The Current/Dustin Wadsworth
We’re teaming with The Current to deliver 10 short films from 10 different directors, focused on social trends explored through cinema.
The sixth short film, The Bad Ones, features a young actor trying to get across an emotional monologue while the director keeps making changes. It’s an exercise in frustration, intensified by neither party really understanding what the performance – grounded in a religious change – should get across. Maybe it needs a scarf.
“I believe that Muslims are possibly the most misrepresented group in American news media,” says director Dustin Wadsworth.
“In the news coverage surrounding radical Islamic groups like ISIS, important distinctions between the majority of all Muslims and terrorist organizations are very rarely made. There seems to be a tendency to talk about ‘the Muslim world’ as if it is all the same thing.
“I’m excited to be a part of The Current this season as I see this as an opportunity to show a side to a story that I believe is important and through engaging the heart, the head should follow.
“As a culture we are constantly bombarded with news disguised as social commentary, good and bad, that really seeks to beat you over the head with an idea. The click bait news stories with headlines that don’t live up to the content, the talking head video clips where one commentator “owns” a guest or vice versa, etc. As it becomes easier to pass on and share these ideas we need to be able to think critically about what we take in and what we share.”