The Honest Moment

Script by Edoardo Röhl

E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: (+39) 338 7314 639
Address: Via dell Ginestre 2, 05100, Terni
(Italy)
SCENE 1 - INT. LEE'S FAMILY HOUSE - LEE'S ROOM

Lee is smoking weed lying on the bed in the complete silence

of his room. Sticked to the walls, we see a lot of posters of
Death and Balck Metal bands (Cannibal Corpse, Amon Amarth,
Dimmu Borgir, Venom...). He's wearing a Mayhem T-shirt and
two studded leather bracelets.

SCENE 2 - INT. LEE'S FAMILY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM

Tom and Cloe (Lee's parents) are engaged in their activities.

Tom is reading the newspaper on the couch while Cloe is
vacuuming the room.

CLOE
It's almost 11:00.

TOM
Uh, uh...

CLOE
He's still sleeping.

TOM
I know.

Cloe turns off her vacuum cleaner and angrily turns to Tom.

CLOE
What do you mean, "I know"?! Aren't
you going to do anything?

TOM
Cloe, it's always the same speech. I
put the paper away, I knock on his
door and he won't even let me in,
so...

CLOE
And what do you expect to do? Sit
there and read while our son's life
goes down the drain?

TOM
What do you want me to do?

CLOE
The Bundhoos' son finished college
this week! He's getting job offers
from every state!

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TOM
Cloe, what do you want me to do?

CLOE
I don't know! Anything, I...

LEE (V.O.)
Goodmorning...

Tom and Cloe turn to the stairs, where Lee's on his way up.

CLOE
Lee, we were just...

LEE
Anything to eat?

CLOE
No... I mean, I mean... there's
leftovers from last night...

Lee enters the kitchen and opens the refrigerator, from which
he pulls out a plate of chicken wrapped in tinfoil.
Meanwhile, Cloe looks at Tom with an accusatory remark and,
annoyed, the man puts the paper away and gets up. He goes
into the kitchen.

TOM
Lee...

LEE
Hey Dad...

TOM
Can we talk?

LEE
Can't wait, Dad.

TOM
Listen, I want to do this dance every
day as much as you do, but your
mother... she's worried about you...

LEE
At least someone cares.

TOM
I'm worried about you too, of course.
Everyone is. We want you to... talk to
me, Lee, why don't you talk to me

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anymore?

LEE
I have nothing to say to you, Dad. I
just want to eat this cold chicken and
get out. That's all I want.

Cloe, who until then had been listening to the conversation

in secret, enters the kitchen and interrupts the dialogue
between the two men.

CLOE
The Bundhoos' son is your age! Did you
know he graduated from college?

LEE
Who? Navin? Good for him, it means he
managed not to spend all his father's
money on whores!

TOM
Damn it, Lee! That's not the point!
Boys your age are getting married!
They're graduating! They're making
sense of their lives, while you're
still living off us and spending most
of the day at... I honestly don't even
know what the hell you do all day!

Cloe starts crying.

LEE
Putting up with your whining in my ear
every morning is quite a challenge...

TOM
That's enough! I'm sick of your
attitude!

LEE
And what do you want to do, Tom? You
gonna spank me? Ooh! You wanna be a
father? That would be interesting news
from you, wouldn't it? Why don't you
show us your authority, come on!

Tom says nothing and cashes in every word by looking away.

CLOE
Lee... please...

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LEE
Forget it, mum... you were pretty
clear last time. I'm a looser, right?
Isn't that what you called me? A good-
for-nothing. So get used to the idea
and let's not make it even more
pathetic living together.

Lee throws the plate on the kitchen table in a bad way and
leaves the house.

LEE
I'm leaving.

Cloe keeps crying and Tom hugs her.

LEE (V.O.)
They're right...

SCENE 3 - EXT. DAY - PUBLIC GARDEN

We're on a basketball court near a public garden. There's

some guys drinking and smoking weed. Lee's sitting on a
little wall near Fari, a friend of his. With her, they're
drinking beer and looking at the road that runs alongside the
garden.

LEE
...I'm a loser.

FARI
We all are.

LEE
They're fucking chuckleheads! They
don't realize the world isn't what it
was when they were young anymore!

FARI
What assholes.

LEE
Navin Bandhoo's father is a dentist,
he owns five apartments in town!
Navin's never had to fight for
anything in his life! He's always had
everything at his fingertips.

