Short Documentary AFIN 261
WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU
Directed by 
Alec Goldberg
AFIN 2024 Nominee
- 2024
- 26m
-
USA - English
- M
- Comedy
- Drama
- Documentary
Stills
1 frame
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Credits
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Synopsis
Two childhood friends, both now stand-up comics, explore their past trauma together.
Director's Statement
Alec Goldberg and Sebastian Scales have been friends and frequent collaborators for years. Scales is a stand up comedian who centers a lot of his content around his past trauma and has a podcast focusing on other trauma survivors. Standup was a helpful outlet for Sebastian to talk about his trauma. Tom Jorza is Sebastian’s friend since they were four. Growing up together, Tom had to testify in Sebastian’s sexual abuse trial. In college, Tom fell off a fire escape and suffered severe brain trauma resulting in an inability to walk or talk. Sebastian visited Tom after his accident and saw him laughing and in positive spirits. After years of struggling to talk about his trauma, seeing Tom motivated Sebastian to finally get in stage and do standup. Fast forward several years, one day when Goldberg and Scales are together, Sebastian was told by Tom that he too was going to be trying out stand-up comedy as well. After Jorza got his bearings, Goldberg, Scales, and Jorza teamed up to tell the story of “What Happened to You”.
What makes this one special
From the Judges
From the Judges
The cinematography and colour grade carry a soft, considered warmth, and the boxed framing and fitting score give this short a texture all its own. Its act structure lands cleanly, with interviews that let the subjects find their way toward humour as a means of moving through grief, a concept the panel found both original and deeply relatable. It struck them as beautiful and uplifting work, with a production value that stands as an ode to the stories it holds.
Director's Biography
Alec Goldberg Director
Alec Goldberg is a director/editor working in documentary, narrative, music video and commercial spaces. With a focus on stories that have potential positive social impact, most of Alec’s documentary and narrative work centers around contexts of trauma and transformation. Working on campaigns for brands such as Porsche, Chevron, Jordan, and Off-White Goldberg balances his exploration of form and story between the different types of projects, while building an understanding of the different wings of the filmmaking and video content industries. His 2021 documentary short in partnership with Abstract Magazine featured artist Thai Mainhard and has since been screened at numerous festivals and shows, including being featured during the keynote presentation for the LA Art Show. In 2023/24 Alec is releasing his first feature film ‘Sitting in the Fire’. The same year he’s releasing short films: ‘What Happened to You’ [Semi-Finalist Cannes Indie Shorts Awards], and ‘Movers’ [Winner of Copenhagen Film Festival]; all with trauma and transformation at the core of the stories.
Trailer
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WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU was an official Nominee for Best Documentary Short Subject at the AFIN International Film Festival 2024, a Top 100 Best Reviewed and IMDb-qualifying festival.
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