Wow, oh wow.
You often say after you have seen a good film you want to know more about everything else; the world it was placed in, the story behind the characters, what happened before, what happens next. You say you want those things and that is a sign of a good movie, right? After watching Mamady Condé’s short film Emily I *demand* to know more about this character Emily and her world that Condé has placed her in. I *demand* to know what Condé has in mind for Emily and what a feature film would look like because he has left me wanting.
His short film starts with the titular character Emily (Lindsey Shaw Pretty Little Liars) being filmed while she is walking on the beach. She then begins to recount the tragedy that happened to her family and she’s wet and her clothes are torn so maybe you are thinking that something has happened so someone filming her account. It starts with a mystery.
But then you see that Condé is flipping back and forth through time. He is also swapping through mediums, from the video camera to film, all the while she is telling her story to the person behind the camera. Then she asks the person behind the camera, either a friend or a boyfriend it does not matter, to do something for her.
This.
This right here is where his short strikes off on a new path of storytelling and becomes so damn, bloody surprising and intriguing that you are hanging onto every moment.
Her character is, what some would say, flawed. Ripped jeans, a Misfits shirt, most of the clothing we see her in has been cut or sliced, there is even a bit of recreational drug use. She is flawed. She is normal. And something extraordinary has happened to this flawed and normal young woman that changes her world.
Emily says near the end of Condé’s short film, “I’m excited for what comes next”.
Count me in.