Private Project

Dissonance

'Dissonance' follows a late-blooming Millennial whose world is upended after reconnecting with an overbearing friend from the past. Upon leaving a heated basketball game, Jesse catches the blowback from Mark’s petty confrontation, which he narrowly escapes with his life. The next two days follow Jesse through his internal angst as he tries to reconcile what transpired.

  • Rafi Jacobs
    Director
  • Rafi Jacobs
    Writer
  • Diane Foster
    Producer
  • Rafi Jacobs
    Producer
  • Shyllon Melatti
    Key Cast
    "Jesse"
  • Michael Naizu
    Key Cast
    "Mark"
  • Jayson Reyes
    Key Cast
    "Bobby"
  • Diane Foster
    Key Cast
    "Catalina"
  • Charlene Miranda
    Key Cast
    "Gina"
  • Rae Latt
    Key Cast
    "Maria"
  • Alveraz Ricardez
    Key Cast
    "Samuel"
  • Ketino Christopher
    Key Cast
    "Alex"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 19 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 5, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    25,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    AVC-Intra4k 422
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39.1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Catalina Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    September 17, 2021
    World
    Official Selection
  • Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    September 20, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Venice Shorts

    United States
    October 5, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Culver City Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    December 8, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Miami Short Film Festival
    Miami
    United States
    Semi-Finalist
  • Kalakari Film Festival
  • Eastern Oregon Film Festival
    La Grande, OR
    United States
    October 20, 2023
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Rafi Jacobs

Rafi Jacobs is a filmmaker and experimental video artist based in Los Angeles (USA). He draws on tableaux and documentary conventions while investigating the subversion of socially normative behavior like drug addiction, the abject, and deconstructing the archetype of masculinity as it pertains to class, religion, and family. Jacobs received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in photography, film, and video from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. While at SAIC, Jacobs was simultaneously writing, producing, and directing the award-winning "Malignant Separation," a good versus evil tale following a flamboyant vigilante ridding his corrupt streets of evil, and a character expansion of "Maniac Mal Compris," also directed by Jacobs, with over 3.4 million views on YouTube.

His recent film, "Dissonance," follows a late-blooming Millennial seeking retribution after catching the blowback from his friend’s violent altercation. It is rounding down its festival run, with notable screenings at the Catalina Film Festival, Culver City Film Festival, Venice Shorts, and the upcoming Miami Short Film Festival and Eastern Oregon Film Festival.

In 2022, Jacobs co-founded Static Films with fellow producers, Stephen Mastrocola and Liana Montemayor. Recent feature credits include "Crossword," starring Michael Vlamis ("Roswell, New Mexico"), Aurora Perrineau ("Westworld"), and Harvey Guillén ("What We Do in the Shadows"); "Wine Club," starring Steve Little ("Eastbound and Down") and Erik Griffin ("Workaholics"); "Max Dagan," starring Zachary Gordon ("Diary of a Wimpy Kid"), Michael Madsen ("Reservoir Dogs"), Rob Morrow ("Quiz Show"), and Jay Mohr ("Jerry Maguire"); "Breakup Season," starring Chandler Riggs ("The Walking Dead") and Samantha Isler ("Molly’s Game").

Jacobs is currently developing, "Boychik," a coming-of-age feature accessing the mind of a suburban adolescent who eschews the abundant resources of his upbringing; "Boomtown," an urban drama examining Detroit’s historical relevance and achievements from the early 20th century to present day. It is a complex study of the city’s unique and unrivaled margins – both high and low.

Narrative storytelling has been juxtaposed with his pursuits in the fine art world. Jacobs has exhibited his photographs and experimental video works in galleries, museums, and publications worldwide since 2012, most notably at Art/Video International (Netanya, Israel), Duplex Gallery (Geneva, Switzerland), the Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography (Detroit, USA), and the Spectacle Theater (Brooklyn, USA).

Jacobs formed Koss Market Films in 2017, inspired by his great-grandfather’s market in Detroit in the 1930s.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The journey to "Dissonance" came by way of an exploration into how quickly an impertinent exchange can result in catastrophe. I heard a story about a young man’s verbal altercation blowing back on his friend when he ran into the unknown victim later that evening. Fortunately, nothing harmful ensued, but I couldn’t stop playing out the setup for what could have been. All too often, petty arguments escalate into fights in bars or at sporting events; a victim gets hit too hard, in the wrong spot, or too excessively, resulting in brain damage or even death. I became fascinated by how one internalizes such traumatic, accidental events.

This notion of retaliation as honor is a shortsighted alpha phenomenon. Fight compilation videos spread like wildfire across the internet as entertainment; fighters beating each other senseless while spectators often act as instigators and recorders, rather than diffusors. Wading into the bullying epidemic plaguing today’s youth, social media can serve as an accelerated distribution platform affecting shame, embarrassment, or degradation, resulting in unfathomable tragedies such as school shootings and live streamed suicides. The collision of Jesse and Mark’s opposing forces in "Dissonance" provides a crude glimpse into just how unfriendly a friendship can be as this film takes place in the interim from when tragedy strikes before the truth is revealed.

Cinema's capabilities extend far beyond entertainment. It holds the power to educate, to challenge perceptions by exploring alternative perspectives, and to incite critical discourse. Through dramatic character-driven narratives, like "Dissonance," I am able to probe and present the complex layers of the human condition.