Private Project

Unfulfilled

In order to learn life lessons and before she can write an inspiring screenplay, Ava, an aspiring writer must face her fear and bias, her most disturbing demons.

  • Rodney Kimbangu
    Director
    Lituka, Forever in Motion
  • Rodney Kimbangu
    Writer
    Lituka, Forever in Motion
  • Rodney Kimbangu
    Producer
    Lituka, Forever in Motion
  • Joy Maki DeTore
    Key Cast
    "Ava Jill"
  • Andrew Fox Follin
    Key Cast
    "Unfulfilled (male)"
  • Lea Beckmann
    Key Cast
    "Unfulfilled (female)"
  • Rodney Kimbangu
    Key Cast
    "911 Operator"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Fantasy
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 8, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    2,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.40:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Independent Shorts Awards
    Hollywood, Los Angeles
    United States
    March 14, 2020
    Winner - Best Student Director (Male)
  • Independent Shorts Awards
    Hollywood, Los Angeles
    United States
    March 14, 2020
    Winner - Best Actress
  • Independent Shorts Awards
    Hollywood, Los Angeles
    United States
    March 14, 2020
    Winner - Best Fantasy Short
  • KWCFilmFest
    Owensboro
    United States
    September 26, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Aphrodite Film Awards
    New York City
    United States
    March 7, 2020
    Semi-Finalist
  • New York Cinematography AWARDS (NYCA)
    New York City
    United States
    June 29, 2020
    Semi-Finalist
  • Changing Face International Film Festival
    Sydney
    Australia
    November 28, 2020
    Semi-Finalist
Director Biography - Rodney Kimbangu

Rodney Kimbangu is a Congolese Filmmaker. He graduated from Berea College during the pandemic, but has also attended the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles in 2018. Rodney is a life-long learner, driven by a deep desire to make meaningful art. He is now pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Technologies at Virginia Tech.

He has taken Masterclasses in Directing, Filmmaking, Documentary, Photography, Performing, and Acting. Some of his Masterclass instructors have been Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Spike Lee, Ken Burns, Andrew St. Pierre White, Annie Liebovitz, Raymond Usher, Christina Aguilera, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jordan Brady, to name a few.

He's directed a little over five student films, among which Other, Future shock, Forever in Motion, Enlightened, and Unfulfilled. He's also directed Lituka, a personal project that followed an entrepreneurial young boy who makes charcoal stoves in the Congo (DRC).

Rodney has always wanted to be a filmmaker. While he had no clue how he'd do it, he learned drawing, sculpting, dance, painting, computer coding, as well as photography to keep his creative mind active. Dreams and the human condition inspire him; often, he wakes up on portions of scenes that he quickly writes on sticky notes. While looking forward to, one day, working in movies starring actors such as Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, Helen Mirren, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hanks, or Tom Cruise, he is now brainstorming his next microfilm.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Love and fear are the most fundamental feelings. One creates positive occurrences, and the other causes negative possibilities. Les Brown's quote on fear, "the graveyard is the richest place on earth," inspired this fantasy/drama short. In our individualistic society, the ego is mistaken for empowerment, causing people to hide their fear of vulnerability. With this egotistical mindset, it becomes difficult to perceive any help and opportunity as such.

In this movie, I set up a man vs. self type of conflict, with a theme of self-sabotage. Ava has a back story that could not make it to the short. She is a hypocritical and manipulative narcissist. Besides, she has big goals but wants things to happen precipitately without putting enough work. She fears to fail and to be vulnerable, which causes her never to try anything because she feels entitled. She wants to become a screenwriter, but her underlying fear of failure causes to procrastinate and prevents her from becoming the screenwriter she wanted to be until she crashes her bicycle.

I used colors to enhance the story and make a clear divide between the real world and the near-death experience (limbo) where things are decaying. However, Ava's colors resemble the colors of fall, which symbolizes the decay she is going through in limbo. The more time she spends there, the more stubborn she becomes, and the darker, colder, and moodier the colors of the movie get. This gradual change in color intensifies the discomfort, while Ava pushes herself deeply into her self inflicted abyss.

This experience is both personal and universal because everybody can relate in one way or another. With "Unfulfilled," I want to emphasize that it is essential to make an effort to know ourselves and adjust our behaviors when they do not serve our higher and noble purpose. Thus, "Unfulfilled" becomes a journey into the abyss of the human experience as it exposes some of the current societal flaws, the fear of making mistakes. I am working on turning this short film into a feature, and I hope the viewers will recognize themselves in Ava the way I have done. I expect this short to be emotionally powerful and compelling to induce a transformation in whoever watches it.