- 5 hours ago
Lover Under Mask
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:12everyone echo is here today we only discuss the exhibition no personal questions welcome
00:18back to the city I'm Eli Walker curator of this exhibition I've heard a lot about you
00:27likewise this piece silent night will be placed in the center of the main hall
00:32that is if our mysterious artist is willing to cooperate with basic publicity honestly talking
00:38about sincerity behind a mask is ironic my work speaks for itself my face is irrelevant or is it
00:44that your face can't be shown Damien we are discussing the exhibition not staging a provocation
00:52echo wait have we met before no that's strange your voice the way you look at people
01:03it all feels familiar maybe you're mistaking me for someone else
01:09was that person important to you you don't remember someone this long if they didn't matter
01:27bad news someone posted photos of you and Eli at the elevator last night Damien's people
01:34who else would be this eager to start a fire I've heard a lot about you you've been off since
01:40last
01:41night I'm thinking about the exhibition you'd better be
01:47this isn't a public piece and it wasn't in the catalog your team sent me probably a discarded
01:52sketch that got mixed in during packing but it doesn't look discarded I've seen this place a lot
01:58of people have seen rooftops and stars but not many people can paint that cracked cement wall exactly
02:03like this sorry to interrupt but I'd like to remind everyone that our promo still lacks a proper frontal
02:08shot of the artist the contract is clear no face reveal the public has a right to know
02:14especially when an artist's story feels more like branding than art that's enough are you protecting
02:19him or your own curiosity if this gallery needs a face more than an exhibition we can terminate the
02:25collaboration right now it won't be terminated at least not for that reason I'm not here to push you
02:35then why are you here I just want to know why the things you paint feel like they're stealing my
02:41memories and your eyes they really remind me of someone two centimeters higher on the left no the
02:50starlight is crushing the figures breathing space you see it well because I feel like I know the people
02:55in your pictures why are they always turned away from the viewer because one of them still isn't ready
03:00to turn around some reporters coming tonight are already asking whether ego play trees his own persona
03:05you're setting fires and pretending to be the firefighter I'm just clearing the smoke Damien out
03:10you're sounding less and less like someone protecting a project
03:25you almost slipped today he remembered that wall
03:30the issue isn't whether he remembers the issue is how long you plan to keep hiding
03:35I'm not afraid he'll recognize me I'm afraid the answer I never got 10 years ago will be the same
03:40now
03:45keep digging I want every address school record and family file eco had in the last 10 years
03:49especially why he vanished 10 years ago
03:55I stared at this painting for two hours last night it reminds me of someone I lost
04:01strange part is I'm starting to wonder if you came back in his place to find me
04:07an artist's job isn't to return in someone else's place
04:10then what is your job to leave behind the words that were never said
04:15he's watching you and he's watching Eli I think he's digging into your past
04:19my past is already all over these paintings
04:21but your identity isn't if you get exposed by force it won't just ruin your love life
04:25the art market will tear you apart
04:27echo are you in there
04:28don't forget we didn't come back here to die in front of him
04:30you need to attend tonight's media premiere
04:32fine
04:33and if that person really matters this much to you you owe him an explanation
04:37what if the explanation comes too late
04:39it's still better than never coming
04:40no public identity his team scrubbed the records clean
04:43but there's one opening
04:44echo keeps dodging questions about the town like he's avoiding someone from his past
04:48he's not avoiding someone from his past
04:49he's afraid of an old lover
04:50then dig that person out for me
04:52I changed the opening sequence
04:55why
04:55because your work doesn't tell its story by chronology but by emotional wounds
04:59these works weren't originally about fame loneliness or mystery
05:02they've been waiting for an answer
05:03do you always read paintings like this
05:05no
05:05only yours
05:08echo the two boys repeated in your work
05:10are they from your own romantic history
05:12no personal questions today
05:13then at least answer this
05:15are these paintings dedicated to someone
05:17yes
05:18they are for someone I couldn't hold on to
05:22what you said out there
05:25was it true
05:26what do you think
05:27I think every time you say things like that
05:30you're not answering the press
05:31you're speaking
05:31to one specific person
05:34echo
05:35why do you affect me like this
05:40you can read this
05:42I don't know why but I can't walk away from your work
05:44then don't
05:46double the fee
05:46move faster
05:47I want his real identity
05:48and I want it now
05:49Eli are you curating him
05:50or are you falling for him
06:00this wall has to stay empty
06:04a blank wall will break the emotional flow for the audience
06:07that's exactly what I want
06:10why
06:11because some people stop right there
06:13and never move forward
06:14the audience isn't here to experience your personal paralysis
06:18they need a complete narrative
06:22complete?
