Honorable Mention – “Eleanor of Illinois” (USA)

Title: Eleanor of Illinois
Runtime: 6 min
Country: USA 
Director: Danielle Durchslag
Placement: Honorable Mention
Competition: June, 2019

Synopsis: Eleanor is preparing her stately apartment for Passover dinner. Her adult child, played silently by the camera, returns home after two years away in New York, summoned by Eleanor for a pre-dinner visit. Desperate to re-secure her child’s focus and attention, Eleanor channels the voice and words of Katharine Hepburn’s iconic performance as Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter. Like Eleanor of Aquitaine, Eleanor of Illinois alternates between reprimanding and cajoling to bring her offspring back into the fold. Her manipulations result in her child storming out before dinner begins, leaving her alone once more to wonder at the broken, ragged state of her family empire.