“Okay,” said Richie.

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Shawn Christensen’s 2012 Oscar-winning short feature, Curfew, weaves an enhancing story about a difficult but beautiful generation gaps—between an uncle and his niece—in a dark, depressing tone. The story revolves around Richie (Shawn Christensen)—a brother, an uncle, and an antisocial—who, at the lowest point of his life (in a bathtub with blood and razor), gets a phone call by his sister, to look after his niece, Sophia (Fatima Ptacek)—whom he barely knows—for a few hours. Though experiencing rejections and difficulties in the beginning, Richie begins to find solace in Sophia and there’s a hope grows for both of them.

Thoroughly written, directed, and starred by Shawn Christensen, Curfew piecemeal interweaves depressions and conflicts revolving around Richie—and soon reveals mystery about his introvert behavior and secrets from his past (that probably gives an answer about how he barely knows his own niece). We don’t know much about Richie in the beginning—and it seems that nothing’s interesting about him—but soon after he attempts to get closer to Sophia, veils that cover him all along slowly unveiled.

Curfew looks like a fusion of the similar movies with the 90s spirit; the light exposure with dim neon saturation along with soft hues make it visually mesmerizing. In addition, the bowling alley sound track “Sophia so Far“—composed and performed by Shawn Christensen—gives an impression of “the decadence of distance” with catchy tunes and cool choreography bridging the gap between Richie and Sophia.

This all-at-one package from Shawn Christensen is cool and touching—yet, that’s not enough. Curfew is alive.

P.S.: Curfew is developed and adapted into an Audience Award-winning full-length feature in SXSW, Before I Disappear—which stars Shawn Christensen, Fatima Ptacek along with Emmy Rossum and Ron Perlman.

Curfew (2012)

Drama, Short Written & Directed by: Shawn Christensen Starred by: Shawn Christensen, Fatima Ptacek, Kim Allen Running Time: 19 mins Unrated IMDb