For Dakota (2011) Online

I remember that For Dakota screened back-to-back with Bri Prooker's other marvel of a film, Bliss Is, at The Action on Film Festival, and I was happy to be in the audience to see it. I just recently re-watched For Dakota on IMDb and I fell in love with it even more the second time! Bri Prooker definitely deserves the best actress award she won for her moving performance as a woman going through the grieving process. What I love is that her performance wasn't at all overdone. Which made it so real to me. Her character mostly just reacts and has very few lines, but her face is heartbreaking. You can feel how disoriented she is and how much she wants to say something but can't, how much she wants to move but can't. It honestly took my breath away because I have been in her character's shoes: frozen and stuck with someone who is just making you feel worse and worse but you can't seem to get away, and I think her performance exemplified this feeling. As well as the feeling of being completely lost and numb when you are mourning a loved one. To be honest, Prooker had me right away when I first saw her WOOF Productions logo come up at the beginning of the film with her adorable doggy in it, but her very real performance and the hilarious lines of the nosy neighbor (who also did a fantastic job, by the way!) made me a fan all the way to the end of the credits.

In FOR DAKOTA, pajama-clad Sarah wants to mourn in private. But her nosy – and extremely annoying – neighbors won't leave her alone. She can't even take out the garbage without getting accosted by a well-meaning, but obnoxious woman who blathers on and on about death, disease and haircuts. Bri Prooker, the star of this funny, but emotionally gripping short film, says little in FOR DAKOTA. But her face tells you everything you need to know about Sarah's pain and exasperation. Bri reveals more in a single gesture than many other actors reveal in pages of dialogue. I also enjoyed the clever camera work. It sometimes made me feel as though I was in the middle of a Picasso or Escher painting, and the unexpected shots gave me further insight into Sarah's disjointed thoughts. If you're a fan of well-crafted writing and highly-honed acting, find a way to view FOR DAKOTA.

All I can say is that this movie is a piece of art. Not all art is made out of expensive materials. This film certainly is not. But expensive materials are not what make art art. Heart and soul is. Art should make us feel. Art should move us and take our breath away. And that is just what FOR DAKOTA does. I was first taken off guard by the unusual filmmaking style: lots of cuts, switches in lighting, obvious use of different takes; ie hairstyle looking different from moment to moment… ALL these things that could be on a list of what NOT to do when making a film… But I very quickly forgot about all that as I was sucked into the emotion of the film. And then I realized the brilliance of the filmmaker, Bri Prooker, as all these "bad filmmaking" choices were so obviously intentional, as it is these very traits that make FOR DAKOTA so profound (not to mention some pretty powerful and heart wrenching acting by Ms. Prooker, who also stars in her film). This movie is about a woman in mourning. The sudden switches in lighting, the random cuts, the obvious use of many different takes for the same conversation… all of these directorial choices make the viewer feel just as stuck as the woman in mourning. We feel as if she is stuck in some perpetual time loop, where she can't get away from her pain (or her prying neighbor). Time moves very differently when you're grieving. This movie – piece of art – could not have captured that more accurately.

Bri Prooker shows with FOR DAKOTA that she is an all-around talented storyteller, as the writer, director, producer, lead actress and VISIONARY of this moving short. Her film spoke to me on so many levels. It made me laugh, it made my heart ache and it made me revel in how REAL it was. It brought to life a very real and very relatable moment. Bri Prooker's remarkable storytelling abilities not only puts the audience into her lead character's shoes, but with the very unique cutaways, we also feel like we are put into the her lead character's head, a jumbled mixture of the many emotions we feel when in mourning. Bri Prooker is a fresh and unique talent and I can't wait to watch her next film!