Mercedes (Shaniyah Bernabela) is a young woman who is going through a harrowing heartbreak. She takes therapy in order to cope with the emotional toll that her most recent break-up has taken on her psyche. She's so broken that she can't even stand talking to her therapist, Susan (Meghan Andrew) who does her best to make Mercedes understand that she's not at fault for her recent romantic failure. We then flashback to how Mercedes met David (Dave Leos) the reason of her heart-ache. David himself has gone through heartbreak after Natalie (his girlfriend of two years) cheats on him with his best friend Richard (Kahlil Herring). For a while, Mercedes and David seem like a perfect match, getting along just well, but David is incapable of recognizing the worth in Mercedes and winds up hurting her, and hurting himself by falling in the same trap. THE ART OF UNREQUITED LOVE is the most painful art of all.
At the heart of THE ART OF UNREQUITED LOVE lies the psychology behind love and relationships. Every character on screen (perhaps with the exception of Susan, Mercedes's psychologist) suffers a severe case of low self-esteem. Mercedes believes that it's her fault that David can't see the worth in her, that her love for him is one-sided as he is unable to see what makes her "the one" for Dave. David himself suffers of low self-esteems himself, which causes him in turn to believe that Mercedes (who has been nothing but great to him) is not good enough for him, but Christina (his cheating ex) is exactly what he deserves, despite sleeping with his best friend. Christina is an emotional wreck herself, she probably gives the lengthiest explanation as to why she cheated on Dave, the result of countless break-up where she felt used and caused her to not be able to believe that she could be loved, so she cheats on Dave before he cheats on her, as a preemptive measure; another case of low self-esteem. Richard himself may seem composed, but you have to have a low opinion of yourself in order to sleep with your best friend's girl. Matter of fact, Richard's motives could stem from envy, you can almost imagine Richard saying to himself "I wish I had a girl like Christina" (without knowing how messed up Christina is) while he saw his friend with his girlfriend from afar. Low self-esteem, what does that mean? It means knowing one's self-worth is essential in order to survive this disappointments. None of these characters has much love for themselves, they are constantly trying to find their worth in the approval of other people. Mercedes certainly is not at fault for her pain. Dave had a chance to be with someone who was not going to betray him, and in turn, does the exact same thing to Mercedes that Christina did to him. People become the result of the former relationships they had, and depending on how much they love themselves, it will shape them and the way they handle their future relationships. Perhaps it is possible that Mercedes will indulge her pain and in turn cause pain to the next person who tries to be in a relationship with her. There's a difference between being selfish (which most of the characters in this film are) and loving themselves (something that Mercedes needs to do in order to survive her heartbreak). THE ART OF UNREQUITED LOVE delves into the complexities of romantic relationships from a more cerebral and psychological angle, rather than purely emotional. Anyone who sees this film will feel identified, everyone has gone through the experiences these characters have gone through, but perhaps by seeing how these characters handle themselves and how little they think of themselves, the audience can avoid falling into the same traps that these characters find themselves in.
THE ART OF UNREQUITED LOVE is written and directed by Shaniyah K. Bernabela, who also plays the role of Mercedes. Her film explores universal themes of heartbreak and unrequited love as well as self-esteem issues and how this affect the way people value themselves and their relationships. She focuses more on the psychological effect that heartbreak causes rather than some idealized and romanticized version of these universal themes. Bernabela has a good handle into what makes people act this way, why they keep getting stuck in the same toxic relationships and why they settle for less. Seeing her characters one understands that this is a personal film for her and that she has no doubt observed this behavior in other people, studying them almost with a microscope in order to find what makes them tic. The film is shot with the bare-minimum tools, canon cameras and on location. Showing that one can tell a story with fully fledged characters with the very basics. This film is a proper character study, and in a short amount of time, she manages to flesh out each individual and provide them with their own inner worlds. Being an actor herself, she manages to extract solid performances from her cast, but also helps them understand who are they and why they do what they do. Each motivation is clear, the source of everyone's ache is understandable, and of course we can say to ourselves "well, just increase your self-worth and all your problems will be solved" but she knows how people return to the same vicious circles as conveyed by her script. This is a film about the root of emotional turmoil, of the origins of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. In thirty minutes we get full character arcs with no clear answers, just like in real life.
At the heart of THE ART OF UNREQUITED LOVE lies the psychology behind love and relationships. Every character on screen (perhaps with the exception of Susan, Mercedes's psychologist) suffers a severe case of low self-esteem. Mercedes believes that it's her fault that David can't see the worth in her, that her love for him is one-sided as he is unable to see what makes her "the one" for Dave. David himself suffers of low self-esteems himself, which causes him in turn to believe that Mercedes (who has been nothing but great to him) is not good enough for him, but Christina (his cheating ex) is exactly what he deserves, despite sleeping with his best friend. Christina is an emotional wreck herself, she probably gives the lengthiest explanation as to why she cheated on Dave, the result of countless break-up where she felt used and caused her to not be able to believe that she could be loved, so she cheats on Dave before he cheats on her, as a preemptive measure; another case of low self-esteem. Richard himself may seem composed, but you have to have a low opinion of yourself in order to sleep with your best friend's girl. Matter of fact, Richard's motives could stem from envy, you can almost imagine Richard saying to himself "I wish I had a girl like Christina" (without knowing how messed up Christina is) while he saw his friend with his girlfriend from afar. Low self-esteem, what does that mean? It means knowing one's self-worth is essential in order to survive this disappointments. None of these characters has much love for themselves, they are constantly trying to find their worth in the approval of other people. Mercedes certainly is not at fault for her pain. Dave had a chance to be with someone who was not going to betray him, and in turn, does the exact same thing to Mercedes that Christina did to him. People become the result of the former relationships they had, and depending on how much they love themselves, it will shape them and the way they handle their future relationships. Perhaps it is possible that Mercedes will indulge her pain and in turn cause pain to the next person who tries to be in a relationship with her. There's a difference between being selfish (which most of the characters in this film are) and loving themselves (something that Mercedes needs to do in order to survive her heartbreak). THE ART OF UNREQUITED LOVE delves into the complexities of romantic relationships from a more cerebral and psychological angle, rather than purely emotional. Anyone who sees this film will feel identified, everyone has gone through the experiences these characters have gone through, but perhaps by seeing how these characters handle themselves and how little they think of themselves, the audience can avoid falling into the same traps that these characters find themselves in.
THE ART OF UNREQUITED LOVE is written and directed by Shaniyah K. Bernabela, who also plays the role of Mercedes. Her film explores universal themes of heartbreak and unrequited love as well as self-esteem issues and how this affect the way people value themselves and their relationships. She focuses more on the psychological effect that heartbreak causes rather than some idealized and romanticized version of these universal themes. Bernabela has a good handle into what makes people act this way, why they keep getting stuck in the same toxic relationships and why they settle for less. Seeing her characters one understands that this is a personal film for her and that she has no doubt observed this behavior in other people, studying them almost with a microscope in order to find what makes them tic. The film is shot with the bare-minimum tools, canon cameras and on location. Showing that one can tell a story with fully fledged characters with the very basics. This film is a proper character study, and in a short amount of time, she manages to flesh out each individual and provide them with their own inner worlds. Being an actor herself, she manages to extract solid performances from her cast, but also helps them understand who are they and why they do what they do. Each motivation is clear, the source of everyone's ache is understandable, and of course we can say to ourselves "well, just increase your self-worth and all your problems will be solved" but she knows how people return to the same vicious circles as conveyed by her script. This is a film about the root of emotional turmoil, of the origins of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. In thirty minutes we get full character arcs with no clear answers, just like in real life.