FARI
Want a smoke?

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LEE
Yes...

Fari lights a joint and passes it on to Lee.

LEE
I mean, I would have graduated, too,
if I had dentist money to cover my
expenses, right?

FARI
Sure.

LEE
But I don't! My father is a retired
upholsterer, he often doesn't even
have money for gas!

FARI
Speaking of cars...

On the road passes a beautiful black Lamborghini with a

handsome guy driving it.

LEE
Here's another one! It's like I say,
Fari, it's all about money... If you
don't have it, you're doomed to
fail...

FARI
I think you're thinking too much...
life is too short to eat your heart
out like that! We'll all die one day,
both the money guy and the poor guys
like us. You know what my old man used
to say?

LEE
What?

FARI
Kings or servants, we're all the same
on the toilet bowl.

The two friends laugh as three other guys approach them. This
is Riaz, Izad and Jason.

RIAZ
Hey kids, what are you laughing at?

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LEE
Piss off, Riaz, this is really not the
time...

IZAD
What's wrong with you, Lee? Trouble
with your folks?

FARI
His parents have...

LEE
I left my parents' house... I couldn't
stand them anymore!

IZAD
Really? And where are you staying now?

LEE
I'm looking for a place of my own, a
place where I won't have to answer to
anyone!

RIAZ
Well, great... We were thinking of
going to Smoothy's. You guys coming
with us?

LEE
Um, maybe later... you go without
us...

RIAZ
Okay, guys, see ya!

JASON
Ciao!

The three guys are leaving.

FARI
Why did you lie to them?

LEE
It wasn't exactly a lie! I really need
to get out of my parents' house or,
sooner or later, I'm gonna kill
them... or I'm gonna kill myself...

FARI
I hate to bring you back down to

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earth, but usually you need money to

rent a house. You know, a salary or
something...

LEE
I know! I fucking know! I've got to
get out of that cesspool! In every
possible way!

FARI
You know, my aunt has a cleaning
company... maybe she'll hire you, if I
ask her...

The scene closes on Lee's sad look. He doesn't want to do

such a common job, but he knows he has no other choice.

SCENE 4 - INT. LAW FIRM

We're in a fancy law firm. It's early morning, so the office

is completely deserted (except for Lee, who is cleaning the
floor with a mop). Suddenly, the protagonist enters an office
more elegant than the others and, dazzled by so much
sumptuousness, puts the mop on the floor and looks at every
detail of the room. He sees the very refined wooden desk, the
Cuban cigars on it, the gold letter opener and, on a wall, a
glass case containing numerous trophies. The scene is
completely silent but, through Lee's gaze, we can perfectly
understand his feelings. He is delighted by so much wealth.
Everything looks so beautiful and well cared for that,
without realizing it, he smiles kindly. Then, all of a
sudden, he sees himself reflected on the glass of the trophy
case. Lee sees himself in a cleaning man's uniform, dirty and
sleepy. He sees himself out of place in such a beautiful
office and, in an instant, his smile disappears, giving way
first to sadness, then to deepest anger.

LEE
Capitalist pigs!

Lee's cleaning up again, but this time with more heat, deeply
angry.

SCENE 5 - INT. LEE'S FAMILY HOUSE - ENTRANCE

Lee's coming home from work. His mother, in the kitchen,

stops cooking to say hello. He, however, ignores her and goes
down to his room in the basement.

CLOE
Lee...

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SCENE 6 - INT. LEE'S FAMILY HOUSE - LEE'S ROOM

Lee enters his room. We find it quite different from what we

saw before. The boy is organizing the move, the posters on
the walls are gone, and around we see boxes filled with all
sorts of things. Lee sits on the bed and grabs his cell phone
on his nightstand. From his pocket he pulls out a card with a
phone number written on it, the same number he dials to make
a call.

LEE
Yes, I'm calling about an apartment
for rent in... but sure, yeah, if you
tell me when I can... tomorrow's
perfect, thanks. Sure. Thank you.

SCENE 7 - INT. DAY - LEE'S HOME

Lee enters with his landlord into what will be his new home.
It's a poorly reduced and neglected studio apartment.
Everything looks old, and there's probably roaches in there,
too. The landlord, a fat man named Ritesh, who's wearing a
dirty tank top and a flashy gold necklace, is very unpleasant
and rude.

