Jonny Rios

A gorgeous and frequently emotional rumination on the “big things” in life, James Gallagher’s new short film, Love, poses questions on what we love, why we love it, and what happens when the desire to win becomes detrimental to our experience of ourselves and other people. While that description seems preachy, the film is not didactic—on the contrary, its plot is extremely loose and impressionistic, requiring the viewer some effort to construct its fast-moving snippets into a coherent narrative.

11-year-old Alexander adjusts to life with his new Step-Dad, Ian, while navigating the aftermath of his parent's divorce and escaping into basketball daydreams.