06:23you think everything gets a complete ending?
06:28you always sound like you're trying to provoke me
06:32maybe I just want to see whether you'll finally say something real
06:36are you two done?
06:37at this rate the first thing to explode won't be the exhibition
06:40it'll be the two of you
06:46Eli, I like you
06:47not the kind of like between friends
07:03you came
07:04you said you had something to ask
07:08a lot of the places from the town where I grew up are gone now
07:13only rooftops like this still bring me back
07:18you know what's strangest?
07:21I don't even know you
07:22and yet every time I stand next to you
07:25it feels like I'm back ten years ago
07:30Echo, did you know Noah?
07:34the places in your paintings, the way you speak, even the way you look at me
07:37they're all too much like him
07:48why did you stop?
07:48some answers shouldn't be spoken where the wind is too loud
07:53you're just like him
07:54always pulling back right when the truth is within reach
07:57if it were you, would you disappear without a word too?
08:00I'm coming down now
08:01you pull me in
08:02then say nothing
08:03do you know how cool that is?
08:08Noah
08:11you can't face the press like this
08:13so you're just gonna walk away again?
08:15Eli, this is not the time
08:16I'm not talking to you
08:19what exactly do you take me for?
08:23a collaborator
08:26you paint my past
08:27drag back the person I lost
08:29and then tell me I'm just a collaborator?
08:32what do you want to hear?
08:33I want the truth
08:35some truths
08:36even if I told you
08:38you might not be able to bear them
08:39it's not that you can't say it
08:41you won't
08:44the one who looks most like him
08:46is the one who refuses to admit him
08:52at this rate, Eli won't recognize you first
08:54he'll hate you first
08:59major identity turning point
09:02so that's what this is
09:03filter through all of his public activity
09:05over the past 10 years
09:07how deep do you want us to go?
09:10deep enough that I can peel that mask off
09:12layer by layer
09:26yes, I know
09:27someone's touching our private server
09:28Damien?
09:33do you recognize this?
09:39I did write one
09:40even though I never sent it
09:41why are you showing it to me now?
09:43because you make me feel like
09:44I'm about to lose the same thing
09:45a second time
09:47sorry to interrupt
09:47your early morning heart to quaint
09:51what are you doing here?
09:52I'm getting more and more curious
09:54how many old acquaintances
09:55our eco really has
09:59too late
10:13so that's where you've been hiding
10:16don't touch the email
10:18it's a phishing attack
10:19Noah Grayson
10:33which one is waiting in this painting?
10:42the one who never turned around
10:44then who's the one that keeps being too afraid to turn around?
10:48maybe they're the same person
10:51this isn't just a memory painting
10:52then what is it?
10:53it's one person staying where he was
10:56waiting for the other to finally face him
11:00who are you waiting for?
11:04someone I thought would never answer
11:13someone is deliberately steering the narrative
11:17who put this here?
11:18you'd better not know
11:19I need it faster
11:20I don't care about the process
11:21I want the result
11:22I'm trying but I can't hack into the system
11:23then find another way
11:24after opening nighting
11:25I want to know everything about you
11:27what if you regret it once you know?
11:29it feels like someone hung his heart on the wall
11:31and forced another person to recognize it
11:36just give me a little more time
11:41Noah Grayson
11:42found you
11:52the key light is too cold
11:55a little colder feels more like loss
11:58loss
11:58loss isn't cold
11:59it's when the light is still on
12:01but it no longer reaches you
12:06you always say the things I don't dare to say
12:09maybe you just project yourself too easily onto my work
12:14and you?
