"The Moment I Died" Premieres, Is Quite The Tearjerker

This past Friday saw the premiere of "The Moment I Died", director Vince Zambrano's newest short flick which showed at the Wings Project on the lower east side. Comedy this aint; "The Moment I Died" is a tearjerker, managing to maintain its serious tone even when the movie's protagonist, James, stands totally nude before the camera, his elmer's glue like buttocks perfectly silhouetted by the sunset.

Any movie that can do that for five seconds and not elicit a giggle gets my approval.

More on the film below:

While risking me sounding like a Taoist (not that there's anything wrong with that), I've learned that most things in this world are innately cyclical, life itself included. So, it only follows that people should end their lives the same way they began them: totally and utterly naked. At least, that's the logic used in Vince Zambrano's short film.

All joking aside, 'The Moment I Died' left my gut tied in knots: the film tells the story of a man named James whose wife unexpectedly commits suicide. "I cannot live without her; she was my world" James says, his gaze lost to the ocean, the weight of the past crushing him beneath it's cruel, relentless girth. The movies finale, of James, naked and alone, walking into the ocean is beautiful, but oh-so-heartbreaking, as you realize that he's doing so in the vain attempt to reunite with his lost lover.

"I wanted James to have no regrets whatsoever when he stepped into that water," Zambrano says. "The drowning is a type of rebirth for him, where he'll be reunited with his Chloe." James and Chloe (played by Otto Sanchez and Colleen Diciventis respectively) share the spotlight with the cinematography, which Zambrano describes as "Very plain, very Japanese".

Look for "The Moment I Died" on this years festival circuit."