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- Dad, can I talk to you?

- Buddy, this thing is like a Swiss army knife.

Look it, here's my coffee station.

- - Dad. - Hot and cold water.

I can't drink it, but like dishes.

Oh, this'll blow you away, buddy.

Look at this.

- - Dad. - Just hang on one second.

This is for hot water.

I can take hot showers, buddy.

- - Some people when they... - Did you see this heating air

- grow up like we did - conditioning water heater.

With a single dad, there's a time when we set boundaries

and we change the way we relate to each other,

and it's called divorcing your parents.

- That sounds ridiculous.

- No, it's important to me because I'm about to go

to this very serious artist in residency

that is very competitive.

- I know. I know. - Like, think about...

I think we should set some rules.

You can't call me while I'm there.

- What? Why not? - You can't email me.

You can't send me recipes,

you can't invite me to a baseball game.

None of that.

- I won't be. I won't.

I'm gonna be camping miles away from you.

I'm not gonna bother you.

- Dad. Good.

I won't bother you.

- I have a lot to do, so that is good.

- Good. - That's it.

- That's it. - Okay.

I'm divorced from my daughter, which-

- Shh, just don't talk.

It's done, hug me and let's go to the airport.

- It's insane. It's insane. - Okay. Love you.

Okay, let's go.

- Nobody does this, but yes. - We did it. We did it.

- Okay, Okay. - Okay.

- At the residency,

you'll find a bright, refreshing, clean environment

to uncover your full potential as an artist.

Learn from the Abbot the ways of true artistry.

- Rise and shine and open up your minds.

- Come and realize your full potential

as the artist you were destined to be.

- Welcome.

- As intense as this one.

- Thank you. - Welcome.

- Much higher altitude than you would think.

- Yeah, uh um um.

Thank you.

- Welcome, artists.

This is your new uniform.

The only self-expression here is through your art,

- Thank you.

- Not through vanity such as physical appearance.

The Abbot is very passionate about this.

If the uniform has become soiled, please let me know

and I'll replace them for you immediately.

Thank you, artists. Thank you.

Follow me, grab a pair of shoes

and I'll show you your cabin assignments.

There are two studios to a cabin.

You'll find that the Abbot has outfitted each studio

to fit your individual creative needs.

Claire, your studio's to the right.

Alice, your studio's to the left.

Please respect each other's creative space.

Incivility will not be tolerated.

Thank you.

- Hi, I'm Alice.

My project here is to create an audio book series

of Y A fantasy adventure stories.

I feel that to tell the best story,

I need to get more personal than I've gotten.

Writer's block, it really doesn't exist.

It's just a discipline and we're all here to do it,

and I'm one of those people to do it.

- I am Wesley. I'm a painter.

I know that I really need to make my masterpiece.

Look at all this potential.

Van Gogh, he didn't start painting 'til he was 40

so I think that, you know, I have seven years on Van Gogh.

- Hi, I'm Kimmy.

I'm a professor and I am a playwright.

Oh my God!

I'm very grateful because I finally feel seen

for the first time in my life,

and I can't tell you how huge that is.

- Greetings, everyone.

I'm Donte.

Quite frankly, to be honest,

everything that I make is strange.

No one really connects, relates,

or even cares about what I'm trying to do.

How does that sound?

Sounds good to me.

I know sometimes I don't believe in myself,

but every day I'm trying to put my best foot forward

and become a filmmaker.

- Hi, I am Indigo Mayas Braithwaite.

My mother is Magenta Mayas Braithwaite.

She's a very famous sculptor.

I am here to step out of her shadow.

The first time I picked up the clay I was four,

and then I had my first exhibit when I was eight.

Of course, that was a complete failure

so I started residencies right after that.

I am Christopher, I am a poet,

and I currently live in Berlin.

I will be successful.

I will be successful.

I started tweeting just silly little whimsical poems.

Really little, little rhymes, but they went viral

and I got a book deal.

So now I find myself in this gilded cage.

Do I continue making my silly little poems,

or do I find trauma

to source deep, meaningful poetry?

- Hello, everyone.

I'm Claire. I'm a painter.

I was accepted to four Ivy League schools plus Stanford,

but I decided to take a gap year to explore art,

and see if this is really what I wanted to do

for the rest of my life.

As we all know, art is subjective,

but when it comes to the fine art world, it's also not.

- Cheers!

- I admire the Abbot for having a financial incentive.

It shows that he's not afraid

to show the role of money in art.

- I completely disagree.

I think that money corrupts art.

In fact, the last time I was at a Christie's auction,

the people applauded the price and not the Picasso.

- Hey, does anyone happen to recognize her over there?

Isn't she like famous or something?

- So help me understand,

you got an MFA in creative writing, yeah?

- Yes.

- Then what are you doing here?

- An MFA doesn't guarantee you success in the real world.

- Well, if it doesn't guarantee success,

then why waste the time and the money getting a degree?

- I...

- Can we get some more please?

Can we get some more?

I've always said, if I don't live up to my potential,

if I'm not fulfilling my artistic goals, I'll kill myself.

What's the point of living if you're not living up

to your potential as an artist?

- I completely agree.

- Life is precious.

Why would you even play like that?

- I know it's precious.

That's why you shouldn't waste resources

or consume people's time and attention doing something

that doesn't live up to your true potential.

I know my true potential as an artist,

and I intend to get there.

If I don't, I'll kill myself.

- You know they say a picture could paint a thousand words.

I always ask the question,

how many pictures can you get from a single word?

And that word is artist.

You know, I first dreamed of becoming an artist

when I was about nine years old.

I would go visit my mother at work

and she worked over in the garment district in Manhattan,

and on the way home we would pass this street painter

who would paint the most beautiful portraits of people,

and I saw how much it amazed my mother.

And I said, "Mom, I'm gonna be a great painter one day."

I thought that maybe I'll make the next Mona Lisa.

It'll be a portrait of mom.

But then, my mother got sick

and necessity overtook me,

and I put down that paintbrush, took my ass

back to the garment district

and figured out how to make a dollar.

And I became rich, but this dream of being an artist

kept calling me.

Calling, calling.

I couldn't buy it away, I couldn't drink it away,

I couldn't fuck it away.

Check out what I did.

I went down to the south of France and I bought the villa

that Van Gogh used when he made his masterpieces.

I owned that shit!

And I thought being here

where this great master once walked,

eating the vegetation that he ate,

seeing the beautiful landscapes that inspired him,

I would be inspired.

And I put my canvas up, got my favorite palette together,

and I couldn't paint a fucking apple.

And I went back to my room that night

and balled the fuck up like a wounded animal,

and I cried 'til four in the morning.

But after that cry, I felt relief.

I had a realization, an epiphany, if you will.

And that realization was, I'm not an artist.

I'm not an artist.

I am not a fucking artist.

This residency is here to accelerate the inevitable.

Are we committed to being an artist?

Or are we just wanna be, gonna be, who you're gonna be be?

These contracts are binding.

That means you can't break these motherfuckers, all right?

If you open up the first tab, you'll find what we call

the artist's pledge, and I will humbly ask you all

to read it together.

- - I confess that despite calling myself an artist,

I have yet to manifest my creative potential

in a meaningful way.

In the next 30 days, I hereby pledge

to complete the creative project outlined in my application.

Upon successful completion of my work,

I will receive a grant of 100,000 US dollars

for my artistic career.

However, should I fail to complete my work

to my full creative potential,

I vow to never again call myself an artist.

- This contract is for life.

If you fail, no more art.

- Yeah, I saw the X-ray.

It's healing nicely, the bone is healing really well.

It's actually quite beautiful,

and maybe in a few weeks you can get back

to your Karate or TaeKwonDo.

- Karate. Yeah. - Karate.

- Wait, a few weeks?

That's amazing.

- That toe is very infected,

and I think you neglected cleaning it, to be honest.

- Out of your whole medical school career,

how many days would you say it was toe physiology?

- Toe physiology was never a class in my medical.

- I need a second opinion.

- I don't know if you can see this.

- Hold it up to the- - This right here.

I had never seen that before.

I don't know what type of bugs are around these days,

or like, I don't know, I don't know

if some bugs have venom, or poisonous?

- Sure, sure.

Pretty sure it's not anything to be worried about,

but keep an eye on it, you know?

And if it gets enlarged, you can, you know, try me anytime.

- I feel like this is, um..

I feel like you and me connect

on a way that I don't connect with other people. Um...

