Sins of the Father

I don't normally watch short films so I wasn't sure what to expect. My expectations were blown away, my expectation now is that every short film be as incredible as this one. What I have seen on youtube or vimeo when search around is amateur and looks like my 10 year old niece could have created, so that is what I thought this would be. When I think of a short film I think of low budget and low quality. When I watched Sins of the Father I was blown away at how "real" it seemed. The production quality and acting was incredible. I felt like I was watching a full length film. My only complaint was it was too short:) But I guess that is why it is called a "short film." When are you going to make a full length feature?

I was provided an opportunity to see this film before any of the sweetening had been done and in spite of that, I was still compelled by the story and found myself hooked right from the start.

To me, that is a true testament of a good story!

Even though the protagonist is revealed with more than enough detail to make me care about him, I found myself caring about him enough to want to know more.

The end is powerful!

I believe Ms. Howard has created something of value that brings attention to a problem in our inner cities.

As a Latina woman, I have heard the stories about gangs/violence and know the vicious cycle of 'revenge killing' is all too common; this movie places a spotlight on the topic and -- I warn you -- may cause you to tear up (I know I did)! I love the casting of Emilio Rivera as the protagonist, he is such a great actor and you can tell the subject matter of this short film is one that hits home for him. Rivera understood Ms. Howard's vision and did a wonderful job of bringing the viewer into his shoes through his powerful performance.

I intend to share this movie once available, I believe it is worth watching and will generate much-needed discussions about a serious issue that still plagues many urban areas.