TRAILER
ABOUT THE FILM
A young boy witnesses his Mother's sorrow as his Father leaves, and utilizes his magical talent to bring joy to her life. Realizing he is a constant reminder of their past life, he uses his gift one last time.
Starring Azriel Dalman
FESTIVALS
Portland Film Festival (Portland, OR USA) - October/November 2021
Disappear Here Film Festival (Co Donegal, Ireland) - September 2021
Oakville Festival of Film & Arts (Oakville, ON Canada) - June 2021
Fastnet Film Festival (Schull, Ireland)- May 2021
Short. Sweet. Film Fest (Cleveland, OH USA) - February 2021
Vancouver Short Film Festival (Vancouver, BC Canada) - January 2021
AWARDS
WINNER - Short. Sweet. Film Fest, Honorable Mention for Drama
FINALIST - Oakville Festival of Film & Arts, Best Canadian Short Film
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
The Gift reflects on the trauma that parents' separation has on a child's mental health in a heartfelt and beautiful magic realism drama. Having my parents go through a divorce when I was a little boy, the story of The Gift closely resonated with me. I connected with the Boy and could truly feel what he feels. The divorce, unknown to me, caused psychological damage and significantly shaped who I am now. When my parents divorced, subconsciously, I felt that it was my fault. I wanted them to be back together and prayed as hard as I could for the miracle that will bring everything back as it used to be. Of course, I was not able to magically bring them back together. No matter how well my Mom tried to smile on her face, I could still feel her sorrow leaving me heartbroken with self-blame, that I cannot cheer my Mom up and that there is something wrong with me. At the time, this issue in me was not resolved, and the lack of self-love became part of my personality, leaving tremendous damage on how I, as a person and my life, developed. There are millions of kids with similar stories worldwide who potentially have kids of their own now but grew up with self-blame and lack of love. With The Gift, I want to highlight how kids feel during the divorce and the effects on kids' mental health. I want to speak to those kids who still might have blame buried deep in their hearts for not being able to fix their parents' relationship. It was not their fault! It is never the kid's fault, but they are the ones who usually pay the most. I understand it now. And The Gift is portraying the full circle of this situation. - Pauls Dombrovskis, director
CREDITS
executive producer/director PAUL DOMBROVSKIS
executive producer KING LOUIE PALOMO
associate producer JUSTIN KOREN
writer LISA SHERIDAN
cinematographer VINCE ARVIDSON csc
production designer JAMIE HOMENIUK
featuring: CHARLIE SWANSON| AZRIEL DALMAN | KELLEN BRUCE | LI VOLCHOK | CAMERON PAISLEY
production coordinator: DAVID MORA PEREA | assistant director: BROOKE GOBLE | 2nd assistant director: LAURENT PICHE | camera operator: VINCE ARVIDSON csc | 1st ac: MARK LECLAIR | 2nd ac: YANDI LIU | gaffer: OLLY BIAN | grip: CHRIS AJTONY | cine swing: RICARDO ESPINOSA | art director: WONTAE KIM |wardrobe: KRISTINA DOMBROVSKIS | sound recordist: WILLY IRAWAN |hair and makeup: CALEE BENSON | production assistant: LUKAS KINTON | bts photographers: JEFF TOPHAM & MARC DE VINCI | caterer: EDGE CATERING
produced in cooperation of the UNION OF BC PERFORMERS