RITESH
...and this is the apartment. The hot
water stops coming after midnight,
bills are paid separately and most
bulbs need changing.

LEE
Can I see it better?

RITESH
"See it better"? Look around you, kid,
it's not Buckingham Palace! You know
the price of rent, now all you have to
do is say "yes" or "no"...

LEE
Yes...

RITESH
Good.

LEE
Yeah, I'll take it.

RITESH
That's great. Now, to make it

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official, I'm gonna need an advance,

like the first couple months... you
know, as a down payment, a little
precaution to make sure that if you
ever want to leave out of the blue, I
don't run out of cash, you know?

LEE
Sure.

Lee takes his wallet and starts counting the money to give to
Ritesh.

RITESH
Great, I'm glad we understand each
other... you and me, Leary.

LEE
Lee.

RITESH
Whatever.

The landlord goes out and Lee is alone contemplating his new
home.

SCENE 8 - INT. NIGHT - LEE'S HOME

Lee vaguely decorated the apartment to his taste. Now his

posters are hanging on the walls and he is lying on the bed,
smoking weed. Leaning on the bedside table we see his mobile
phone which, on speakerphone, allows us to hear Fari talking.

FARI
What's the view from the window like?

LEE
It's shitty, it's dark even during the
day...

FARI
Fuck...

LEE
Yeah, uh...

FARI
But if this house sucks so much, why
did you move in?

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LEE
I've come to prefer any ragged shack
to my parents' basement... at least
here I can walk around in my
underwear.

FARI
What about your folks? Don't you want
to hear them anymore?

LEE
Ah, bollocks, I don't want to think
about it!

FARI
Okay. Sorry.

LEE
Do you know what family is? A social
convention! From an early age they
stuff our heads with notions and
bullshit to make us understand what's
right! But right for who, huh?

FARI
Lee, please...

LEE
What?

FARI
Don't start with your scheming
delusions again...

LEE
You call these "delusions"?

FARI
I'm just asking what you're gonna do
about your folks, that's all...

LEE
I don't know... I don't know anything.
You know what I wanted to do when I
was in high school?

FARI
What?

LEE
I wanted to be a photographer.

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FARI
Really?

LEE
Yeah.

FARI
Were you any good?

LEE
I was... I don't know, maybe not,
but... I liked to take pictures of
things, it felt like I was capturing
stories, you know?

FARI
No, actually...

LEE
It seemed to me that, by impressing a
certain moment in the camera roll...
people were real... that, in print,
people stopped acting and appeared
sincerely as they really are...
people... you know?

FARI
I understand that maybe you've been
smoking too much...

LEE
Come on, Fari! I'm standing here
talking about emotions and you're
fucking with me!

FARI
You're right. I'm sorry.

LEE
I remember one day, in the harbor...
there was an old fisherman. He was
always talking to the others, all the
time... everybody says that fishing is
a silent activity, because if you
don't shut up the fish will run
away... but that guy talked, and
talked, and talked... he talked all
the time... he said he was the best at
fishing, the best at cooking, the best
at fucking... I swear, I never heard
him say "I can't do this", or anything

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like that... one day I took his

picture. We didn't have digital
cameras at the time, so I had to take
the film to develop and wait a week
before I could see the picture... and
when I picked it up, I saw him... a
sad, lonely, melancholy old man...
when he talked, he looked like a big,
loudmouth, bloated balloon... but
secretly photographed... in a moment
of serenity, sitting with his feet in
the water... he appeared for what he
really was... an old man... a lonely,
sad old man... who was left with
nothing but the pleasure of bragging
to his friends... we live, we work, we
break our backs for cheap money a
week... and then we get old and die...
That's some shit, huh?

Fari doesn't answer.

LEE
Fari? Did you fall asleep?

FARI
I'm here...

LEE
What's going on?

FARI
You should get your camera.

LEE
Why?

FARI
Did you... I don't know, I think you
could do some good things if you went
back to photographing people...

LEE
I don't know, it's been years since
I...

FARI
Do you still have it?

LEE
The camera? Sure.

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FARI
Then prove... what's wrong with that?

LEE
I don't have time to play
photographer! I don't know if...

FARI
Lee, with all due respect, you're full
of shit. You know who else is full of
shit? Riaz and his demented friends...

LEE
What's that got to do with Riaz, he's
a good kid...

