Rumpelstiltskin
From the Archives
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LGBT, Short Films, 15-Feb-2024
A filmmaker compares his love life to the German fable. Ethan Fuirst directs and stars in “Rumpelstiltskin,” a self-reflective, docu-fictional piece that comedically considers a man’s romantic, eventually turned platonic, relationships. Through 16mm grain and before a spot-lit backdrop, Ethan, supposedly as himself, narrates the classic fable but with his own spin–he weaves in some non-sparing details of his recent romantic experiences. In the same space, we meet some of the lovers who share anecdotes on their time spent with Ethan. Shifting from a more upbeat look at Ethan’s romantic life, things settle a bit more into his reality, and we learn about some of his consequential dating habits. He’s at his apartment one night, swiping as he usually does, when he’s encountered suddenly by all the same hookups we saw earlier. This time, they’re singing, prompting Ethan to give a good, hard look at himself. The film is a fresh take on first person filmmaking, nicely handling its self-reflective narrative both structurally and tonally. -JM. Director: Ethan Fuirst. Producer: Jess Zeidman. Director of Photography: Leo Gallagher. Cast: June Buck, Daniel Illig, Brendan Leonard, Sam Oslyn, Noah Virgile. Editors: Ethan Fuirst, Ryan Martin Brown. Musical Direction and Original Score by: Ben Nylander. Sound: Pat Zimmon. Title Design: Veronica Bolivar.
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