David (2020 film)

Last updated
David
Directed by Zach Woods
Written byBrandon Gardner
Zach Woods
Produced by
  • Zach Woods
  • Kevin Chinoy
  • Francesca Silvestri
  • Andrew Porter
  • Lana Kim
  • Jett Steiger
Starring
CinematographyAndre Lascaris
Edited byNick Paley
Production
companies
  • Freestyle Picture Company
  • Ways & Means
Distributed bySalaud Morisset
Release date
  • September 11, 2020 (2020-09-11)(TIFF)
Running time
12 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

David is a 2020 American comedy-drama short film, directed by Zach Woods and written by Woods and Brandon Gardner. It stars Will Ferrell, William Jackson Harper and Fred Hechinger. It concerns a therapist's attempts to balance his relationships between his wrestler son and his suicidal patient, both named David. It is distributed worldwide by the International Production & Distribution company Salaud Morisset. [2]

Contents

It had its world premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2020. It was the only American short film selected for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

David calls his therapist to schedule an appointment after having suicidal thoughts. As they are in the middle of a session, a young man in a wrestler's uniform runs up and bangs on the window. The therapist tells David to ignore him, but the young man comes in. It turns out that the young man, also named David, is the therapist's son and was preparing for a match he is to have with a "beast" named Andy Doan. The therapist was supposed to attend, but he chose to put it off in favor of helping David. Despite David saying it is okay to postpone the session, the therapist insists that he stay and that young David leave. Father and son get into an argument about their relationship and the therapist's insistence that David's problem is more important, despite David becoming more and more detached from the situation. When young David claims that he will get a wrestler's scholarship, the therapist tells him that he will not because he barely made the team, resulting in a short fight and young David telling him that he is not a good father. The therapist tells him that it is difficult to take back things that have been said and young David cries. David, sympathizing with young David, goes up and hugs him. Later, young David wrestles Andy Doan and loses almost immediately. As he stands back up, he looks into the crowd to see both his father and David, who stand up and applaud his effort, have come to see him and smiles.

Cast

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2020. [3] The film was initially set to world premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival in May 2020, prior to its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] It was also set to screen at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2020, prior to its cancellation. [5] It was released on the Team Coco YouTube channel on December 1, 2021. [6]

Awards

Since its launch, the film has been selected in many festivals around the world.

YearFestivalAward/CategoryStatus
2021IE Short film festivalSpecial mention short film
2020Encounters International Film FestivalIMDbPro International Audience AwardWon [7]
2020 AFI Fest Live Action Short FilmNominated [8]
2020 2020 Cannes Film Festival Short Film Palme d'Or Nominated [9]
2020 Leeds International Film Festival Louis le Prince International Short Film CompetitionNominated [10]
2020 PÖFF Shorts International Short Film CompetitionNominated [11]
2020Bogotá Short Film FestivalBest Fiction Short FilmNominated [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Mackenzie (director)</span> British film director

David Mackenzie is a Scottish film director and co-founder of the Glasgow-based production company Sigma Films. He has made ten feature films including Young Adam (2003), Hallam Foe (2007), Perfect Sense (2011) and Starred Up (2013). In 2016, Mackenzie's film Hell or High Water premiered at Cannes and was theatrically released in the United States in August. The same year he executive produced Damnation, a TV pilot for Universal and USA Network. Mackenzie also directed Outlaw King (2018), a historical film for Netflix. Mackenzie and his films have been described as not fitting neatly into any particular genre or type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dardenne brothers</span> Belgian film directors, screenwriters and film producers

Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, collectively referred to as the Dardenne brothers, are a Belgian filmmaking duo. They write, produce, and direct their films together. They also own the production company Les Films du Fleuve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertrand Bonello</span> French filmmaker, composer, and actor (born 1968)

Bertrand Bonello is a French film director, screenwriter, producer, composer and actor. His work has been associated with the New French Extremity. He wrote and directed Something Organic (1998), The Pornographer (2001),Tiresia (2003), Cindy: The Doll Is Mine (2005), On War (2008), House of Tolerance (2011), Saint Laurent (2014), Nocturama (2016), Zombi Child (2019), Coma (2022), and The Beast (2023). He also starred in Portrait of the Artist (2015), and Titane (2021). He was nominated for the César Award for Best Director for Saint Laurent, and was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short Film Palme d'Or</span> Award

The Short Film Palme d'Or is the highest prize given to a short film at the Cannes Film Festival. Since the creation of the Cinéfondation section in 1998, a common Official Jury awards the Short Film Palme d'Or as well as the prizes for the three best films of the Cinéfondation.

