Experiencing Interruptions?

A Day At The Beach

Inspired by the allegorical approach of Eastern European cinema, "A Day At the Beach" addresses a larger political problem through the small story of a collision of 2 individual lives. Stuck in the transphobic hell of small-town Trumpland, a non binary teen walks into the ocean to escape. Forced to see someone else's pain, middle-aged Buck, played by Brian Kelly of The Andy Warhol Diaries, is jolted out of his resentment-fueled self isolation and back into engaging with the world, one person at a time.

While we on the Left were obsessed with labels and orthodoxy instead of addressing the spiraling economic inequality pushing us all down into a lower class, the fascist Right infected our culture with hate, highjacked our institutions and stripped us of human rights we had taken for granted. Isn't it about time for us boomers to listen instead of proclaim and let the younger generation take the lead? To keep all our kids safe, it's time to "try something different."

  • Chris Arnold
    Director
    If You Succeed
  • Chris Arnold
    Writer
    Cornerstone
  • Chris Arnold
    Producer
    If You Succeed, The Hand of Fatima
  • Audrey Wilson
    Key Cast
    "Jade"
  • Brian Kelly
    Key Cast
    "Buck"
    Andy Warhol in the Emmy nominated The Andy Warhol Diaries
  • Juan Carlos Borrero
    Director of Photography
    The Hand of Fatima
  • Chris Arnold
    Editor
    If You Succeed, The Hand of Fatima
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Alternative, LGBTQ+
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 21 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 16, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    7,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED 6K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Stony Brook University
  • Mannheim Arts and Film Festival
    Mannheim
    Germany
    Best Discrimination and Equality Film
  • Best Shorts Competition

    United States
    Award of Recognition
  • Big Apple Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    May 21, 2023
    World
  • Golden Lion International Film Festival 2023

    India
    Best Debut Short
  • Milan Gold Awards 2023
    Milan
    Italy
    Gold Award for Student Film, Silver Award for Narrative Short
  • Fox International Film Festival 2023

    Italy
  • Swedish International Film Festival 2023

    Sweden
  • RED Movie Awards 2023
  • Golden Bridge Istanbul Film Festival
    Istanbul
    Turkey
  • Golden Short Film Festival 2023

    Finalist
  • WorldFest Houston 2023
    Houston, Texas
    United States
    Finalist
  • Lytham International Film Festival 2023

    United Kingdom
    Finalist
  • Blow-up Arthouse Filmfest Chicago 2024
    Chicago, Illinois
    Semi-Finalist
  • Great Message International Film Festival 2024

    Winner
  • Venice Independent Film Festival 2024

    Winner, Best Student Film
  • Montreal Shorts 2024

    Winner, Best Indie
  • Lisbon Film Rendezvous 2024

    Semi-Finalist
Director Biography - Chris Arnold

After working for 7 years as an Avid editor and media educator at Jon Alpert and Keiko Tsuno's legendary independent documentary production company/nonprofit media center DCTV, Chris Arnold co-founded Cultural Animal to produce and edit the 2 feature documentaries IF YOU SUCCEED and The Hand of Fatima. These films were shown at the WorldFest Houston, San Francisco DocFest, Indie Can, Raindance, Indie Memphis and Woods Hole film festivals.

On his birthday in 2015, Chris, a big fan of the films of Todd Haynes and Christine Vachon, attended an Open House for the freshly-minted Stony Brook/Killer Films MFA program. By the end of that info session, his passion for independent narrative had been reignited, and he decided to go back to school to get his MFA in Film.

In the SBU Film program, Chris divided his time equally between narrative directing and screenwriting. Thanks to the excellent guidance received in the program, his first feature screenplay, Cornerstone, has won awards and been recognized in multiple national contests. His thesis short, "A Day At The Beach," is Chris's first narrative film.

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Director Statement

Inspired by Berlin Dada, Godard and Eastern European allegorical cinema, I use an artisanal approach to create uncompromising, politically engaged films whose multiple layers can be enjoyed by different audiences. I am interested in exploring stories that value the everyman over the hero, that seek to replace romantic myths with ambiguous humanistic understanding.

3-Act structure should be a tool not a recipe; narrative, like all form, should "follow function." To make a film about alienation and powerlessness using the "hero's journey" is to make a film in bad faith. To me, "independent" means choosing to work outside the system.