Miranda Williams and Julia Hansen are both police officers in the Los Angeles Police Department, and yet they couldn't be more different in temperament, personality and philosophy. When they are assigned as partners to one another, both are wary of the other and the baggage brought in, particularly Hansen, who has faced probation in the past. This clashes with Williams, who chooses instead to build rapport and empathy with the community she's charged with protecting. On their first shift together, their personalities and approaches clash and tension builds between them. But in the time together, Williams is determined to show Hansen a different approach to policing and a different way of looking at the community she's a part of. As the two go about their day, they encounter a variety of people in the community, each with their own stories and lessons to teach -- some of which turn complicated and tragic. Directed and written by Jorge Parra Jr., this compelling dramatic short offers a nuanced, complex snapshot of police, communities and the officers that form the personal point of contact between institutions. Committed to nuance and empathy in the portrayal of all its characters, its storytelling also uses the opportunity of Williams and Hansen's first day together to paint a "frontlines" portrait of the varied denizens of Los Angeles, celebrating its heritage and people while offering a glimpse of its troubles as well.
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Opening as the two officers respond to an emergency call, the dialogue and action launches the story with a heightened degree of tension and intensity, but it also sets up two polarized characters, who respond to the situation in markedly different ways. Portrayed by actors Aleeah Rogers and Hilty Bowen with commitment and focus, Williams and Hansen are both serious and committed to their jobs, but interact with the members of their communities in different ways. The thrust of the narrative momentum is Williams and her determination to show Hansen a more compassionate way, and this direction pulls the story into a warmer and more humanistic direction, one that engages not on the level of crime thriller adrenaline but on the dimensional characters themselves. But in their line of work, it's impossible to avoid the more difficult side of humanity -- something that they're reminded of when a call turns tragic. Powerful, moving and empathetic, WINDOWS is based on the personal experience of the director himself, who joined the LAPD prior to going to film school. That authenticity shows in the attention to detail in the production itself and its down-to-earth portrayal of the city itself, but also in the emotional nuance of the characters. With its polished yet natural visual realism and its empathetic humanism, it's also committed to its central theme: that we often just encounter one another for a brief window of time, and it's impossible to know or judge someone based on that. It champions a more generous way of looking at one another, a way that offers much needed understanding, respect and dignity.
