Dealing with grief is hard Watching movies that deal with the subject of losing a loved one, especially a child can be a challenging viewing experience, but MAYFLY directed and co-written by Keith Andreen and Katrina Law sets up a narrative that takes a swing at the stages of grief, and how a person might ignore their grief until it becomes too much for them.

Self-help guru and best-selling author Aaron Driscoll (Warren Kole) seems to be living a life of fame and fortune when a late-night visit from his ex-wife Daniella, wielding a pistol, makes him face a reality he might not have been ready for, dealing with the death of his child Emily, of cancer. The visit makes him confront a lot of emotions that he tucked away from his past, processing his guilt by focusing on his career helping others instead of seeking the help he needed himself.

Runtime aside (this short film clocks in at a meaty twenty-five-ish minutes), MAYFLY is poignant, inspiring, and sad, but in a cathartic way. The color palette used in the movie is dynamic and uplifting in the scenes showcasing the memories of the days when Emily was alive, and muted and blue during nighttime conversation with Daniella, and the scenes of despair following the little girl’s death.

It’s a tough film to sit through, not due to any poor technique, but only because of the subject matter. It moved me and would probably do the same to most audiences who have the chance to catch it. The performances all around are fantastic, and the technical details meet cinematic standards and then some. If you see this programmed at your local film festival, seek it out, but bring some tissues.