In the opening moments of Arianna Ortiz's 16-minute short, I am immediately struck both by the visuals before me and my own thoughts and emotions. The story, co-written by Paula Pizza and Stephanie Alison Walker based upon Walker's own play, is set in a Chicago winter that feels cold and sparse. Lake Michigan is frozen, a vision I've never seen despite my own many trips to Chicago.
I'm also aware of another feeling I'd rather not have. These people, immigrants it would seem, and I feel the presence of this time in America where to be an immigrant seemingly comes with its own shadow in a nation that once seemingly felt so embracing.
Maybe. Maybe not.
The story begins to unfold. Sol (Paula Pizzi) has invited César (Ignacio Serricchio). César has arrived with a mysterious elderly woman, Carolina (Margarita Lamas). That Chicago winter hangs over the intimate playfulness of these indoor proceedings, Sol's daughter Gabriela (Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel) warms hearts playing her mother's favorite song on the cello.
We can practically breathe in the cello.
It is to the credit of Stephanie Alison Walker's intimate yet universal storytelling in the original play The Abuelas that we relax into this story and with these people. They quickly become familiar to us, perhaps too familiar. The Birthday Gift entertains us until what feels like a single moment that changes everything.
The Birthday Gift feels both far away and yet in the here and now. In a matter of minutes, Ortiz has crafted a film that feels both warm and comforting, life-changing and frightening.
As the closing credits rolled, I found myself asking "Where am I at on this spectrum?" Am I lost within my own entertainment and comforts or am I aware of the world around me and others beyond my own social circle?
Am I aware that this matters?
Am I? Really?
The ensemble here is strong throughout. There's a palpable feeling of presence and awareness that is immersive and very, very real. Paula Pizzi is sublime as Soledad, Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel completely memorable as Gabriela. Ignacio Serricchio impresses as the attractive and aware César, whose presence here is so meaningful. Yet, perhaps as unfolds in the film itself, it is Margarita Lamas as Carolina who steals our attention and demands our focus.
Lensing by Christopher Rejano is masterfully effective in capturing the seductiveness of lightness, the starkness of truth and revelation. Lalo Ayala's production design both amplifies our comfort and triggers our disconnect. Kudos must be given to the entire production team.
The story that unfolds in The Birthday Gift quietly yet undeniably speaks truth to power. As an American, I think of this often these days whether I'm writing film criticism, living out my presence as an activist, or simply living my daily life with disability in a country where disability has also become taboo. Eugenics is alive and well in the USA, though we sure don't like to talk about it.
I don't know the histories behind each person who committed to this project, though there's a palpable energy that feels partly fear and partly acknowledgement of memory and truth. Every image seems to have a story here. A truth. A memory. A history.
Kudos to the folks at Cleveland International Film Festival for providing the initial glimpse inside this short film that will no doubt experience much more success on the festival circuit. These are people we should know with stories we must hear.
Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic
