Poolboy

After discovering his own cancer diagnosis while analyzing X-ray images in a dreary basement office, KASPAR (38), leaves his job and drifts through the streets of Hollywood, seeking comfort he cannot find. A tense call with his MOM (65) leaves him more isolated. She sends him an old photo of himself as a smiling boy skimming leaves from a pool. The brutal LA sun leaves him dizzy and disoriented—until a falling palm frond hits him, snapping him back to reality. Inspired, Kaspar trespasses into a seemingly empty house in the Hollywood Hills, only to be confronted by LEONARD (60), the house owner. In the chaos, Kaspar falls and is knocked unconscious into the pool. As he hovers between life and death, Kaspar enters a dreamlike journey through his memories: he becomes a real pool boy, grieves for his mother’s cat CUSTARD at a small funeral, and finally finds the courage to reveal his illness. In the end, Kaspar returns home. Mom gets an inflatable pool so that Kaspar can skim leaves at her house, living out a down-sized version of his dream.

Directed by Haoran Ma (USA)