From Omeleto.
A man finds his ex before the world ends.
8 MINUTES 20 SECONDS is used with permission from Harris Doran. Learn more at https://harrisdoran.com.
An unprecedented astronomical event is happening, and the sun will go dark soon. The world has about eight minutes of regular daylight before the light fades and temperatures start to drop, which will reach critically cold levels within a week.
Amidst the chaos, Max frantically calls his ex-partner Jasper, attempting to reach him before it’s too late. Jasper doesn’t believe Max about anything at first, but when it comes down to the wire, both realize what they want to remember most about life before it disappears as they know it.
Directed and written by Harris Doran, this pulse-pounding sci-fi short traces the frantic efforts of one man to reunite and reconcile with his estranged partner before a cataclysmic occurrence befalls the planet. The sun is losing light, putting the world into darkness and causing temperatures to drop, and the world is in a panic. Everyone falls into various states of panic and disbelief, but Max is deadset on one thing: finding his ex Jasper and spending the last few minutes of life as he knows it with him. At first, Jasper wants nothing to do with Max — and he’s also far away.
The film is visually told through phone screens, mostly through video calls and some texting, giving a frantic, real-time quality to the storytelling. It also restricts the film’s world-building, with background information seeping through in bits and pieces. We don’t hear much about the build-up to the cataclysmic event, and the film doesn’t explain how it happened, only saying that it defies the known laws of science. Many people, including Jasper, don’t believe anything is happening at first. But as more people take it seriously, the world devolves into chaos, making it hard for Max and Jasper to reach one another and sending Max out on a wild chase.
That journey finds Max running throughout Brooklyn in search of Jasper, and we hear snatches of how other people are reacting and what the news is saying as he runs past and deals with various interruptions and obstacles. The pacing doesn’t give much room to breathe, and the smart, taut storytelling builds tension while finding moments of acerbic humor in how people react in the face of disaster. They’re scared, but they also fixate on strange, sometimes petty things, worry about plants dying or retreat into their phones too much. When nothing else matters, they’re still wrapped up in oddly ineffectual concerns or habits that even the world’s collapse can’t jolt them out of.
Actor Brandon Uranowitz plays Max with an edge of panic that also makes vivid and visceral what’s at stake for him. When life falls apart, he hoards water and tries to prepare, but he soon realizes it’s all for naught. In his final moments, he winnows to what’s important, making for an unexpectedly poetic ending for 8 MINUTES 20 SECONDS. He wants to make one last memory, feeling the light on his face with his loved one by his side. As the world falls apart, it makes for a memorable study of what’s most important in life and a case for making it happen before it’s too late.
