Circus Person

By: Malasha Parker

A piece of moving artwork, writer/director/star Britt Lower’s Circus Person brings together both humor and heartbreak. The film displays images in varying art forms and interesting takes on how to explore each character. The words of the short film are displayed throughout in a way that speaks to the feelings of main character Ava (Britt Lower). Circus Person is a film with fickle humor, rejection and self-realization. 

Ava is writing a letter to Luna (Jess Marks), the woman her fiance has decided to leave her for. In the midst of her trying to work through her pain, Ava decides to join the circus. In hushed tones, spoken as she reads the letter and through animated body art declarations, we follow Ava as she finds herself. She’s on a new journey in life as her grief consumes her, she but is freed through her art. By film’s end, Ava comes to a conclusion about why she’s writing this letter and what it really means. 

Lower brings a realistic performance to a character that doesn’t know what to do with her life now that she has been separated from the one she thought she would spend the rest of her life with. You can see the nonchalance, but also the confusion of, “What am I really doing here?”, written all over her face throughout the film. Ava is a woman starting a new chapter in life and this is her grace period as she figures out what’s next. 

Lower explores the process of a devastating breakup through the eyes of an artist. She gives Ava moments of humor to show that sometimes you just have to laugh through the pain. Everything isn’t black and white. There is no one way to grieve a meaningful relationship ending. The animated art used throughout the film adds more feeling to the pain we know Ava is experiencing. She moves freely, but she’s holding on to the heartbreak and she’s trying to explore it through writing this letter. She needs this letter to let it all go, but her revelation at the end brings her peace of mind. The direction and cinematography is possibly one of my favorites just because of the way it uses the art to convey so much. 

The feeling of dread and sadness is definitely prominent in this film. However, the added bits of humor and intriguing animated body art pieces bring out the lightness of the film. These moments could be conceived as a way to show there is always a little levity in the dark times and you just have to roll with the punches sometimes. Circus Person is just as you would think it would be, but with heart added into the mix. It’s only the beginning of Ava’s next chapter in life. Joining the circus may be good for now, but Ava has a lot of growth and self-exploration to still figure out.