FARI
Riaz is a heroin addict who makes a
few bucks doing flyers... and he's not
even a kid, he's 42...

LEE
So what?

FARI
"So what"? So you want to end up like
him? You wanna keep working as a
toilet cleaner all your life and go to
Smoothy's for drinks and smokes? Lee,
you have a gift, so take that camera
and take your life back...

Lee's not answering.

FARI
It's late, I have to go...

LEE
Ok.

FARI
Ok?

LEE
Yeah... Fari!

FARI
Yes?

LEE
Thank you.

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FARI
Good night, Lee.

She hangs up. Lee stays on the bed for a moment, trying to
process her friend's words. Then, all of a sudden, he gets up
and goes on one of the moving boxes. He opens it and pulls
out his old camera. It's a nice antique, but it has its charm
and, above all, its value (economic and emotional).

SCENE 9 - INT. DAY - INTERNET CAFÉ

Lee sits at an internet cafe's computer. He has neither a

computer nor a wi-fi connection at home, so he has to go to
one of these centers if he wants to surf the internet. He
watches video tutorials on photography, reads manuals and
articles signed by world famous photographers. In short,
start reading about the profession.

SCENE 10 - MONTAGE

Scenes in rapid succession of Lee walking around the city

taking pictures of things: he takes pictures of the port at
sunset, the seagulls flying upon the sea, the moon, the
stars, the city at night... in short, he seems to find some
initiative.

SCENE 11 - INT. DAY LAW FIRM

Lee's cleaning the fancy office, like he does every early

morning during the week. All of a sudden, he sees the light
of dawn filtering dimly through the window and lighting the
case with trophies. Inspired by the scene, he pulls out his
camera (which he now always carries with him) and takes a
picture. At that moment, a lawyer named Sam enters.

SAM
What are you doing?!

LEE
I-I, nothing just...

SAM
Are you the cleaning guy?

LEE
Yeah, I was just finishing cleaning up
and...

SAM
I saw you with the camera! What were
you taking pictures of? Answer me!

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LEE
Nothing, it was just... I'm passionate
about photography, it was beautiful
light and... and nothing, I felt
inspired...

Sam starts laughing at him.

SAM
You were inspired, huh? But think how
lucky, our broomstick is also a great
artist!

Lee is silent, but he doesn't hide his great hatred for the
man. Sam moves him with disdain and goes to sit behind his
desk.

SAM
Go, go away... I have work to do, and
my job doesn't give me time to
photograph the floors... "inspired",
ah! Go clean the toilets, you'll see
how inspiring they are!

Angry and on edge, Lee leaves.

SCENE 12 - INT. DAY - LEE'S HOME

Lee's home again. He puts his backpack on the bed and goes to
the bathroom to wash his face. Then he looks in the mirror.
He doesn't like himself. He feels like a fool for thinking he
can change his life. He opens his backpack and takes out his
camera. He looks at it a little bit and then casually throws
it on the bed. He lights a joint and starts smoking at the
window. Suddenly, someone knocks.

LEE
Who is it?

TOM (V.O.)
Lee, it's Dad.

Lee turns off the joint and goes to open the door.

TOM
How's it going?

LEE
What are you doing here?

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TOM
Give me a break, son... I just wanted
to see how you were settling in...

Lee lets his father in without saying anything and closes the
door. Tom sneaks around and realizes his son is living in
complete degradation.

TOM
Well, that's... out of traffic, huh?

LEE
I have nothing to drink.

TOM
It's okay, it doesn't matter... how
are you?

LEE
I'm great.

TOM
The job?

LEE
Sucks, as usual.

A little embarrassed silence falls, while Tom notices the

camera on the bed.

TOM
And that one?

Tom goes to pick up the camera. He's happy to see the object,
as if he's found an old friend.

TOM
I remember this one! You were, what,
16?

LEE
15.

TOM
You were 15, of course! You never let
it go, you always had it in your hand!
I remember your mother used to get up
in the morning and go straight to make-
up, for fear that you might photograph
her in her natural state!

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LEE
Yeah... mom always hated looking
sloppy in pictures...

TOM
Well, she's still a woman, even though
we tend to forget it... so you've been
taking pictures again?

LEE
No, I mean... it's complicated...

TOM
What's so complicated? You have to aim
for the target, right?

Lee looks at his father holding the camera in his hand.

LEE
You know, opening a photography studio
isn't so hard these days...

