BRONZE | Omeleto

A woman relaxes. It's a beautiful summer day, and Tori is set to enjoy the weather in her backyard. Lying out in her swimsuit, the sun warms her skin, and she has a glass of wine and a good book by her side. When Tori gets a flirtatious message on her phone, she launches into an impromptu photo shoot. But her private session isn't as private as she thinks. Directed and written by Corey Benson Powers, this sly, subversive thriller short is a disciplined, effective exercise in economy, in which an almost minimalist approach to storytelling deploys just the right details at just the right time to create a tautly chilling creep of realization and dread. It takes a simple situation -- a woman taking flirty selfies to send to a love interest -- to explore how the act of looking and watching can be weaponized to feel like a violation, especially in a world where cameras are ubiquitous and hidden. The narrative begins innocuously enough, in a spirit of feel-good enjoyment, as Tori settles into her backyard to soak up the sun. Though the visual language is pared down, the details are full of sensory pleasure: the trees swaying in the wind against the clouds, the green of the grass, all captured with sharp attention to detail in the immaculate cinematography. When we see Tori, she is the Pinterest-perfect picture of chill vibes, enjoying some "me time" on a beautiful day. But when she gets a flirty message for pics, she indulges in an impromptu photo session and then falls asleep. The register of the film shifts subtly, as the sun slowly disappears and the clouds move in. The previously calming, upbeat sound design and score become eerie and chilling, as Tori receives a series of pictures indicating that she's being watched. Actor Sana Rehman has no dialogue in the film, but she deftly conveys both the carefree, unbothered enjoyment of spending time alone and then the anxiety and fear that comes from being the unexpected object of surveillance. One of the most fascinating aspects of BRONZE is this overarching interest in the menace and even emotional violence of the gaze upon an unsuspecting object -- in this case, an attractive woman enjoying her life. Through her phone, she turns the gaze on herself, in an act of playfulness, flirtation and amusement. But when that gaze is wielded without permission by an unseen other, it turns sinister, emphasizing her vulnerability. Her aloneness becomes a danger, and while the film ends right before we learn what happens to her, we can surmise that no one else will see. BRONZE. Courtesy of Corey Benson Powers at https://coreybensonpowers.com.