Private Project

Cecily

Ernest and Cecily, the latter a figment of the former’s strange imagination, enjoy a jolly life together. The film, presented as a biased documentary commissioned by The Human Psyche newspaper, follows psychiatrist Dr. Phil Knickerbocker on his quest to cure Ernest. The cure proposed by Knickerbocker involves threatening the patient with the death of one of their loved ones. Corroborating that Ernest is in desperate need of correction, Ernest’s sister, Marillyn, lures Ernest into a confrontation between him, her, and Dr. Knickerbocker, where Knickerbocker could probe his cure on a man who really never needed it.

  • Thomas Später
    Key Cast
    "Ernest Kimmelman"
  • Anna Hilderman
    Key Cast
    "Cecily"
  • Sara Laskey
    Key Cast
    "Marillyn Kimmelman"
  • Christopher Miranda
    Key Cast
    "Phil Knickerbocker (Bill)"
  • Hong Ye
    Sound Recordist
  • Md Abu Saleh
    Visual Effects Artist
  • Ernesto Suarez
    Dialogue Editor
  • Kaiyue (Ethan) Guan
    Editor
  • Kaiyue (Ethan) Guan
    Editor
  • Kaiyue (Ethan) Guan
    Director of Photography
  • Kaiyue (Ethan) Guan
    Director
  • Kaiyue (Ethan) Guan
    Writer
  • Kaiyue (Ethan) Guan
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Psychological Fiction, Satire, Noir
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 8, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    2,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - The Harker School
Director Biography - Kaiyue (Ethan) Guan

The best part about filmmaking, to Ethan, is the privileged membership in a community comprised of interesting people. Through tonal and formal innovation, Ethan’s films dialogue effectively with social issues, proving themselves an interesting voice in an interesting community. Furthermore, his films tend to bear a certain edge; a soft spot. The charming prick of his own twisted fantasies tinge his work, making them no less thought-provoking and all the more interesting.

His films have been screened and awarded at multiple international film festivals. Also quite involved in commercial filmmaking, directing about a dozen trailers and documentaries for his school, The Harker School, since 2019. President of the school’s film club since 2021.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

“Cecily,” a film presented as a biased documentary commissioned by The Human Psyche newspaper, critiques society’s treatment of aberrant people with personification, verbal irony, and radical lighting. Cecily, who appears as a histrionic young woman, is a personification of the quirkiness of Ernest’s different mind. The film’s ironic captions describe Ernest as being mentally ill. They frame Cecily as something dangerous and Ernest as her victim, who is absolutely in desperate need of a cure. Lighting-wise, “Cecily” resembles film noir. An interplay between light and dark observes the theme of misunderstanding, and the transition of characters to and fro specific lighting states suggests (in the case of Phil, the doctor determined to cure Ernest) the concealing of the darker parts of oneself and (in the case of Ernest) forced conformity. These notes serve to facilitate a dialogue with the formal themes of this film. Beyond that, however, the book turns into a film, and I wish you the best possible time with it.