Filmmaker Karina Vidal Debuts 'Reds & Blues'

"Is it bad to fuel fantasies of you past death?" a young woman named Daphne asks. "Is it strange to be loyal, emotionally, to the nonexistent?" It's a weighty moment in Karina Vidal's short film, "Reds & Blues," a 10-minute tragedy that focuses on Daphne (Theodora Woolley), who is still struggling with the 1997 death of her girlfriend, Haylie.

Set in Asbury Park, NJ, Vidal strings together thoughts from Daphne's current self, aimlessly wandering through a New York fog, and memories of her past self, desperately in love in the midst of a New Jersey haze.

"It's a sort of visual collage," Vidal says, explaining that Daphne's character was inspired by someone she used to know and love very much although she emphasizes it's a work of fiction. "After she passed away, she became my muse, not just for 'Reds & Blues,' but for many other works I've done in the past four years." For this particular project, Vidal hopes that parents will watch the short film and better understand the detriments of raising children the way Haylie's Aunt Dolores does.

Shot in Vidal's Brooklyn apartment, the film was funded through Indiegogo and the support of additional private investors. The volunteer crew includes SVA undergraduates and alumni, and the cast is made up of talented actors from several New York conservatories.

Vidal is currently working on a script that digs into prostitution during the 1960s. "The project has its own goals: the pro-feminist side of me wants to achieve," she says.

A screening and Q&A of Reds & Blues will take place Sunday, Oct. 27, at the Metropolitan Community Church of New York at 12:30 p.m.

You can also watch the short film below:

Reds & Blues from Karina Vidal on Vimeo.