Building a short around the tragic events of 911 is a risky move and one that most filmmakers would be well advised to stay as far away from as humanly possible; don’t approach with a significant level of sombre respect and you’ll be vilified for your flippancy, stray too far into mawkishness and the charge will be of cynical, emotional button pushing.

Calarts’ student Eusong Lee’s animated short Will makes neither of these mistakes. What it does, through a tight script, well thought out colour palette and Julian Kleiss’ minimal score, is bring the events of that terrible day back to the level of a simple human interaction that makes clear what so many lost and the impossibility, no matter the strength of desire, of reclaiming it.

Will is a short that hits you hard. I’m not ashamed to say that it brought me close to tears and not just on my initial viewing either. Lee took on a challenge I’d advise most to walk away from and he did those who died and the loved ones they left behind more than proud.

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