After having its world premiere at Philly's First Glance Film Festival, where it picked up the prizes for Best Short AND Best of the Fest, writer/director Mark Bonocore's beautifully photographed fantasy short film The Fay continues its fest success with appearances at Sunscreen, CENFLO, New Hope, and the Famous Monsters Film Festival where its simple yet inspired weaving together of Celtic myth and Arthurian legend is casting its own spell on festival audiences.

The film centers around a young knight (Tyler Oakey) who is injured in battle but rescued by a beautiful nymph (Sarah von Ouhl) who helps him recover but then refuses to let him go despite his being promised to another (Veronica Lane).

Shot in Pennsylvania with key scenes filmed in the beautiful Ricketts Glen State Park, The Fay is so beautifully photographed by Gerardo Puglia and Leon Sanginiti that you may very well find yourself forgetting its a short film until you realize that it's actually ended right about the 28-minute mark. Bonocore aims for a magical and dreamlike quality for the film and, indeed, it is at its absolute strongest when the encounters between the knight and the nymph are communicated through image rather than dialogue (or I should say "sound" since the film's actual dialogue is practically non-existent).

Produced by indie Monstrosity Films, The Fay is an ambitious film that goes far beyond what one normally expects from the low-budget indie world and, for the most part, actually pulls it all off. Sarah von Ouhl, in particular, is cast with such a luminous aura within the film that you can't help but be hypnotized by her presence as she lights up the screen.

The Fay continues on the film festival circuit and will no doubt continue to have success with a strong focus on the indie, underground, and genre fests as its most obvious outlets. The team behind The Fay is currently planning the film's remaining cinematic journey and I wouldn't be surprised if the film finds its way to a wider release in the near future.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic