A seven-year-old discovers magic is real when reality breaks first.
Confronted by the stark reality that his father is in an intimate relationship with another woman, seven-year-old Caleb grapples with his sense of belonging and begins to inhabit a realm of frightening magical possibility. The cracks in his parents relationship, coupled with their drug use and inability to communicate, drive Caleb further into his imagination. It is not until he meets Eddie, a blind man with a sense of mischief and a subtle inner knowing, that Caleb begins to open up and explore his own innate potential for magic, which leads ultimately, to a fulfillment of the impossible.
Direction
Walshe-Howling crafts a complete emotional arc in under 20 minutes.
Acting
Finn Ireland's performance is devastatingly authentic.
Cinematography
Dreamlike visuals blur painful reality with imagined escape.
Director
Damian Walshe-Howling
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The title 'Suspended' operates triple-duty: Caleb suspended between parents, between reality and imagination, and literally airborne in the climax.
Damian Walshe-Howling, primarily known as an actor, directed this as his thesis project at AFTRS — it won multiple festival awards and launched his directing career.
US
AU