12:16who are you projecting into every painting?
12:19someone who should never have been forgotten
12:21why does every painting feel like it was made for the same person?
12:26because they were
12:27do you realize what you just said?
12:30I'm talking about the work
12:32but what I heard wasn't just about the work
12:34the media confirmed tomorrow night's preview live stream
12:37echo you need to leave
12:40got it
12:45that didn't look like curating
12:47it's a strange feeling
12:48I've started envy the person he has painted for 10 years
13:01you're still here?
13:03I still have things to revise
13:07you've been strange lately
13:10ever since echo showed up
13:12you haven't looked at me the way you used to
13:13Damien
13:14there was never a that way to begin with
13:23enviving the person he has painted for 10 years
13:27you said too much last night
13:29I know
13:31I didn't come back just to retreat again
13:39I'm in love with you
13:41so I can't keep watching you get this close to him
13:46that's my business
13:46you don't get to tell me what to do
13:48then stay away from eco
13:55fine
13:57I hope you won't regret today's choice
13:59over a man in a mask
14:15sorry
14:16have we met somewhere before?
14:18no
14:18but your eyes really look like someone I used to know
14:22a lot of people say that
14:25right this way
14:26the media area needs one more photo of you
14:31what are you hiding from?
14:34I just don't like being studied by strangers
14:36but that didn't look like fear of a stranger
14:39the investors would love to meet our star artist
14:45if he finds out it's me
14:47will he still go silent?
14:53you've been off all night
14:55you're overthinking
14:56if you really have nothing to do with my past
14:58why do you look ready to run
14:59every time someone mentions before?
15:02so this is where you've been hiding
15:04something you need?
15:05just a reminder
15:06the press is looking for echo
15:08of course
15:09some people may be looking for more than just echo
15:17this series should move a little deeper inside
15:23why?
15:24because this shouldn't be the first place people see
15:27you say that like you've actually been there
15:29of course I've been there
15:32east district of the old town
15:34behind the abandoned water tower
15:37through the alley
15:38barely wide enough for one person
15:39up three flights of rusted stairs
15:42and there's a
15:43cracked cement platform on top
15:50how do you paint this place exactly as it was?
15:54art doesn't need to explain every source
15:56stop hiding
15:59that place
16:00other than me
16:02only one other person knew
16:10who are you?
16:12echo
16:12the media vans arrived early
16:14looks like I came at an interesting time
16:18finish what you were about to say
16:22the harder a man hides
16:24the more valuable the face behind the mask must be
16:31echo
16:32is your refusal to show your face
16:34part of your artistic philosophy
16:35or are you hiding something?
16:37a real artist usually doesn't need to hide a mask
16:39this is an interview
16:40not a personal provocation
16:42unless what some people are selling
16:45was never the work
16:46but the secret
16:51that's enough
16:53did I say something untrue?
16:55the contract permits anonymity
16:56the curation supports anonymity
16:59if you can't tell the difference
17:00between professionalism and humiliation
17:02leave the floor now
17:04you humiliated me in public for him?
17:07you crossed the line first
17:08you really are protective of him
17:15don't pay attention to him
17:17thank you
17:22if you're so determined to protect him
17:25I want you to move tonight
17:27hack Maeve's private email
17:30I'm not asking for a risk assessment
17:32I want the truth
17:47lift the left side a little
17:52I keep dreaming about him lately
17:57who?
18:02that boy who disappeared
18:05in the dream
18:07he's still 17
18:08standing on the rooftop
18:10looking at me like
18:11he's waiting for me to say something
18:13maybe he really is
18:15if he came back
18:17would I still have the right to explain?
18:21some people aren't waiting for an explanation
18:23then what are they waiting for?
18:26courage
18:26courage
18:29so it really is you
18:31that line?
18:33it sounds like something he would say
18:34maybe you just miss him too much
18:38Echo
18:38I need you backstage right now
18:43what did they get?
