Pete Freedman
Check Out Toby Halbrooks' Awesome Sundance Short, Dig.
We spent a whole bunch of time last year reporting on the goings-on in the world of Dallas-based director David Lowery. Duly so, we'd argue, as the guy had himself a heck of a 2013. And though he too seems primed for a solid 2014 — his work alongside Robert Redford and on the Pete's Dragon reboot practically seem to guarantee as much — it's looking like we may be spending some of our 2014 closely following one of Lowery's collaborators.
Out at Sundance this week, Dallas-based Ain't Them Bodies Saints co-producer and Spirit Award nominee Toby Halbrooks premiered his directorial debut, a 10-minute short called Dig. And thanks to the fine folks at that noted film festival, who are sharing all of their selected shorts on Youtube, you can watch that effort right here, right now.
It's a fine effort, too, from Halbrooks, a former theremin player for the ever-expansive Polyphonic Spree. Worth noting: Once again, this Halbrooks production comes with a score from the similarly former Spree-playing Daniel Hart of Dark Rooms. Far more notable than that, though, is the fact that this Dallas-set short, while seemingly so simple on its surface, becomes pretty powerful when you scratch into it ever so slightly.
Or, as YouTube user Baraborn comments on the clip, rather intelligently: “The film wasn't about anything, then it became about everything.”
Indeed. Dig is far more than just some young girl watching her father dig a hole. It's a film about the simplest of perspectives — and how we lose those obvious insights as we age.
It's pretty great, actually.
Check it out.