La Cinéfondation is a foundation under the aegis of the Cannes Film Festival, created to inspire and support the next generation of international filmmakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruben Östlund</span> Swedish film director and screenwriter (born 1974)

Ruben Östlund is a Swedish filmmaker best known for his black comedic and satirical films Force Majeure (2014), The Square (2017) and Triangle of Sadness (2022). He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Palmes d'Or, four European Film Awards and nominations for three Academy Awards.

<i>Bastards</i> (2013 film) 2013 film

Bastards is a 2013 thriller film directed by Claire Denis. It stars Vincent Lindon and Chiara Mastroianni. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabe Polsky</span> American film producer

Gabe Polsky is an American film director, writer and producer.

<i>The Distance Between Us and the Sky</i> 2019 short film

The Distance Between Us and the Sky is a 2019 Greek-French short film written and directed by Vasilis Kekatos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Cannes Film Festival</span> Edition of film festival

The 73rd annual Cannes Film Festival was scheduled to take place from 12 to 23 May 2020. On 13 January 2020, Spike Lee was named as the president of the Jury. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, festival management announced on 14 April 2020 that the festival could not be held in its "original form", with alternative means of observing the festival being explored. It was cancelled for the first time since 1968.

<i>Benjamin, Benny, Ben</i> 2020 Canadian short drama film

Benjamin, Benny, Ben is a Canadian short drama film, directed by Paul Shkordoff and released in 2020. The film stars Anwar Haj as Benjamin, a Black Canadian man on his way to a job interview, whose preparations are threatened when he trips and falls along the way.

<i>Da Yie</i> 2019 short film by Anthony Nti

Da Yie is a 2019 short film directed by Anthony Nti.

<i>The Devils Harmony</i> Live action short film

The Devil's Harmony is a live action short film directed by Dylan Holmes Williams in 2019.

<i>Sticker</i> (film) 2019 short film by Georgi M. Unkovski

Sticker is a Live action short film directed by Georgi M. Unkovski in 2019.

<i>Dolapo Is Fine</i> 2020 short film by Ethosheia Hylton

Dọlápọ̀ Is Fine is a live action short film directed by Ethosheia Hylton and written by Joan Iyiola and Chibundu Onuzo in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Cannes Film Festival</span> Film festival

The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after the COVID-19 pandemic in France scuttled plans to have him head the jury of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Titane</i> 2021 film by Julia Ducournau

Titane is a 2021 body horror psychological drama film written and directed by Julia Ducournau. The French-Belgian co-production stars Agathe Rousselle in her feature film debut as Alexia, a woman who, after being injured in a car crash as a child, has a titanium plate fitted into her head. Vincent Lindon, Garance Marillier and Laïs Salameh also star.

<i>Compartment No. 6</i> 2021 Finnish-Russian road drama

Compartment No. 6 is a 2021 drama road movie co-written and directed by Juho Kuosmanen, starring Seidi Haarla and Yuri Borisov, based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Rosa Liksom.

Displaced is a Kosovan short docufiction film, directed and written by Samir Karahoda and released in 2021. Blending both documentary and fictional elements, the film centres on Ermegan and Jeton, two men in Prizren who are attempting to maintain and rebuild the local table tennis club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Cannes Film Festival</span> 2022 film festival

The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival is a film festival that took place from 17 to 28 May 2022. The festival featured a tribute to actor Tom Cruise, whose film Top Gun: Maverick premiered at the festival and where the actor was awarded an Honorary Palme d'Or award on short notice. The official poster for the festival was designed as a homage to The Truman Show (1998).

References

  1. "Short Cuts 2020 Programme". Toronto International Film Festival . Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  2. "Salaud Morisset, International Production & Distribution company". Salaud Morisset's Official Website. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  3. Erbland, Kate (August 28, 2020). "'David' Trailer: Zach Woods Directs Will Ferrell in a Short Film About Some Necessary Therapy". IndieWire . Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  4. Lamercier, Fabien (June 19, 2020). "The short films vying for the Palme d'Or at Cannes unveiled". Cineuropa . Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  5. Hammond, Pete (August 3, 2020). "Telluride Film Festival Announces Lineup Despite Cancellation Of This Year's Labor Day Weekend Event". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  6. David: A Short Film By Zach Woods , retrieved 2021-12-03
  7. "2020 Award Winners". Encounters. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  8. McNary, Dave (2020-10-06). "AFI Fest Unveils Lineup With 'Belushi,' 'Dead Presidents,' 'Citizen Penn'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  9. "The short films vying for the Palme d'Or at Cannes unveiled". Cineuropa . Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  10. "LIFF 2020 Short Film Selection". www.leedsfilm.com. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  11. "Announcing International Competition titles for 2020". shorts.poff.ee. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  12. "BOGOSHORTS FESTIVAL". festival.bogoshorts.com. Retrieved 2020-11-24.