Outside Short Film Official Movie Site Written and Directed by Jenn Kao
Film Festival Screening Outside Jenn Kao
Best Science Fiction Fantasy Film Comic-Con International Film Festival
Sci-Fi Short film
DGA Award Winner
Courtney Ford Jenn Kao Outside
"This was one of my favorites, and I'm glad it won and I'm glad Jenn Kao was on hand for me to convey my admiration for this film in person. This is like one of those great high-concept sci-fi films of the 1970s, about a woman who lives in an isolated, controlled environment until a face appears in her lone window on the world."
full reviews
- Tom McLean
Comics Blogger for Variety
Jury Member for the Comic-Con Film Festival
highlights
"Imagine if George Orwell wrote a lesson for lesbians about individuality and finding one's self. That's what first popped into my mind as I watched Jenn Kao's utterly captivating "Outside." Then I thought I may be reading too much into the short film because that's the kind of guy I am ... but I don't think so. I think this film is all about how many people with feelings for the same sex keep themselves closeted because they are scared for one reason or another. They do what they are told, they look for means of escape, and when they finally accept and embrace who they are, they want people to share their joy -- only that may not turn out exactly as planned. Until they reach that level of self-awarness, though, they keep themselves isolated from their true selves, and society is more than willing to help them do it.
That's what I got from this film that centers on Devi (played by the fantastic Courtney Ford), a woman who lives alone in some cell. She eats when she is told to and occasionally looks out a dirty window into the desert. Her contact with the outside world is through a radio, where she talks to other women as they "drop" (slang for taking some sort of drug) and begin to describe their visions of what they're "experiencing" in the outside world. Devi's main contact is Ari (Juliet), who constantly describes being on the beach at sunset. Things start to go wrong when intruders, including one outsider woman named M (Keaton Talmadge), encroach upon Devi's cell. Ari keeps reminding Devi not to look because it only encourages them, but the slightly boyish M has caught Devi's attention, and soon our heroine is feeding M through a hole in the wall. As the film reaches its subtle conclusion, longings are awakened and secrets revealed.
Again, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this film is just a fun little sci-fi tale, but I doubt it. In fact, I'd go so far as to say this should be shown to kids in high school. The kids who are struggling with their sexual identity are going to get it, while the others will most likely remain quite oblivious (thus saving teachers the calls from irrational parents). Even if I'm wrong, maybe someone will see the same thing I did, and it will save them a lot of grief in the future. And, heck, even if I am wrong, it's still a great film, and that's all that really matters."