18:49not everything yet but enough
18:53Damien
18:53no one else would do this right before the opening
18:57some people aren't waiting for an explanation
18:59but
19:00courage
19:03where did you get that line you said earlier?
19:07it came to me so I said it
19:09but it sounded like it was meant for me
19:11maybe some words were always meant for you
19:19you two look deeply engaged
19:23don't look at me like that
19:25I'm in a very good mood tonight
19:26stay away from him
19:31too late
19:38Noah Grayson
19:41no need
19:42on opening night
19:43I'll make everyone watch the show together
19:48if anything happens tomorrow
19:50you leave immediately
19:51this time
19:52I don't want to run
20:00we can still cancel your public appearance
20:05no
20:07you know how high the risk is tonight
20:09I've already run once
20:10I'm not running again
20:13then at least promise me this
20:14whatever happens
20:16don't carry it alone
20:23it's not the mystery
20:24it's that there's someone in those paintings
20:26who has been silent for a long time
20:28but
20:29never truly left
20:37when tomorrow night is over
20:39I want to know everything about you
20:42what if you regret it once you know
20:45then that should still be my choice
20:53don't leave me outside the door again
21:02after the opening I'll tell you
21:15I guess you'd still be here
21:20for the first time since this was hung
21:22I feel like it's finally complete
21:25because the exhibition is finally complete
21:28because I finally know what I need to do after tomorrow
21:34what
21:37tell you the truth
21:40why after tomorrow
21:44because some answers should be spoken
21:46after everything is over
21:49what if I say I don't want to wait anymore
21:52just one more night
21:54okay
22:01tomorrow night
22:03everyone will see it with their own eyes
22:07is there an issue with the back down access
22:11damn it
22:14after tomorrow night ends
22:15I'm coming to find you
22:18I'll wait for you
22:22the countdown has started
22:37welcome to Echo's opening night
22:43who is Noah Grayson
22:54get the shot
23:10this isn't how it was
23:17looks like the secret revealed itself tonight
23:24don't touch him
23:29it's him
23:29we got him
23:30Eli
23:33so it really was you
23:48Mr. Grayson
23:49why did you hide your identity
23:51what exactly is the relationship
23:53between Echo and Noah Grayson
23:54was this a carefully staged deception
24:07Eli
24:09why
24:10I wasn't trying to deceive you
24:12not trying
24:14you stood in front of me every day
24:16heard everything I said
24:19watched me chase my own past like a madman
24:22you'd rather wear a mask than say my name even once
24:24when I came back I thought you didn't need me anymore
24:28so you made that decision for me
24:32back off
24:33everyone back off
24:36do you know what's most ridiculous
24:37I almost believed you again
24:39leave now
24:40right now
24:41the car is waiting at the side exit
24:43I ruined everything again
24:45our collaboration ends here
24:47the artist behind the million dollar Echo masks
24:50has finally been unmasked
24:56effective immediately
24:58the gallery is terminating all collaboration
25:00with Noah Grayman and the Echo brand
25:04this is the only way to contain the damage
25:09go make the announcement to the press
25:16Eli signed the termination
25:17okay
25:19you're not even going to fight it
25:21the way he looked at me last night said everything
25:25the gallery respects art
25:27and it respects the public's right to know
25:29as for Echo's hidden identity
25:31we had no prior knowledge
25:34he's washing his hands clean
25:36let him
25:46you look like you didn't survive the night
25:48I was deceived by the one person
25:50who should never have deceived me
25:51or maybe it was someone most afraid of losing you
25:54didn't know how to return
25:55if that's the reason why not say a single word
25:58I'm not leaving
26:03why didn't you say a single word
26:04you left for ten years
26:06and even when you came back
26:07this is what you do to me
26:18you've only remembered that he left
26:19but you never really looked at what he left behind
26:27when was this?
26:28after graduation night
26:30he came by the house the next day
26:31you weren't there
26:32he left this behind
26:34he came back for me?
