Directed by: Heidi Miami Marshall Written by: Joshua Goldfond and Johnny Sanchez Starring: Nansi Aluka, Johnny Sanchez, Harold Surratt, Deji Laray Running time: 17 Minutes

I know a guy.

A guy who is passionate and ambitious. A guy who is driven to create serious projects and express important themes. A guy who shot a pretty freakin’ awesome feature film last year on a shoestring budget with a box office star and a legendary director (the Vin Diesel courtroom comedy, Find Me Guilty, that you should go out and rent immediately if you missed it in theaters.)

So why should I be surprised when actor/producer Johnny Sanchez sent me a seventeen-minute short—that he had written, starred in, and co-produced—filled with passion and relevant themes? I wasn’t.

A Through M, the film’s title, refers to torture performed in a nebulous white room, during which the perpetrator follows a list of instructions from A to Z. It could be argued that this is a far-fetched premise, considering that guys never read any instructions. But in this case, the idea is deeply interwoven in a thematic image system, adding an aura of the macabre and a sense of foreboding to the film’s dynamic. Events cut between the two main characters, Garcia (Johnny Sanchez) and Anne (Nansi Aluka), who are pitted against each other in the torture room and during the prior circumstances (which we see through flashbacks) that brought them there.

The story is set in an indefinite time and place, within a culture apparently ruled by political oppression and fear. Anne, as part of a plot to infiltrate a government function, presents herself to a tailor, not expecting him to be her ex-lover Garcia, who is now working for the government she wants to overthrow. Garcia lost Anne many years earlier through her commitment to “The Resistance” and protecting Mnemosyne, its mysterious leader.

A Through M was produced with an American Film Institute grant. Given its modest budget and the fact that the development cycle for a project like this is also modest, director Heidi Miami Marshall has worked wonders. Performances are strong from all the principals. Aluka’s amorphous ethnicity makes her believable as the mysterious revolutionary. Linus Roache’s voiceover adds an element of gravitas to the minimalist surrealism. The production values are amazing. The gorgeous lighting contributes to the moodiness of the flashbacks. Much consideration was clearly given to the look of the white room and the selection of the torture implements. Just scanning these inanimate objects on their surgical table both compelled and repulsed me. Credit must also be given to David Waldman’s deft cinematography. All in all, this picture looks crisp and real and cinematic.

The one difficulty I had with A Through M was suspending my disbelief when Garcia was forced to torture his beloved Anne. I guess I’ve become too jaded by characters like Jack Bauer—who seems to be able to pull an inexhaustible supply of eleventh-hour escape tactics out of his ass on a weekly basis—to swallow that premise. But of course, this is a different kind of storytelling. So don’t mind me. This little film is evocative and emotionally stirring, not to mention creepily relevant to events that are even now taking place to some degree somewhere in our world. There was a time before the last congressional elections that I was seriously evaluating the likelihood of events like this happening here in America.

If you’re a fan of political dramas with a macabre sci-fi edge, you should check out A Through M. Visit the website for further info or to purchase a copy of the DVD, which comes with interesting commentary regarding the production of the film. Film students and aspiring filmmakers will find relevant factoids here.