At the 3rd annual Indy Film Festival, students are offered a chance to showcase their creativity to the school by sharing their short films. “The Mirage”, a film directed by Joey Garcia (11), falls under the noir genre, imitating the black and white cinema of the James Bond era.
The film opens with suspense. Elegant yet eery piano music serves as a backdrop as viewers look through the mind of Detective Barbados, and his attempts to bring peace to the town by solving the murder mystery.
Audiences follow Detective Barbados as he weaves through a web of mystery, encountering obscure characters such as Chris P. Bacon to find the murder suspect, Gideon. Audiences are spun through black and white neighborhoods and billiard rooms as Detective Barbados grasps to solve the mystery.
The filmmakers used various unorthodox camera angles to add suspense to the film. When the detective is writing a letter, only his hands are seen, leaving his face off film. Likewise, when he is on the way to confront Gideon, walking on the road to his house, the camera only captures his lower body; because of this, the viewers are only seeing a small picture of what is really going on, leaving them feeling more suspenseful and engaged in the film. Another interesting technique the filmmakers use is the shifting of time frames through the use of flashbacks. Like when Detective Barbados thinks back to previous events to make sense of the present. These methods all contribute to that air of exciting confusement, which is satisfying resolved in a dramatic climax that ties everything together.
The Mirage is a film with many quirks, and students can watch it by following this link: Film Festival 2024 slides and going to slide seven. There is also a Google Form available on the slideshow that allows students to vote films for six different categories, including best cinematography and best acting. Make sure to watch all the films before voting!
Cast List:
Director – Joey Garcia
Cinematographer – Lailee Hanif
Producer – Ethan Hill
Detective Barbados – Ethan Hill
Chris P. Bacon / Gideon – Joey Garcia
