From the director’s statement: “Before the Winter” was part of the 2023 Producer-Initiated Thesis projects, an unseen initiative at Chapman University that consisted on selecting the three best scripts of a pool of more than 30 projects submitting to be produced. Writer-Producer Flora, sent me her script before being selected for the initiative, and when I read it not only did I know that it was going to be selected but I also knew I had to be the one to direct it. As a 2nd year student at the time, it was unheard of for a student to direct a thesis before the actual thesis year (3rd one), but knowing this story had to be told by me drove me to do anything to make this happened, and after meeting with Flora and sharing with her my vision of the story she didn’t hesitate to team up with me on this journey. And so the script got selected by the faculty and it became not only one of the first Producer Initiated thesis films in Chapman’s history, but also, the first one directed by a 2nd year student.
The short begins in a classroom, with the camera closing in on the back of a female student, soon revealed to be of Chinese descent. She is May, and she quickly finds herself bullied by a fellow student, an encounter that ends with him nursing a bloody nose and both of them in the principal’s office, where she is reprimanded by Mrs. Lee. The book that sparked the altercation is left in the office, and Mrs. Lee discovers a hidden journal tucked inside it. As she reads a passage resembling poetic prose, the setting shifts to May’s home, where she is tending to a household marked by fatigue: an exhausted mother and a sick cat.
It becomes clear that May’s mother is in a difficult situation, and one night May witnesses her asking for help from another woman. Eventually, curiosity drives her to follow her mother to one of her late-night shifts—what she discovers shakes her to her core. The revelations, however, don’t end there.
Juan Zuloaga Eslait directs an affecting short that excels in content, context, and execution. The way May’s notebook entries advance the story is impressive on its own, but it’s the symbolic role of the cat that elevates “Before the Winter” to something profound. Without revealing too much, the build-up to the twist is handled with remarkable precision, and during the pivotal scene, the musical score heightens the emotional impact significantly. Eslait manages the drama with skill, crafting its introduction, escalation, and climax with impressive economy—all within just 15 minutes.
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The atmosphere of bleakness is reflected in the cinematography. The desaturated colors, dim lighting, and heavy shadows mirror the weight of May’s circumstances. DP Zhan Donny Li creates a world of quiet despair, visually supporting the story’s emotional stakes. Dimitri Kyriakos’s editing is also great, both in the pace and the succession of scenes, which blur the reality enough to make the finale even more impactful.
Venice Wong delivers a compelling performance as May, balancing restraint and emotional release with nuance. She is supported convincingly by Yin Yin Liow as her mother and Lauren Bjel as Mrs. Lee.
“Before the Winter” is a remarkable short and a masterclass in compact storytelling from a director likely to leave a lasting mark in the years to come.
