Dear Los Angeles… April || California Short Film
Experimental short film.
Part 5 of 5 in a series of experimental video pieces, as part of an ode to Los Angeles.
Works from this series have already been accepted to 2 film festivals. New pieces will be published every Tuesday, so check out our playlist of all works published so far, or CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
Dear Los Angeles, You are a fantasy that’s rolled off my tongue since childhood, with an aftertaste of broken dreams and faded glitter. “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” I fell in love with Oscar Wilde’s quote before I fully understood it. And the wild city you are embraced me into its fervor of truths, and frightening reflections. Forgive me for being the four-millionth, three-hundred eighty-four thousandth, eight-hundred and eighty-ninth tourist, but… indeed, you are an odd character, and an even odder identity for a city to be rechristened with, tourist after tourist, decade after decade. And perhaps this is why I always find myself coming back to this city, because for years I’ve traveled and returned by the 405 to the 605, along West Hollywood’s Santa Monica Blvd, and through downtown’s more cautious segments. It is the most home I’ve ever known- Not the suburbs with their conformist character but the feverish evolution of identity which rages inside you. That is what I love, and always come back to. You’ve always been that fresh start, that promised land, that abandonment of mundane stories. And in each night, with every new conversation, I’m stirred by the promise of, “One evening,” “One day,” “the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” “into the past.” I couldn’t care less of what others say about my ambitions, they’ve always been far from comfortable, and you have always taught me to refrain from the familiar, and leap into the uncertain. Now, everything is uncertain. The streets are empty. The shops are closed and boarded up. The homeless cry as they choke on the virus that ravages the world. I cannot see the lights shining from Griffith Park Observatory. And the Hollywood sign seems so much smaller now. Each time I cruise past the green freeway board with your name in white, a small voice questions me in the back of my mind, “Is this worth it? Will it ever be the same?” Sometimes, the scariest news is that you are there, this is your dream, this is your adulthood, and it’s not getting any better. So please, tell me what we’re going through is worth it. One last time, give me hope. One last time, give me the dream that this will all turn out OK. Promise to embrace me again. Awaken my fantasy from its deep, deep slumber. Golda – Dear Los Angeles Lyrics {Verse 1] Dear Los Angeles You’re breaking me down Sometimes I think about you lying on the ground All I do is work for you all day And I’m not sure I’ll ever love the life I’ve made [Verse 2] Dear Los Angeles I came to you with dreams Now all that’s left of me is a silhouette of a dreamer I’ve seen through your smoggy eyes And I’m not sure if these thoughts are yours or mine [Bridge] Oh I wish I knew how to get myself out of here Oh I wish I knew how to get myself out of here [Verse 3] Dear Los Angeles I’m sorry to be harsh It’s just my times with you have been so goddamn hard And now it’s time to go I fear that you’ll be missed Goodbye Los Angeles, until we meet again
