SECTIONS // OFFICIAL COMPETITION SHORT LENGTH

The Send-Off

Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan
13' / 2015 / United States of America
Web: Otislucas.com
English
Spanish subtitled

Audience vote 5.91

For many residents of Pahokee, prom day is the crowning event of their youth. Once the largest producer of winter produce in the U.S., this Florida town was featured in Edward R. Murrow’s 1960 documentary “Harvest of Shame” as a place of extreme poverty and deplorable working conditions.
Today, surrounded by the largest industrial sugar producers in the US and mired by an industry that has failed the town, most residents are unable to leave after they graduate high school. With limited opportunities for the town’s youth, prom has become a significant marker on their journey to adulthood. Families invest their savings to provide their children with dazzling attire, spiraling hair, make-up and high-powered rides to the traditional dance, and at the “send-off” on the eve of the big event, the entire town rallies in Martin Luther King park to celebrate the maturing of their youth.

Main Festivals & Awards

South By Southwest Grand Jury Award – Texas Shorts
Sundance Film Festival

Director's Biography

Patrick Bresnan works as a visual artist (otisike.com) and filmmaker. He received his formal education working for notable Mission School artists Clare Rojas and Barry McGee (a.k.a. TWIST) in the creation of new work for exhibitions in the US and abroad. His video art and installations have been displayed in galleries and museums. His short documentary THE SEND-OFF premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, he produced ROUGAROUING (Hot Docs, Sheffield Doc Fest) and was the researcher and camera for the feature doc KILLING TIME (IDFA, T/F). His feature documentary ONE BIG MISUNDERSTANDING was awarded the top grant from the Austin Film Society in 2010 and is currently in post production. Patrick holds a masters degree in Sustainability from the School of Architecture at the University of Texas in Austin.

Ivete Lucas was born in Brazil and started her filmmaking career in Mexico. At age 23 she received a grant from the Mexican Film Institute to direct her first short film ASMA, which was shortlisted for the Mexican Academy Awards and released nationally in select movie theaters. She has directed a number of award winning short films and documentaries, including "The Send-Off" (Sundance '16) and "Ex-Votos" (PBS '15). She holds an MFA in Film Production from the University of Texas at Austin. Ivete also works as a video artist and is currently producing a feature film for artist Keren Cytter. Her first feature documentary ONE BIG MISUNDERSTANDING, co-directed with Patrick Bresnan, is slated to be finished in 2016.