Watch: Casino Thriller Short Film ‘Safe’ with Will Patton & Phil Ettinger

Watch: Casino Thriller Short Film ‘Safe’ with Will Patton & Phil Ettinger

by Alex Billington
July 17, 2024
Source: YouTube

“This is not your choice, you’re not staying here. Not another word. Get your things.” A highly-rated short film is now available to watch online after playing on the film festival circuit for the last few years. Safe is an engaging 16-minute short film written and directed by Ian Barling – it originally premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival in the Critics Week sidebar, and played at many of others including Naples, Nashville, and Rome Independent. On a cold winter night in Atlantic City, the manager of a defunct casino must reckon with his parental failures when his unruly son comes to him in desperate need of help out of an illicit bind. Safe stars acclaimed actors Will Patton and Philip Ettinger, with Noa Fisher, Cindy Katz, and Skipp Sudduth. Patton is one of the most underrated actors in the biz, and it’s always fascinating watching him. There’s always something brewing beneath the surface in his performances – this included. View below.

Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip on this debuting online to watch. Brief synopsis from YouTube: “On a winter night in Atlantic City, the manager of a defunct casino must reckon with his parental failures when his unruly son comes to him in desperate need of help out of an illicit bind.” Safe is a short film both written and directed by American filmmaker Ian Barling – you can view more of his work on his official website or follow him on IG @ianbarling. It’s produced by Jordan Drake, Bruno Vernaschi, Ian Barling, Sam Kaminer. Exec produced by Aaron Craig. Featuring cinematography by Anna Franquesa-Solano. Shot on 35mm Kodak film using a Panavision Panaflex Millenium XL camera on location in New Jersey. This first premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival in the Critics Week sidebar, playing at many festivals over the last few years. For more on the film, visit SOTW or Ian’s site and the film’s official site. To discover more shorts, click here.

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