Curfew (2012 film)

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Curfew
Curfew short film poster.png
Promotional poster
Directed by Shawn Christensen
Written byShawn Christensen
Produced by Damon Russell
Mara Kassin
Andrew Napier
Starring Fátima Ptacek
Shawn Christensen
Kim Allen
CinematographyDaniel Katz
Edited byShawn Christensen
Evan Henke
Music byDarren Morze
Production
company
Fuzzy Logic Pictures
Release date
Running time
19 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Curfew is a 2012 American short film directed by Shawn Christensen. The film won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film at the 85th Academy Awards. [1]

Contents

The short is the basis for a feature film which premiered at SXSW 2014 titled Before I Disappear .

Plot

Richie is in the process of ending his life in a bathtub when he gets a call from his estranged sister, Maggie, asking him to look after his niece, Sophia, for the night. Richie cancels his plans and sets out to babysit his niece.

When he meets Sophia, she makes it clear that she has no interest in talking to him, nor does she seem to care much about him. Richie mentions that he drew flipbooks when he was younger, starring a protagonist named "Sophia", and that he wonders if his sister got Sophia’s name from those flipbooks. He then takes Sophia to an old rundown building where he used to live, and finds the flipbooks he wants to show her, but Sophia gets scared and wants to go home.

After Richie apologizes, they return to the bowling alley and Sophia starts asking all about his life. They start to become friends, and Richie admits that the reason he hasn't been allowed to see her all these years is because he once dropped Sophia on her head while taking care of her as a baby. Sophia finds this incident amusing, just as her favorite song comes on over the loudspeakers. Suddenly, everyone in the bowling alley seems to be dancing along with the song, except for Richie. Sophia begs him to dance with her, tugging at his arm until his wrist comes out of its sleeve, revealing his suicide attempt. Richie snaps back to reality.

When Richie brings Sophia back home, he notices a restraining order sitting on the kitchen table, citing assault and harassment. His sister comes back looking bruised and she thanks Richie for his help, but she wants him to leave. She doesn’t want her daughter having any more "false idols". Richie tells her how much he looked up to her when they were younger, and how much he still looks up to her now. He returns home to his bathtub, and attempts to continue what he started in the beginning but Maggie interrupts him with a phone call again, this time on nicer terms.

Awards

Awards for Curfew
YearAssociationAward CategoryStatus
2013 Academy Awards Best Short Film - Live ActionWon
Prescott Film FestivalBest Narrative Short FilmWon
CortopolisAudience AwardWon
Lakecity International Short Film FestivalBest Foreign FilmWon
Hill County Film Festival Best Short FilmWon
Vaughan Film FestivalBest Short FilmWon
Best ActressWon
Film CaravanAudience AwardWon
Rincon International Film FestivalBest ActressWon
Best Short FilmWon
2012 Stockholm International Film Festival Best Short FilmWon
Nashville Film Festival Best Narrative Short FilmWon
Cleveland International Film Festival Best Live Action Short FilmWon
Woodstock Film Festival Best Short NarrativeWon
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival Audience Award (International)Won
Brussels Short Film Festival Best ActorWon
Audience Award (International)Won
Ozu International Film FestivalGrand Jury PrizeWon
Audience AwardWon
Sapporo Short Film FestivalBest Young ActressWon
Audience AwardWon
Granada International Film FestivalBest International Short FilmWon
Seattle Shorts Film FestivalGrand Jury PrizeWon
Best DirectorWon
Best ActorWon
Short Shorts Film FestivalAudience Award (International)Won
Tacoma Film FestivalBest Narrative Short FilmWon
24fps Int'l Short Film FestivalBest ActorWon
Silver MedalWon
Audience AwardWon
15 Short Film FestivalAudience AwardWon
Concorto Film FestivalYouth Jury AwardWon
La Boca Del Lobo Int'l Film FestivalBest International Short FilmWon
Soria International Short Film FestivalBest ScreenplayWon
Grand Jury Prize (International)Won
Audience AwardWon
Youth Jury Award (International)Won
Windsor International Film Festival Can-Am People's Choice AwardWon
Williamstown Film FestivalChristopher Reeve Audience AwardWon
Saguenay International Short Film Festival Creativity PrizeWon
Abitibi-Temiscamingue Int'l Film FestivalBest Short FilmWon
Du Grain a Demoudre Film FestivalBest Short ScreenplayWon
Audience AwardWon
Young Cinephiles AwardWon
Jean Prevost High School AwardWon
Sequence Short Film FestivalAudience Award (International)Won
Port Townsend Film Festival Special Jury CommendationWon

Release

The film was released in February 2013 on iTunes and in a theatrical run with the other 14 Oscar-nominated short films by ShortsHD. [2]

References

  1. "Nominees for the 85th Academy Awards" . Retrieved 2013-01-10.
  2. "Oscar Nominated Short Films 2013". The New York Times . 2013.