THE ECLIPSE, 12min., USA
Directed by Dmitriy Usov
Roy, a widower, seeks the help of a psychic, Donna, to uncover the reason behind his wife Esther’s suicide. Donna suggests that he enter the spirit world and ask Esther herself. To do this, Roy must perform an ancient ritual at his old home, but with the condition that he only has 11 minutes in the spirit world and cannot kiss Esther. During his journey, Roy forgets the rule and kisses Esther, attracting dark forces that chase him. Esther reveals that a demon possessed her and has been after Roy for a long time. As Roy tries to return to the real world, he is possessed by the demon, and Donna is shown to have a deal with the demon to provide bodies in exchange for time with her deceased husband.
Get to know the filmmaker:
I shot The Eclipse as a senior thesis film at Loyola Marymount University. I wanted to showcase everything that I have learned at the film school and shoot a short film that would establish my visual style, a genre I love to work with, and overall the stories that I like to work with. A lot of my films revolve around the themes of desire and obsessive love, and I wanted to merge these elements with the magical realism and dark fantasy aspects I also like to work with.
You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.