TOM
Opening a what?

LEE
There are state incentives and...

TOM
You serious?

LEE
...and funding for young entrepreneurs
and...

TOM
Lee.

LEE
What?

TOM
Entrepreneur? Really?

LEE
What's wrong with that?

TOM
I've never seen you do math in your
life, Lee, how do you think you can
run a business?

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LEE
I'm looking at online tutorials, I
think I can open a little business
if...

TOM
Come on, kid, you can't even find a
decent apartment!

LEE
Oh, great! I knew it!

TOM
No, don't take this the wrong way I...

LEE
So you came here to judge me, right?

TOM
No, Lee, I really wanted to see how
you were doing. We're worried about
you.

LEE
Instead of worrying about me now, why
didn't you bother to understand my
passions? Why didn't you bother paying
for my photography class? Why didn't
you bother buying me a digital camera?
I mean, why didn't you bother when I
really need you to?

TOM
You're unfair! We've always...

LEE
You've always held me back! You've
always made me feel inadequate,
incapable, a failure! Well, you know
what? I'm gonna be a photographer, and
none of you can stop me!

TOM
Lee...

LEE
Get out of here!

Tom, disconsolate, leaves the apartment, leaving his son

alone in the house.

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FARI (V.O.)
I can't believe it...

SCENE 13 - EXT. DAY - PUBLIC GARDEN

We're back in the public garden seen in scene 3. Lee and Fari
are talking in front of each other. She's smoking a joint.

LEE
Would you stop saying that?

FARI
How the hell did you get a loan from
the bank?

LEE
I have a contract of employment! A
regular paycheck!

FARI
A toilet cleaner's contract! I didn't
think it was worth anything... how are
you gonna split between photography
and cleaning company work?

LEE
Yeah, well, I was actually thinking of
quitting your aunt's job...

FARI
What?!

LEE
It's like you said, right? I can do
this.

FARI
No, I mean, sure... in a few years,
maybe, I mean... you don't even have a
Facebook account! You miss basic
advertising channels.

LEE
Well, I thought maybe you could handle
that part...

FARI
What?

LEE
I'm gonna need some help, and since

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you were the first one to tell me to

take my life back...

FARI
No, wait, I... Don't give me
responsibility for this, I just told
you to get the camera!

LEE
Yes but...

FARI
Anyway, I can't. I've got... I've got
my stuff to do. I...

LEE
"Your stuff"? What are you talking
about? You mooch off your parents, you
don't study or work!

FARI
Actually, I study...

LEE
Fari, you're three years behind
schedule. Who are you trying to sell
that to?

FARI
Listen, I can't, okay?

LEE
Why?

FARI
'cause... 'cause... come on, Lee! This
is a dead end. It's one thing to be
good at taking pictures, it's another
to do it for a living! If you're ready
to give up your certainties for a jump
into a vacuum like that, well, I'm
not. I'm sorry.

Lee is silent, but after thinking about it, he starts talking

again with much more anger.

LEE
Okay, you know what? Fuck you too!

FARI
Come on, buddy...

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LEE

I don't need you! I don't need anybody!

FARI
Please don't...

Fari stops talking (she realizes that Lee doesn't even listen
to her) and the protagonist leaves the garden, very angry.

SCENE 14 - INT. DAY. FASHION AGENCY

Lee's in the waiting room of a fashion agency. Suddenly, a

beautiful woman, Beatrice, opens the door and turns to him.

BEATRICE
Please, come in...

Lee enters the human resources interview room.

BEATRICE
Have a seat...

LEE
Thank you.

BEATRICE
Did you bring a résumé?

LEE
Yes, of course...

Beatrice takes the paper that Lee hands her and reads it.

BEATRICE
Forgive me, but this is not a
resume...

LEE
What?

BEATRICE
This is just a list of things you've
photographed around town, I'd like to
know where you worked...

LEE
I, in fact...

BEATRICE
You just started?

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LEE
No, I've been taking pictures since I
was a kid!

BEATRICE
Listen to me... Lee, right?

LEE
Yes.

BEATRICE
We are a very important agency. We do
photo shoots in New York, London,
Milan... I imagine you're very good...

LEE
I brought some examples...

BEATRICE
And they're beautiful, I'm sure, but
we're not in a position to hire people
with no experience... I'm sorry. Come
back in a few years. When you have a
real resume, I'd be happy to interview
you again.

