Stigmata
Manic Behavior
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Drama, Horror, Short Films, 28-Oct-2024
A retired magician turned aquatic fish salesman is visited by an obsessed fan. Ben Gordon’s “Stigmata” is a bizarre, fever-dream drama witnessing a man’s persistent effort to learn a forbidden spell. Brad Christian closes up his fish and supplies store for the night, but there’s a knock at the door. A young man insists on being let in and hands Brad a DVD—it’s one of Brad’s old magic tutorial videos from back in the day. Brad dismisses the DVD, but the visitor wants to pick up where Brad left off: he wants to learn “the hidden trick,” Stigmata. Along with several surreal points-of-view, performances by Jason Grisell and Sam Fishman are jarring and effective. “Stigmata” is a formal departure from Gordon’s last film we featured, “Cold Bull,” but both involve fish and host peculiar tones. -JM. Director: Ben Gordon. Cast: Jason Grisell, Sam Fishman. DP: Colter Fellows. Music: Henry Solomon. Producer/AD: Celine Sutter. AC: Maduma Mihindukulasuriya. Art Department: Hana Odson, Idene Abhari, Grip: Ben Booth, David Sanyour. Location Sound: CJ Bruce, Alex Bateman. Make Up: Sadie Scott. Sound Mix: Dylan Hurley. 360 Editing: Harrison Fishman.
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