Calliope

Absolutely bonkers little experimental short that I just had to double bill with Phil The Shill. Calliope sees Collins as a struggling writer, Jackson Dover, actively defying his superiors and demonstrating that escapist, political, and humanist pictures can coexist with one another, even in the ever-evolving film landscape. A statement that manifests itself as a femme fatale character escaping into the real world to defy Dover's critics and the studio mentality of mass market appeal. It's the kind of short that I wish were longer, to explore more of the initial idea behind it, because what's there is gold and ripe for expansion into a full-fledged feature.