HOLE
2014 · 15m · Canada
Directed by Martin Edralin
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, tender
Billy, a middle-aged gay man with arthrogryposis, yearns for physical and sexual intimacy in a world that refuses to see him as a sexual being. Aided by his caregiver, he reaches toward connection and self-acceptance with quiet, unflinching dignity.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Most disability narratives genuflect toward inspiration or tragedy — Edralin refuses both, treating Billy's desire as perfectly ordinary, which somehow becomes the most radical thing a short can do right now.
The film's restraint—its refusal to sentimentalize or explain—positions it in a lineage of humanist cinema that trusts the viewer's intelligence; Ken Harrower's presence deepens this formal choice into something documentarily true.
The decision to cast Harrower, an actor living with the condition, collapses the distance between performance and lived experience, and every quiet moment of Billy reaching for touch carries an authenticity that no amount of directorial skill alone could manufacture.
Reviews
A daring portrait of a disabled man yearning for intimacy in a world that would rather ignore him.
Martin Edralin's 15-minute short Hole gives a voice to those we rarely care to listen to, tackling human dignity, disability and sexuality.
Festivals
- Locarno Film Festival 2014, Special Mention
- Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2015, Grand Prix
- Canadian Screen Awards 2015, Best Live Action Short Drama
- Toronto International Film Festival 2014