

On a winter night in Atlantic City, the manager of a defunct casino must reckon with his parental failures when his unruly son needs help out of an illicit bind.
Acting
Will Patton's weathered face does entire monologues.
Cinematography
Neon-soaked winter Atlantic City is its own character.
Direction
Ian Barling trusts silence over exposition — rare in shorts.
Director
Ian Barling
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in an actual closed Atlantic City casino during COVID, lending documentary-level authenticity to the economic ruin.
Will Patton and Philip Ettinger improvised their tense car argument; the original script had them barely speaking.