Passing Through
2023 · 19m · USA
Directed by Erica Alexandria Silverman
Tones: darkly comic, melancholic, tender
A young woman reconnects with her estranged, hedonistic father in a South Florida hospice facility, confronting questions of family, responsibility, and forgiveness as he nears the end of his life.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Estranged-deadbeat-dad-in-hospice — the Wikipedia entry of indie short setups. Decade of personal processing usually correlates with quality, and the dark-comedy register is what saves these from being unwatchable. Cautious.
A decade of personal grief metabolized into a hospice-set father-daughter reconciliation can yield Krisha-level revelation or after-school sentiment, and the page is unclear which Silverman delivered. Worth a look, but vimeo-on-demand for a short is a friction I note.
Vimeo page is for a different film entirely so I can't verify, but a decade of personal processing about a charismatic deadbeat father in South Florida hospice is exactly the kind of long-marinated source material that makes hospice drama work — the question is whether 19 minutes can hold the dark humor.
Reviews
Silverman had 10 years to process her own father's death, and that marination produces a portrait that is expert in its tonal modulation and exemplified by the character of Gene—he is the life of the party but also a piece of shit.
Violet Brinson, the 22-year-old actor, gives a breakout performance, exhibiting true star potential as Silverman's avatar.
Festivals
- Rhode Island International Film Festival 2023, Grand Prize Marlyn Mason Award
- Lone Star Film Festival 2023, Best Narrative Short
- Tallgrass Film Festival 2023
- Florida Film Festival 2023