Artist in Person

Britta Sjogren's intimate new film explores the delicately balanced lives of people in Los Angeles and Portland whose connections to each other are only slowly revealed: a young couple conflicted about starting a family or careers, a man who has trouble living on his own and his father who tries to help him, an actor trying to get his start, an older woman who relishes her solitude. The poignancy of their attempts to deal with daily life is underscored by a sense of economic instability and their ongoing isolation. Beautifully filmed in black and white and played by nonprofessional actors portraying aspects of their own lives, In This Short Life balances fiction and real life, powerfully questioning the relationship between storytelling and documentary filmmaking. The songs of Mark Eitzel are an integral part of the film, commenting on human interactions with compassion and humor.