break 2019

In a land where no magic is present. A land where the strong make the rules and weak have to obey. A land filled with alluring treasures and beauty, yet also filled with unforeseen danger. Three years ago, Xiao Yan, who had shown talents none had seen in decades, suddenly lost everything. His powers, his reputation, and his promise to his mother. What sorcery has caused him to lose all of his powers? And why has his fiancee suddenly shown up?

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The short film Break is a creative collaboration between visual artist Joan Perlman and noted composer Laurie Spiegel (The Hunger Games, The Expanding Universe (CD)). Break explores the transmuting relationship of ice and water in the north Atlantic off Iceland's coast, through varying shots of a single act: glacial ice fragments violently struck by breaking waves in a stormy ocean. Images and field recordings of the ocean's relentless force paired with Spiegel's unsettling, otherworldly score evoke the troubling effects of an unseen human presence. Break is a meditation on the passage of time and fragility of matter. With powerful imagery and sound, its visual commentary alludes to inexorable loss and dissolution and infers the implications of a changing climate in the far north, and beyond.

Break is a 'rags to riches', feel good story. The film follows the exploits of Spencer Pryde, a gifted, inner-city kid, wasting his talents on petty crime. After witnessing the brutal murder of his pal Denis and finding himself in debt to a drug dealing thug named Ginger, it seems Spencer's life is spiraling out of control, until one day, a chance encounter with a Chinese stranger and former eight-ball pool champion named Vincent Quiang presents him with an opportunity to turn his life around. But in order to make a new life for himself, Spencer will first need to break away from peer pressure of his friends, his environment and all the negative influences of his current life.