I love a short film that starts slow, giving you the “where the hell are we going” vibe, and then pays it off in the end. In Paul Hibbard’s comedy short, The Day of the Date, Kyle (Stephen Tronicek) and Maya (Sara Leste) sit awkwardly together on their first date, staring at a half-eaten box of Chinese takeout. Their small talk is forced and feels like all those dates you’ve been on when you’re just not feeling it. In a moment of levity, Maya questions why Kyle wants her to drink. She thinks he’s trying to seduce her, but Kyle admits it’s to loosen her up and be more open about herself. Maya is game as she shifts the conversation to an incredibly bizarre sex story, which throws Kyle off…a lot.
Stephen Tronicek and Sara Leste capture first date discomfort as Kyle and Maya in Paul Hibbard’s The Day of the Date.
“We open on a date that has zero sparks and zero chance of a second date.”
Making a short film often comes with high stakes. Simply, tell a good story and you win the prize. The dark and twisted filmmaker Paul Hibbard sets the stage and structures his story with precision. We open on a date that has zero sparks and zero chance of a second date. In The Day of the Date, director Paul Hibbard sets the scene with a painfully awkward first date. This close-up of leftover Chinese takeout visually underscores the discomfort and forced small talk between Kyle and Maya before the film’s surprising twist. and zero chance of a second date. We have two very mismatched people, beautifully played by Stephen Tronicek and Sara Leste. This is the trap, because we can all relate to it. Then we take a massive risk to shake up the story. Just when you wonder where it’s going, the trap is sprung, and there’s nothing more we can do than applaud the effort. Well done. You got me.
"…sets the stage and structures his story with precision."
