Short Film Spotlight: An A Peel for Justice by Jeff Aquino
Jeff Aquino’s film “Viral” placed second in 2020’s Incluvie Film Festival fest, he’s back again with his film "An A Peel for Justice".

In the 1960s, British painter Francis Bacon surprises a burglar and invites him to share his bed. The burglar, a working class man named George Dyer, accepts. After the unique beginning to their love affair, the well-connected and volatile artist assimilates Dyer into his circle of eccentric friends, as Dyer's struggle with addiction strains their bond.
Jeff Aquino’s film “Viral” placed second in 2020’s Incluvie Film Festival fest, he’s back again with his film "An A Peel for Justice".
Despite the film’s efforts to reframe its heroine with modern complexity, a certain emotional distance lingers.
The quiet ache of guilt sitting at the dinner table, the silence after a truth is buried, and the way pain is passed down like a name.
Desi’s “straight man” to Lucy’s playful exuberance subverted people’s expectations of what a Latino man could be and added respect and nuance to the way onscreen marriages between men and women were portrayed.
A complex, realistic, and loving mother-daughter relationship is at the heart of this story about Black pageants and the fight for a better future.
Overall, 18 Presents feels more like a soap opera than a drama, and I feel bad for saying that since the concept is based off a tragic story (even though it’s loosely). I’m sure other people will find this film emotional for them, but as for me, it’s bland and forgettable.