budget, or filmed it over the course of a few years instead of one week, it would have been an entirely different film, and maybe miss out on the awards it won. I tip my hat to Trey for being an incredible young director to change the game, and to Krisha herself for never giving up in her life long acting career, despite losing part of her right pointer finger only a month before filming started.