Bright

We watched BRIGHT with our 13 year old daughter who was extremely moved by the film, as were we. The message of the film is very personal and powerful: that we need to leave our safe worlds, face our fears, and go and search for our lives. Only in this way will we become strong and grow into the full, multi-faceted and complex individuals that we have the potential to be. This overarching theme is artfully developed on several different levels throughout the film, both through the storyline and the beautiful use of symbols. But the reason this film succeeds is that the actual story line is extremely compelling and we are left guessing throughout the film as to the "real" story behind the characters. In short, we are left wanting more. Thank you for a beautiful film. Karen Puschel

A fabulous journey into the mind, into the soul, into the past and into the future await the unsuspecting viewer. Ben Busch gently guides you into the serene, yet troubled world of a man/child who seeks the comfort of his childhood but finds himself in the harsh bright light of reality. It is a reality he tries hard to avoid facing. Ben Busch has produced on a shoestring budget a real masterpiece. It beautifully draws you to the key characters and gradually exposes each of their greatest fears, and their strengths. The dialogue is taut and poetic, the direction is smooth and flowing, the production qualities are impressively professional for such a low-budget film. This film deserves a large audience and this filmmaker, actor, director and writer deserves a shot at a big project. He captures his audience like few I have have ever seen.

As a film festival director who has watched literally thousands of film submissions, both short and feature- length, it's rare that I see a film with perfect pacing, but Bright makes that grade even though its pacing is measured and deliberate. Some might describe it as slow, and yet our screening committee found it a great pleasure, in this day of frenetic films, to be able to absorb the carefully constructed imagery and to digest the dialogue. So many of those images remain in the mind's eye even a year later – the sensuous orange peel, the glowing incandescent filament of a light bulb, Robert Wisdom's inward-looking gaze. It almost goes without saying that the cast, led by Eric Nenninger, is superb; each actor digs into the meaty script and wrings subtle, deeply felt emotions from it.

Benjamin Busch has been a favorite at Landlocked Film Festival since we got to know him through his earlier (also excellent) film, Sympathetic Details. It's been a pleasure to watch his growth as a writer and director.

The extinguished filament that closes the film leaves an afterimage that transforms the film into an allegory of light and dark, fear and courage, and how we form bonds with others, drawing courage and light from them. Speaking for myself, I give it my highest recommendation as a film worth seeing and a story worth telling.

There's a REASON why "Bright" took "Best of Show" in this year's Tupelo Film Festival: It is, quite simply, a flash of great ideas and execution. The story is richly-layered, the script eloquent and original. Writer/Director Benjamin Busch has crafted a short film so well developed that it has the story appeal of a longer film without needless exposition. More to the point, you can't help but be drawn in by its multifaceted story because it appeals on so many levels -- intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and visual. The relationship between "Bright"'s central characters -- "Troy" and "Irwin" (played by Eric Nenninger and Robert Wisdom) -- is absolutely multidimensional. Armando Ballesteros' cinematography easily captures the archetypal spirit of this fine script. Editor Frank Reynolds' disciplined hand is evident throughout. Even Benjamin Keddy's minimalist score plays a huge role in its own way. There's more to this film than meets the eye -- "Bright" is a brilliant work -- and that's exactly the point. Overlook this film at your own peril, lest you find yourself in the dark without an Edison bulb to guide you back home.

I really liked this film. The writing is elegiac and the directing elegant. Though a short movie, the performances are never rushed and the actors are given the space to take ownership of the moments. As a result the story accrues a deep emotional resonance.

Robert Wisdom is fantastic, digging in to create a rich and complex character. And Eric Nenninger's work as the central character carefully avoids the typical (read: banal) quirks and tics that are usual employed to indicate a character is damaged in some way and instead brings someone very real and captivating to life. the And any time one gets to see Andre Royo on film is a gift.

A wonderful debut(?) for director/writer Benjamin Busch who subtle writing is not without little gems of poetry.