Read Aloud

Justin (Isaac Josephthal) earns his living as a film editor, shaping other people's performances one cut at a time while privately longing to be the one on stage. In his daydreams he is the star of a dazzling cabaret; in real life he barely leaves the editing room. An online hookup changes that, drawing him toward a new circle of creative people who nudge him out from behind the screen and toward the kind of exposure he has always wanted and always dreaded. Written and directed by Blake Pruitt, this 15-minute short moves between Justin's fantasies and his more awkward waking hours, treating performance as something that happens on stage, in relationships and in the way a person invents himself. Jose Sepulveda, Roko Scherer and Heather Litteer co-star. Read Aloud is a playful, romantic portrait of a young man finally stepping into the spotlight.