Severing Ties (2014)
When a young woman leaves her abusive boyfriend, she can’t imagine the consequences of her decision.
Saving Grace was a fun project that was born out of thin air.
When my friend Raymond had the brilliant idea to shoot a short film for a psychology class, I was so intrigued, I simply couldn’t say no. So we set a date for that very weekend, gathered a group of friends and invaded the UPR Rio Piedras campus to film. While we did have a general concept for the story we wanted to tell, there was no formal script. The entire thing was completely improvised on the spot. Each scene was filmed in only one or two takes, nothing too complicated.
Being that it was such a simple, short notice production, we didn’t really cast it. I played the psychotic ex-boyfriend who was stalking his ex, played by my good friend Annette (who you might recognize as our Blue Lantern from our LANTERNS photo series). Raymond himself appears as a student in the background, as well as Senen and Alice, playing the girl’s friends.
As this was just a project for class, there was no poster made nor was it submitted to any festivals or events. However, I would never change having had this experience, as it was such a fun thing to do.
Fun fact: the mask I wear in this short has been with me for over 15 years. I’m also using it in a secret project I’ve been working on for a couple of years, so keep an eye open for it when it finally releases!
Oh, and yes, that’s actually what Senen’s room looks like. Pure. Fucking. Art.
Leave a Reply