It will bring America to that great day, when all of us will have a sort of moral balance, Where everybody can know that we can sit on or under our own vine and fig tree and not be afraid, knowing that we do live in a country where equality of opportunity is a reality (Martin Luther King, Jr. 1964).
2MM is a collective of short-film filmmakers, founded by Maroon 5’s Jesse Carmichael. 2MM welcomes all styles of film, but the only rule is each short must be under two minutes long. Directors Shivin and Sunny embraced the challenge by painting a moving picture within the 2MM time limit.
In the short Thrive, Shivin & Sunny finds inspiration from Martin Luther King’s “equality of opportunity is a reality” speech by contrasting a safe-space meeting with members of the LGBTQIA+ communities against flashbacks of violent events these members had suffered in the past. Brief scenes of love, safety, and support are thrust against scenes of violence, hate, and fear—all with a steady EDM beat threading these scenes together.
“Brief scenes of love, safety, and support are thrust against scenes of violence, hate, and fear…”
The two-minute time limit can be taken as a limitation or taken as an opportunity to produce something profound. Directors Shivin and Sunny find ways of saying a lot with so little time. Each scene is a brief moving photograph intended to convey an emotion. One scene has five members in a loving, supportive embrace flooded with bright orange/yellow tones to contrast the dark blues of two of the actors being chased down a darkened street.
Thrive makes the most of its two minutes. Shivin and Sunny did not use the limitation to half-a*s the short’s production values. The images are well composed and powerful. The reality is all you can do in two minutes is convey an idea and an emotion and they make the most of it. Mission Accomplished.
Thrive (2019) Written and directed by Shivin & Sunny. Starring Kai Wes, Jewel Sales, Sage Nicole Chavis, Madisyn Maniff, Alex Ryan, Jacob Chabon.
7.5 out of 10 stars
https://youtu.be/eAqaqWiRlTo
