A single mother of two girls can't seem to get it together. She's addicted to prescription medications, after all, and her therapist Dr. Claire doesn't have an easy answer for Mom's lifetime of struggle. Her precious daughters are stoic in the face of a chaotic home life, but it appears as if Sweetie will pass her problems on down the line.
Director Anthony Figliano appropriately started this mental health-themed project during the Covid lockdown. Given his strong background in music, including stints as a music teacher and opera performer in Italy, New York and New Jersey, Figliano composed twelve songs while writing a feature-length screenplay. The result of this ambitious project is The Blood Orange, a four-piece carousel with Dr. Claire serving as the central narrative thread. This 10-minute runtime short is the opening scene of the work-in-progress feature.
Anxiety, depression and addiction are at epidemic levels in the United States. The dark subtext and haunting, off-axis but strangely catchy musical score combine to make this film as hypnotizing as it is interesting. You can watch the trailer here: The Blood Orange Trailer
