By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Bertil Nilsson
Starring: Ed White | Joshua Griffin | Lincoln Conway | Reece King | Tega Alexander
Year: 2026
Running time: 83
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37578559/
Michael says: “Boldy, experimental narrative about a queer, neurodivergent young man’s experiences moving through life. The film is broken up into segments, where Robin tries different roles in life to see how he can fit in as a man. The term masking (‘mascing?’) is used at one point and explained as those different faces or masks that are used by some people dealing with autism to show a certain face to the world.
“Director and co-writer Bertil Nilsson has put together a fascinating and beautiful film that unites traditional narrative with actors playing characters and also at times themselves, insters imagery that may or may not resonate with scenes, and uses other interesting techniques to represent Robin’s way of seeing the world. Lead actdor and co-writer, Joshua Griffin was the major hook for me. Magnetic, compelling, and riveting to watch, Griffin slowly drew me in to Robin until shortly after the film began I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. A truly mesmerizing performance. 4 1/2 cats
“Screened at Scotiabank Theater, Sunday 9/13, director and co-writer/star in attendance”
Beth Cu says: “I could not remember exactly what it was about – trans men? varying takes on masculinity? It was the debut feature by an art photographer, about a gay? neurodivergent? man? struggling to – adult, basically, in an authentic way for him that is also conformist….and sort of failing, until a really stunning final scene. The director plays with the idea of performance using the film structure and plot itself. The particulars of the story are less important because all of our life together is performative, I think is what the director’s getting at. The lead was incredible – couldn’t take my eyes off him. Throughout I was reminded of Justice Smith’s work in I SAW THE TV GLOW – and this film also made me think of MADELINE’S MADELINE with respect to its structure. It took me days to settle on a score, this was something I’d never seen and didn’t know how to wrap my head around. But in this case, that was its strongest argument for giving it one of my highest. 4.5 cats.”