Light2023

An intimate, raw character study of a conservative, gay young man, tormented by the unconditional love of his husband. After an unfathomable act of violence, he finds his way to a desolate church parking lot, and possibly to the end of his own road.

"It has to be said outright that this is some of the best writing I’ve come by. Daniel Talbott writes and directs a bold and raw soliloquy of a man struggling with his own internalised homophobia, sexual repression and toxic masculinity. The setting is simple, a man drives to a deserted parking lot in the middle of the night -to process a violent fight he just had with his husband. The next twelve minutes unveil a life-defining performance by Will Pullen; his rusty voice delivery of the harsh/vulgar but almost Shakespearian text,-makes him bewitching to watch." –Lonely Wolf Film Festival, London UK

Inspired by the ‘nothing is impossible’ and ‘never say never’ genius of Roger Corman, my brother Will and I wanted to see if we could make a film with a budget of zero, an old outdated iPhone, found light, and a used car during quarantine. He was in Chicago and we’re in Los Angeles, and we wanted to see if we could make something with dinners, favors, handshakes, thank you’s, and hugs. This is our short film LIGHT. The script grew out of wanting to explore internalized and systemic homophobia and Log Cabin Republicans. As Kathryn Bigelow says, “Those of us who work in the arts know that depiction is not endorsement.” We wanted to do an intimate, vulnerable, and raw character study. He’s not an easy person to sit with, but in making ourselves do just that, we both came out of it with hopefully more empathy and understanding.