26:37some people don't leave on purpose
26:39they just believe no one would ask them to stay
26:47I don't want the mask anymore
26:49then what do you want?
26:51I want to answer once
26:53with my real name
27:02if you don't hate me
27:03come find me
27:15this time
27:15I won't leave you waiting alone
27:21call the print workshop
27:23did you name it?
27:25answer
27:30no one hasn't released any public statement
27:32what is he planning?
27:33maybe this time
27:34he doesn't want to rely on explanations
27:40this isn't a commercial job
27:42this is a ten year late answer
27:53are you sure about this?
27:56yes
27:57this time I won't use the name Echo
28:01I'll answer as Noah Grayson
28:16I'm asking that question again
28:18with my real name
28:19ten years later
28:30Mr. Grayson
28:30is this your public response?
28:32who are you speaking to?
28:33do you realize this could cause even more controversy?
28:39but some things shouldn't stay hidden anymore
28:51I'm asking that question again
28:52with my real name
28:53ten years later
28:54Mr. Eli?
28:56cancel everything on my schedule
28:57but the board meeting
28:58cancel all of it
29:23step back
29:24give them space
29:32so you weren't forcing an answer from me
29:37I just wanted you to know
29:38the question is still there
29:39and so is the choice
29:48that night
29:49it wasn't that I didn't want to answer
29:51I simply couldn't believe
29:53someone could love me like that
29:58I thought you deserved someone better
30:00police are here!
30:09Noah
30:09this time you don't have to wait for me
30:13this time
30:14I'm not running
30:17no matter what your answer is
30:19my silence back then wasn't rejection
30:22I was afraid
30:25afraid I didn't deserve
30:26a love like yours
30:31will you still take it?
30:33that answer is very very late
30:36I will
30:37Damien Hall
30:38yes
30:39what is this about?
30:41you are suspected of illegally obtaining private information
30:44hacking private email accounts
30:45and orchestrating public defamation
30:47you need to come with us for questioning
30:50surprised?
30:55it was you
30:56I told you not to touch what wasn't yours
31:03this is a misunderstanding
31:06I'm entirely
31:07a misunderstanding?
31:08you illegally obtained Noah's identity records
31:11hacked my private email
31:13manipulated the opening night control system
31:16and orchestrated a deliberate public humiliation
31:19I gave you time to stop at every step
31:22you chose not to
31:24you're not seriously taking their side are you?
31:29it's not their side
31:32you crossed the line a long time ago
31:35as of now
31:36all your permissions at the gallery are revaked
31:39that includes management authority
31:40financial access
31:41and all project attribution rights
31:44so the gallery is officially cutting ties with Damien?
31:47Mr. Eli
31:48do you admit the gallery mishandled the eco situation?
31:51I admit the real mistake wasn't that someone wore a mask
31:54it was that someone used another person's wounds as chips to win
31:57if it weren't for him
31:59you would never have walked away from me
32:00I was never on your side to begin with
32:05Mr. Grayson
32:06will you continue working under the name Echo?
32:13yes I guess that's a misorious sex sir
32:19no
32:21but for the road ahead
32:22I want to walk it under my real name
32:25what is the relationship between the two of you now?
32:29we're the people each of us found far too late
32:32but last
32:33not too late to lose each other
32:46welcome back
32:50not back
32:53it's a new beginning
32:54for my silence
32:55for my silence
32:56ten years ago
32:57I should apologize too
32:58for keeping you outside the mask for so long
33:01and for the hesitation
33:02anger
33:03and hurtful thinking
33:06congratulations you two bosses
33:08you don't sound very congratulatory
33:11because I know the real challenge isn't the media
33:13it's the two of you finally making decisions together
33:16so you finally admit it
33:19I'll admit that
33:21what are you painting this time?
33:25two people
33:30but not from the back this time
33:33then where are they looking?
33:40the same direction
33:44this time
33:45will you run again?
33:47no
33:50because this time
33:51you're finally by my side
33:53you're after what are you painting you
34:01you
34:01you
34:02you
34:02You
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