We fall in love. We fall out of love. We fall everywhere in between. 

In Who We Were, Sadie (Julia Randall) and Sam (Connor Delves) represent connection and disconnection, love and loss, and a sort of longing that's difficult to communicate in this pandemic-influenced time in which so many of us have struggled to obtain and retain human connections. 

Filmed in black-and-white entirely on an iPhone, Who We Were is a 6-minute short film directed by Ryan Spahn and written by Delves that follows Sadie and Sam from their passionate and playful selves to their growing sense of disconnect, uncertainty, and doubt. One easily gets that sense of disconnect throughout Who We Were, the film's rather primitive filmmaking actually ideal for the story being told and Randall's physicality driving it all home sublimely as Zsela's lovely vocals waft through the film's cinematic background like an essential piece of the film's atmospheric tapestry. 

Refreshingly, there isn't necessarily a right-and-wrong portrayed here. There's simply the changing of time and life and space and feelings. Both Randall and Delves are excellent in capturing those joy-filled early times and the times when it becomes obvious that things now are not what they once were. It's poignant, thoughtful, and yet sadly familiar as so many of us had similar experiences, romantic and otherwise, throughout this prolonged period of isolation. 

Who We Were continues on its indie fest journey having already been an official selection at the Austin Micro Film Festival where it was nominated for best relationship drama. 

Who We Were wears its microcinema foundation proudly and it's definitely worth checking out if it shows up at an indie fest near you. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic