Ushers is a short film conceptualized by Ben Gorodetsky. It was written by Ben, Aashay Dalvi and myself, shot and directed by Ben and stars me and Aashay. It was edited by Floating Head Video. We wrote and shot the film in one week, as artists-in-residence at the Registry Theatre in Kitchener.
Ushers is a cinematic exploration of the labor dynamics and power imbalances encountered by front-of-house staff at a regional theater. It delves into the inner worlds of two ushers, offering a stylized journey into their desires for recognition and agency, typically unseen by theatergoers.
In this hallucinatory narrative, the ushers reimagine themselves in the spotlight: Aashay's character’s dream sequence unfolds as an absurdist neo-noir homage to the femme fatale archetype, while my character’s vision presents a poetic and parodic scene that challenges the language of white feminism and Instagram self-help poetry. Our shared fantasy culminates in a rebellion against the male gaze and the institutional gatekeeping of artistic expression. Portrayed through scenes that blend campy confrontation with geniune encouragement and support, Ushers frames creation as an act of class solidarity and care.