Hustle Mode
From the Archives
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Drama, Short Films, 09-Jun-2025
As she tries to wrangle her two-year-old daughter and an old dog, a young, single mother collects recyclables. Jefferey Liu’s “Hustle Mode” is a textured, New York City story shot on 16mm rendered with flustered charisma. With a waddling Beagle by her side, Lexi takes a bag of cans and bottles to the nearby recycling machine. It’s not working, she isn’t getting paid much, and her baby (Milly) awaits for her under the care of an apartment neighbor named Rosa. When Lexi gets back to her apartment, it’s a mess and Milly needs attention, but she promises Rosa she’ll clean her place in exchange for the babysitting. A holographic Kristaps Porziņģis card on Rosa’s bed side catches Lexi’s eye. She’s unaware of its value but takes it to a local pawn shop where hard truths, and the possibility of trade-ins, await. As Lexi wanders from street corner to cluttered interior, so does the camera closely capturing it all. Throughout, Clara Barnstone’s performance effortlessly rallies back-and-forth with the other authentic faces of the film. -JM. Director: Jeffrey Liu. Cast: Clara Barnstone, Jonathan Daniel Brown, Mitchell Wenig. DP: Frank Sun. Editor: Alec Styborski. Composers: Daniel Giebisch, Samuel Rosner. Producers: Javier Gonzalez, Tanya Bindra.
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