Shawn Christensen's Oscar Winning Curfew was a wonderful piece of filmmaking, and I was worried that the feature version "Before I Disappear" would be just more of the same. I was pleasantly surprised and this expanded version took wonderful to extraordinary.

One of Shawn's many accomplishments in this film was his deft transition of the Sophia character from precocious little girl to self-realized adolescent, who has it together a hell of a lot more than her uncle.

It took me a little time to warm up to Emmy Rossum's character -- as in how could she have a child that old -- but a few lines to clear that up -- and boom, all taken care of. Emmy's vulnerability and willingness to go to a very raw place near the end of the film was beautiful to watch.

Shawn's expanding the characters I loved in the short and adding new characters, played by Paul Wesley and Ron Perlman was terrific. Who knew that Wesley could bring such depth to a character that could have come off as horribly one-note?

The cinematography was brilliant. The choice of color was truly inspired.

This is definitely a virtuoso piece of indie filmmaking, and deserving of every award it has picked up on the film festival circuit. My only regret is that this film should be opening in a hell of a lot more theaters this awards season.

If you love indie filmmaking, you need to see this film as soon as possible,

I watched Before I Disappear when it screened at the Hollywood Film Festival this past weekend and also fell in love with the short film version, Curfew, when I saw it after it won the Oscar for best live action short film.

The feature film is an outstanding debut for writer/director/star/producer, Shawn Christensen, the man with many hats. This independent film has such a beautiful balance of dark themes such as suicide, drug addiction, and depression but couples it with some very dry and dark humor, an incredibly emotional core, and a hopeful message of life and love. The strong character-driven story is very original and has such great characters to invest in, especially the core relationship between the main character, Richie, and her niece, Sophia, played by the extremely talented, Fatima Ptacek. Christensen's strong visual and storytelling style flows seamlessly throughout the movie, showing his brilliantly creative voice. For one, the visuals and the cinematography are absolutely stunning from each scene to the next, with vibrant colors, smooth camera composition and movement, and unique lighting choices all throughout the story. Also, there's quite a bit of surrealism in this feature, which might have took me back at first, but realized how creative and beautiful the storytelling techniques progressed the character's motivations through them. And finally, with Christensen's background as a musician, music plays a vital role in the film, weaving the drive of each character, as really great music drives the story just as powerfully as the visuals.

I honestly loved this film and can't wait to watch it again, hopefully own it on DVD, too! Shawn Christensen definitely has become one of my favorite directors as well as one of the strongest voices as an up and coming artist in film, who already has got his hands on an Oscar as he shows off his incredibly well made first feature length film. Before I Disappear is a beautiful piece of filmmaking that grabs the audience on an emotional level, isn't afraid to be bold, and can really get you thinking and soon enough appreciate the great value of our very lives.

I saw this film at NorthEast Film Festival in NJ and from the moment this film started I was swept up and there is not a second that your mind wanders, every second of this film is visually stunning and diverse. You can't help but root and fall in love with Richie (Shawn Christensen) as he struggles through the evening's events. The dynamic between him and Sophia (Fatima Ptacek) is like catching lightning in a bottle, they make a fantastic duo. Fatima does a wonderful job of transitioning the younger Sophia from 'Curfew' to a more mature Sophia in 'Before I Disappear'. Even though the story is about a lot struggles and heartache, there are moments that have you laughing out loud. Each supporting character to Richie and Sophia's journey is so well cast. Paul Wesley as Gideon is simply phenomenal, as he creates a very diverse character within only a few appearances on screen. He manages to create so many subtle undertones with a performance that doesn't hit over the head with it, but leaves you with a deeper understanding of the character. Emmy Rossum as Maggie does an outstanding job of creating a real and emotional counterpart as the mother to Sophia's character. Ron Perlman is as fantastic as always and creates a very chilling presence on screen. Hats off to the multi talented Shawn, for directing, starring, writing and composing for this beautiful surprise of a film.