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Fantastic Short Films

The Cowboy & the Ballerina

Mark Joseph ISHAM

USA1999 12min color

Synopsis

From the land of rocks and cactus, a cowboy rides on his horse, into the artistic world of a ballerina. The ballerina, nearing the end of her carreer, is dancing her farewell performance of ?he Dying Swan? The cowboy rescues her from the indifferent audience, places her on his horse and they ride away into the happy ending of an Arizona sunset. It is not hard to guess that this lyrical film is a dedication to that American icon of the Western, Clint Eastwood. The film is full of visual elements, such as posters of his early movies, which pay a tribute to this much respected star. The plot itself is a faithful reproduction of the typical formula used in the genre, where a cowboy plays the role of saviour and diappears into the sunset. There are no fist-fights or gun smoke in the film, however. Instead, the excitement of violence is replaced with the refined images representing the nostalgia for our Western hero. (HONG Sung-Nam)

Diretor

Mark Joseph ISHAM

Born in 1964, in bermont. and grew up in Arizona. He is a screenwriter, film director, novelist, published poet and former Mr. Arizona Bodybuilding Champion. His poems have been published in Newsletter Inago, South Ash Press, Lucid Moon, and Bouillabaisse.