A Fistful of Presents

A Fistful of Presents is a short film about an outlaw who confronts an unusual opponent on Christmas Eve in the Old West. The title seems to reference the name of one of Sergio Leone’s movies, called A Fistful of Dollars. Two characters, an external conflict and a mixture of elements from Western and Holiday-themed films compose this film genre salad served by Cole Clark, who produced it as his graduation project at US-based Ringling College of Art and Design.

Iconography, sound, staging and close-ups plus a medium long shot (a.k.a. “cowboy shot”) from the classic Western films are employed, but it all soon starts getting mixed, re-contextualized and re-signified by the introduction of elements from Holiday-themed films.

A stylized aesthetic is used and there’s good attention dedicated to framing and composition. Creativity, surprise, humor and the playful mix of film genres make for an enjoyable short.