Passing Darkness

I was privileged to view Passing Darkness at the Big Bear International Film Festival recently. I also enjoyed discussing this film afterwards with the passionate, talented director, Kenneth Mader. It amazed me how much action and mystery was packed into a short. Its enigmatic, although well foreshadowed ending, totally surprised me because of the many plot twists. The acting of Debra Hopkins, especially, was so dramatic but realistic, that I was totally shocked by how I'd been misled as to what the plot was really about. The thrill-building music score by Alan Derian increased the suspense. The writer/director brought out the best possible performances in the memorable actors, created an eerie mood in the cinematography and edited it with increasingly swifter cuts that brought the audience's senses reeling by the movie's end.