From Omeleto.
A teenager has an absent father.
JEROME is used with permission from Gianfranco Fernandez-Ruiz. Learn more at https://gianfrancofernandezruiz.com.
Jerome is a teenage boy who has grown up without a father in his life. He has also grown up playing basketball, and he uses the game as a way to reckon with the paternal absence in his life, his own perceived shortcomings and the questions of just who he is.
Jerome has been raised well despite the challenges, with friends and a love of the game to get him through. But not having a dad around eats away at him, and that anger comes through on the court. But with the help of his stalwart single mother, he finds a light towards what matters through it all.
Directed and written by Gianfranco Fernandez-Ruiz, this beautifully realized short drama is a lyrical yet dynamic riff on a lyrical coming-of-age story. Taking its rhythms from the game Jerome uses to work through his inner turmoil, it uses the intersection of emotion and movement to explore his reckoning with identity, longing and family through his basketball playing.
Jerome has grown up with a hardworking single mother, played beautifully by actor Aries Sanders. But even with her love and firm guidance, he still wonders about his father, searching for him in the prison systems in California. His searches, however, yield no real information. The visuals are naturalistic, but their eye for detail and the willingness of the pacing to slow down and take in quieter, more reflective moments infuse a poeticism and thoughtful introspection into the storytelling.
As Jerome goes about his life, he’s observant of other families, like those of his friends who have grown up with fathers. There’s a poignancy in both how warmly he’s welcomed but also how he feels like an outsider, longing for what he can’t have. It eats away at him, his lanky form becoming more like an opaque silhouette visually as the film goes on.
He finds an outlet on the court for his tumultuous feelings. For Jerome, the basketball court is both a refuge and a battleground, and every dribble, pass, or missed shot echoes Jerome’s internal struggle. Those internal conflicts come out on the court, where his emotional travails drive him to push hard, sometimes to the point of outright conflict with other players. As Jerome, actor Elias Ferguson turns in a powerfully restrained performance, haunted, lost yet striving to move forward. He’s both mature and yet young and dealing with roiling inner emotions.
When things get heated, though, the person he needs the most comes through and reminds him of what he has. It’s a raw, vulnerable confrontation and reminder, bringing JEROME to its powerful conclusion. Its blend of truth, cinematic poise, and emotional clarity leaves a lasting impression, as well as a reminder to value what we have, instead of what we don’t.
