Award of Excellence – “The Cracks” (USA)

Title: The Cracks
Runtime: 10 min
Country: USA
Director: Catriona Anne Blackburn
Placement: Award of Excellence 
Competition: June, 2019

Synopsis: The Cracks follows the emotional journey of Anna as she copes with a violation; of her body, of her trust, and of her mind. As the cracks begin to show, only her little love, Tio, can save her from total self-destruction.

Anna has been raped. Her stomach curdles as she recalls her voice, cracking under the weight of what had just happened. Anna is thirty-one year old single mother to Tio, who is just three. They live in a modest two-bed terrace with messy cluttered rooms and happier memories. Turning to self-destructive behaviours, Anna cocoons herself in alcohol and self-harm to cope. The cracks begin to show and, finally, Anna breaks, collapsing into a mess of tears and anger. Through the mundanity of life and the perpetuity of love, Anna claws her way out of the darkness.