In Sarah Sellman’s short film Gillyfish, Lana (Cat Coyle) decides it’s time to come face-to-face with her father, who left her years ago. Expressing hesitation to her girlfriend, Gillian (Aoife Commons), Lana asks her to pretend to be Lana in her first meeting with her father. She thinks Gillian would be perfect because she always knows the right thing to say at the right moment. Gillian reluctantly agrees.
“…Lana decides it’s time to come face-to-face with her father, who left her years ago.”
The thrill of Gillyfish is that second act. I hesitate to say anything, but things for Gillian are not as they seem when she confronts Lana’s father. The theme of Gillyfish is confrontation. Most people fall into either conflict avoidance or facing conflict head-on. Gillyfish shows how we handle conflict, which says a lot about our relationship with loved ones.
Cat Coyle and Aoife Commons give outstanding performances and hit the notes of Sarah Sellman’s script perfectly. In the end, Gillyfish tells an unusual story that will resonate with people you may know or have known in your life.
"…an unusual story that will resonate with people..."
