Ebb And Flow

Garbiel Mascaro's documentary short follows Rodrigo, a man whose good humour and inventiveness serve him well in the face of a number of difficult situations. Rodrigo is represented with style and sympathy in a piece that touches on a wide number of subjects, as Rodrigo is a single father, deaf, and HIV positive.

These are mere labels, however, and Ebb and Flow does an admirable job of showing how a life is affected by such things but how individuals can overcome or adapt to them. There are a number of striking sequences. A conversation on the beach and a far less successful conversation with a doctor highlight the problems of communication across a variety of boundaries, and to see Rodrigo at work is to see someone genuinely talented - as is the case with Gabriel.

There's some excellent sound work, but it's the quality of observation that makes Ebb and Flow an affecting piece of film-making, worthy not only in intent (funded in part by ARTAids) but in execution.