AN OCCURRENCE AT ARVERNE

Robert Broadhurst’s short film An Occurrence at Arverne utilizes an impressive dialogue and editing technique to keep us on the edge of our seats. With one setting and all of the conversations taking place over the phone, viewers are left wondering.

An Occurrence at Arverne follows a Black man named Marcus (Curtiss Cook, Jr.) as he enters an empty house. At first, we don’t know why Marcus is there, but we have a suspicion that it’s not his when an alarm sounds. When he calls his buddy, we find out he’s doing his friend a favor by checking on the house. Still, the intensity of the situation builds and builds. As he goes around the house, closing curtains, we see a cop car. We won’t spoil the ending for you, but you can guess what is likely to happen next. 

In just seven minutes, we are reeled into the film. It’s simple, which makes it more compelling. There’s no gimmick or anything too overt. Throughout its duration, you’re waiting for something to happen. And if you’re not Black, you embark on a personal journey of suspending stereotypes to end up with a pit in your stomach’s bottom. 

As the Black Lives Matter movement continues to call for change, another Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot and paralyzed by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It happened in broad daylight, in front of his three children. It’s our reality and it needs to be at the center of every conversation we have.