You may not have heard of director Shawn Christensen, but there’s one thing you should know about him – he’s an Oscar winner. Back in 2013, the filmmaker bagged the Best Live Action Short golden statuette for Curfew. Embracing the Academy’s reception of his little movie, he took his victory as a sign that he should adapt the gritty drama into a feature. Now, one year later, the full-length version, retitled Before I Disappear, looks set to follow in the footsteps of the original.
Christensen’s updated take expands on the story we were first introduced to in the short. For those of you who’ve not had the chance to see it, you can get a good glimpse at what’s in store via the latest trailer. With a brilliant cast this time around, the movie follows a precocious 11-year old (Fatima Ptacek) who winds up in the care of her bum uncle (the starring role nabbed by Christensen himself). Shameless‘ Emmy Rossum pops up as the girl’s mother, and Ron Perlman makes an appearance in an advisory role.
After doing the festival circuit rounds this year, the film’s garnered a strong critical backing. Might this project turn Christensen into a two-time Oscar winner? We’ve not long to wait before we find out, as Before I Disappear opens in cinemas on November 28th.
A troubled young man and his straight-laced niece embark on a thrilling odyssey through New York City in this heartrending drama based on an Oscar-winning short. As his life hits rock bottom, 20-something Richie (Shawn Christensen) decides to end it all—only to have his half-hearted suicide attempt interrupted by an urgent request from his sister (Emmy Rossum) to babysit her precocious daughter (Fatima Ptacek). So begins a madcap tour of Manhattan after dark, as uncle and niece find unexpected bonds in the unlikeliest of places. Ron Perlman co-stars in this hugely moving adaptation of up-and-coming director/star Christensen’s own 2013 Academy Award-winning short, Curfew.