Disappointed, Lee gets up and gets his paperwork back.

LEE
Thank you.

Leaving the building, Lee pulls out a notebook with a list of

agencies to go to. He deletes the name of the one he just
visited when, all of a sudden, his phone rings. It's Fari,
but Lee ignores the call.

SCENE 15 - INT. NIGHT - LEE'S HOME

Now we see Lee, in his house, on the phone looking for a

phone interview.

LEE
Good evening, I'm calling about the ad
looking for a photographer for your
studio... no, I haven't worked for
anyone, I mean... I specialized in my
own... no, none of that I... you too?!
But how can I get experience if nobody
hires me to do it?! Are you still
there? Hello?!

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SCENE 16 - INT. DAY - PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO

Finally Lee visits a professional photography studio, where

the owner, Pierre, welcomes him.

PIERRE
Good morning!

LEE
Hello!

PIERRE
Can I help you?

LEE
I sure hope so... I'm looking for a
job.

PIERRE
Oh, you're a photographer?

LEE
Well, yeah...

PIERRE
Stupid question. Forgive me. What's
your experience?

LEE
That's the point! I keep bouncing from
one interview to the next, and all I'm
hearing is that I have to get
experience in the field...

PIERRE
Same old story. "You have to gain
experience to work with us, but you
can't gain experience working for us."

LEE
Yeah...

PIERRE
Well, I'm afraid I've got some bad
news for you, kid... work here is
cheap and I can barely pay the
bills... but let me see what you're
working with, maybe I can give you
some advice...

Lee pulls out his camera.

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PIERRE
No, but this camera is older than me!
How do you think you can work with
this fossil?

LEE
I-I...

PIERRE
You need to get up to speed, kid, get
a digital camera, some latest-
generation lenses... this is a century
ago...

LEE
How can I do that?

PIERRE
Take a look at these...

Pierre shows Lee his showcase full of the latest generation

cameras.

PIERRE
This is super stuff, my friend. The
latest models on the market... I can
give you a discount, since we're among
colleagues... see it as a favor from a
master to a novice...

LEE
Maybe we didn't understand each other.
I'm here for a job. I don't have any
money, if I keep this up, the landlord
will throw me out... I can't afford a
new camera!

PIERRE
I see... quite a mess... look, I don't
know how to help you... I'd advise you
to get another job and save the money
to buy a new camera... I hear call
centers pay well...

LEE
Okay, forget it. Thanks anyway.

Sadly, Lee takes his camera back and leaves. Pierre seems
sorry for him.

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 25.

PIERRE
Wait a minute, you know... It's a
really nice piece, and... I could buy
it if you want...

LEE
My camera?

PIERRE
Yes! It's vintage, it would look good
in my collection! How much do you
want?

LEE
No way, man! This... this is my
camera. I mean, I've had it since I
was a teenager.

PIERRE
Sentimental value, huh?

LEE
Incalculable.

PIERRE
Well, good luck, kid... you're gonna
need it...

LEE
Thanks.

SCENE 17 - INT. NIGHT - LEE'S HOME

Lee is standing with his mail in his hand. It's all payment
reminders: bills, back rent and the bank wanting its money
back. Sadly, he realizes he needs his old job back and calls
Fari's aunt.

FARI'S AUNT
Hello.

LEE
Hello, I'm... I'm Lee, Fari's friend,
remember me?

FARI'S AUNT
... yes.

LEE
I'm sorry to call you at this hour,
it's just... you know, I'm in a really

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 26.

bad place and I was hoping that... I

mean, I'd like my old job back...

The silence falls.

LEE
Hello?

FARI'S AUNT
You sure got a lot of nerve, kid...

LEE
Excuse me?

FARI'S AUNT
You killed her with that shit and now
you call me like it's nothing?

LEE
"Killed"? What are you talking about?

FARI'S AUNT
You really don't know anything?

LEE
No, I... I haven't seen her in weeks.
What... what happened?

Silence.

FARI'S AUNT
Fari died of an overdose last week.

Lee's not answering. He is stunned by a great silence. Fari's

aunt doesn't say anything either, and the silence is
interrupted by the click of the woman's phone, who hangs up.
From that moment on, Lee starts crying, alone in the room. He
cries all night long, and in the morning, he looks at the
camera, aware that he has to sell it to survive.

