Title: George & Dorothy
Runtime: 14 min
Country: USA
Director: A.P. Gonzalez
Placement: Award of Excellence
Competition: March, 2023

Synopsis: The film opens at a high-end Care Facility. Through glass doors, George, a large man, once a professional athlete, watches other residents in the garden being visited by friends and relatives.  George sits in his wheelchair anxiously awaiting his grandson who doesn’t show up. In time, the garden on the other side of the glass is empty as George, in his wheelchair, sits alone, sad and frustrated. 

Hours later, as George sits in the facility’s beautiful garden, his anger rises when Dorothy, a cheerful woman in her mid-seventies, approaches.  He knows her and doesn’t want anything to do with her. He exclaims in anger, “You gonna sell me Jesus or salvation or something?” Dorothy answers him with a smile, “I sell nothing. I give it away.” This is the beginning of a spirited conversation that takes us from anger, through challenge, humor, vulnerability to insight.  By the film’s conclusion, George is reminded by Dorothy, “Choose to Love.”