Unbreaking Up

written and directed by Boris Kievsky

logline

Waiting to meet her at an art gallery, Alex has 15 minutes to figure out the conversation to ‘undo’ his breakup with Sasha.

story

Programmer Alex regrets breaking up with dancer Sasha two weeks ago. Tonight, he’s invited her to an art show with every intention of winning her back. Showing up for their ‘just friends’ date 15 minutes early, Alex is determined to debug the situation and figure out what he has to say to undo their breakup. What he’s not prepared for is dealing with the issues underneath his actions. Can he admit his true faults, deal with his issues and figure out that conversation to ‘unbreak up’ all in 15 minutes, or will he have to abort his plan?

about the project

In our computer-centric lives, we have all come to be dependent on the ubiquitous “undo” function, but that function doesn’t translate well to real-world relationships and the actions we take. So often, we wish we could un-say something, un-hurt someone. How many times have we all had after-the-fact “what if I’d said this” conversations with people in our heads, or rehearsed what we would do next time? For the analytically-minded this can easily descend into downright obsession. In this short film, one such is played out: a man trying desperately to undo his recent break-up, even as his guilt-ridden psyche forces him to face the underlying issues that led him down that path.