Director's Statement

Three Sides of a Circle is a short film (32 minutes in length) that aims to create a discussion about romantic entanglements. The film operates as a provocation of emotion and thought, prodding at our personal morals and beliefs. How do we judge and analyze the actions of others? Can we empathize with someone who has wronged us? How do we determine when we have been wronged? The film aims to raise these questions for our audience, beginning a discourse around uncomfortable answers to open-ended questions. Rather than providing a neat ending for our viewers, the film saddles them with the outcome, the questions, and the interpretation of the story. "We do not offer resolution, only reflection” tells the writer and director Alex Lage. The movie takes cues from Cubism in order to represent large aspects of life in small manifestations. The main part of the film takes place at a round dining table, with the three participants locked in verbal self-defense that leads ultimately to the acceptance of responsibilities. This conflict leaves all vulnerable as we move from perspective to perspective, character to character. The image of three points on a perfect circle is rife with symbolism. From a mathematical standpoint, this triangle imposed upon the circle is representative of the infinite number (Pi). This numerical constant guides symmetry and physics throughout our world, appearing in our lives in subtle, important ways. Pi here represents the infinite cycle of life: the fluctuation between happiness and suffering, sickness and health - a constant balance with endless options.