SCENE 18 - INT. DAY - PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO

Lee returns to the photo studio of the man who offered to buy
the camera.

PIERRE
You're back! Did you buy a digital
camera?

LEE
No, I... How much for this one?

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 27.

PIERRE
Bad time, huh? Well, let me take a
look...

The man takes the camera and looks at it closely.

PIERRE
I'm not gonna lie to you, kid. It's a
nice piece. How much were you thinking
about?

LEE
Look, I'm not in the mood to bargain,
okay? Just tell me how much money it's
worth and I'll decide if it's okay...

PIERRE
The photographer's job isn't the dream
you were expecting, uh? I know, kid,
it's tough out there... honestly these
days even I don't know if I could do
it, if I was your age... in my day it
was different, there was less
competition, less taxes...

The owner realizes that Lee is not interested in his

speeches.

PIERRE
Anyway... I know you wouldn't sell it
if you didn't have to, it must be a
very painful time for you... so
believe me, with 300 rupees I'm doing
you a favor... you're the one who's
making money...

LEE
Ok...

PIERRE
Well.

The studio owner takes the checkbook and starts writing a

check. Meanwhile, Lee looks away and notices his reflection
on the glass of the case full of cameras for sale, which
stands out near the counter of the photography studio. This
jogs his memory. He remembers working in the law firm, and
his reflection on the trophy case. He remembers the guy who'd
treated him badly. and then... then he remembers that sweet
phone call with Fari, the one where she pushed him to move
on.

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 28.

FARI (V.O.)
You wanna keep working as a toilet
cleaner all your life and go to
Smoothy's for drinks and smokes? Lee,
you have a gift, so take that camera
and take your life back...

LEE
What am I doing...?

Lee grabs his camera and comes out.

PIERRE
Hey!

SCENE 19 - INT. DAY - INTERNET CAFÉ

Lee sits at the usual table and puts his ads on every
possible site and social network. Linkedin, Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter... he puts ads everywhere and spends all
the little money he has left.

SCENE 20 - INT. DAY - LEE'S HOME (MONTAGE)

A montage where we show Lee, at his house, taking his first

three phone calls.

LEE
Yes? Yes, it's me... of course, I can
show you some examples, if you want...

LEE
It's a time for special discounts,
fortunately for you!

LEE
A wedding! Well, hurray for the bride
and groom!

SCENE 21 - MONTAGE

Another series of Lee's scenes at work. We see him at a

wedding, then at a graduation party, then at a boxing
match... then we start seeing him moving to a bigger
apartment. Then his photo studio opens and then he buys a new
camera. All this flows on the screen while, in voice over, we
hear his words.

LEE (V.O.)
I can't tell what this is about...
whether it was a matter of luck, or if

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 29.

I was just thinking too small first.

In any case, the work has started...
sometimes, to stop failing, you have
to become aware of a simple truth:
nobody wants simple things. We spit
blood to achieve our goals because, to
be worthy of the name, they must be
difficult to achieve. I think that, in
that photography studio, I simply
understood that when you have a dream,
you have to live for it. You have to
go to sleep at night knowing that,
more than you did during the day to
reach your goal, you couldn't have
done... in any case, everything I am
now, everything I have achieved, is
thanks to you...

SCENE 20 - EXT. DAY. CEMETERY

In front of Fari's headstone, Lee's talking to his missing

friend. He's different, has manicured hair, a nice dress on
and looks even taller (the security he bought makes him stand
taller on his back).

LEE
...change is scary. Sometimes we're so
terrified of what's waiting for us
that we close our eyes and take it out
on those who are just trying to help
us. You were different, Fari...
different from my parents, different
from everyone else... you really did
love me. My father didn't want me to
follow my goal because he saw me as a
failure. You were just afraid for
me... you were afraid I'd get hurt...
because you really loved me... and I
miss you... I miss you in a way that I
can't even explain...

Lee puts his hand gently on the gravestone, as if he wanted

to caress it, then turns around and leaves. He leaves the
cemetery and reaches his car (a very nice car), where a
beautiful blonde-haired woman is waiting for him. Her name is
Estelle.

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 30.

ESTELLE
Everything okay?

LEE
Yes.

Lee kisses Estelle softly on the lips and then gets in the
car.

ESTELLE
She was a good friend, wasn't she?

Lee smiles.

LEE
The best.

The car's starting.

(FADE OUT)

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