- Um...

- Even Andy and Sarah, my parents or whatever.

- I wouldn't say that.

No, no, I, I wouldn't say that.

And hey, can I say something, buddy?

- Yeah. - You're a special kid

and everything's gonna be fine.

All right. - Thanks, doc.

- I mean it.

- Okay. - Go spread your wings.

Go step outside the door, all right?

- All right, man.

Uh..

I love you.

- Take care of yourself.

- Hey there.

Mind if I join you?

- Yeah, come on in.

Actually, I got extra hot dogs if you're hungry.

- Oh, that'd be great.

Thank you. - All righty. Yeah.

I'm Charles, nice to meet ya.

- Nice, isn't it? - Oh.

It's just a total reset for me.

- Oh yeah?

- Recently my daughter kinda jumped into a project.

She's at this artist in residency thing,

and my practice back in Portland, I'm a doctor,

kind of has gone south so I've all of a sudden been freed up

to just do telemedicine for my regular patients,

which has been a blessing because I have an itinerary

to see 15 national parks in the next two months.

- I only visit this one.

This is the only park I come to.

I come every weekend.

- Wow. - It's crucial.

- Sure. Sure. - You know,

if I'm not up here unwinding, I'm gonna unravel.

All right, listen, I'm just gonna tell you.

You're really loud.

I can hear every word you're saying on those calls.

- I'm so sorry. Yeah.

Believe me, I must have had a window or something

and I didn't realize I was being that loud.

Maybe the echoes of this valley

make it a little more amplified, you know?

- Sure, that's what it is.

Fucking unbelievable.

Really, that's really something.

You're gonna blame it on nature?

Nature, she's got this delicate balance, right?

Apologize to the blue scrub jay.

She's fritting from one branch to the next looking for food,

bring it back to her babies.

Next thing she knows, she gets distracted.

She's on the wrong branch.

She gets turned around, abandons those babies.

Apologize to those tiny skeletons up in the tree.

Apologize to the black bear

and the North American gray squirrel.

I got a shotgun in the trunk of my car.

Every weekend when I come up here,

I think I'm gonna stick that shotgun in my mouth.

I'm gonna pull that trigger with my little toe.

You know what?

Maybe this week I'll use it on you.

Your hot dog's done.

See you around, Chuck.

- - Yeah.

- Hi.

- Is there a problem?

- There is, yeah.

If you don't mind just stepping outta the RV,

that'd be great.

- Okay. - And bring your parks pass.

- My parks pass. Why?

- You know, we don't need to escalate the situation.

Just bring it.

- Well, I'm not escalating, I was just asking.

- Okay, just go get it.

Okay, so this is so hard for me to do,

but we've been getting some complaints about you.

- We're good, we've cleared it up.

I was a little loud because I was doing telemedicine,

but I know to keep the volume down,

but there's no problem.

- Well, the big problem is you doing telemedicine.

You are not allowed to conduct business

out of your RV on federal land.

You need to get permission,

you have to fill out all these papers, everything.

- I didn't know that.

I really didn't know that, officer.

I swear I won't do it anymore.

I didn't know that.

- I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to revoke your pass.

- You can't let me...

I have nowhere to go.

- I'm sorry about that, but you need to figure it out.

Go home.

- I don't have a home.

I rented out my place in Portland

because I don't have my practice there,

and my brother, his wife is not a fan of mine.

I can't go there.

My daughter divorced me.

- I'm sorry, what?

- My daughter divorced me.

- What is that?

- It's a hard boundary she's setting.

She's going down to this artist residency.

She's an amazing writer.

It's a very big break for her,

but in this moment she decided that we're too close,

or I'm cramping her style, or I can't email her,

I can't voice message her, I can't text her,

I can't send her a video that I find funny.

- Okay. - It's like,

who does that to their dad?

- I mean, I feel a lot of kids do.

Look, I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry you're going through all of this,

but I have to do my job,

and my job is to take this away from you

and make sure that you are out of here by tonight.

- Tonight? - Yeah.

Look, I'm sorry you have to go.

- Okay.

- Go! - Okay. Okay!

Okay, okay, okay! - Get outta here! Please!

Get the fuck out!

Oh shit...

- The top rolls up.

Those stay flat against the fucking RV.

- It won't go flat.

- They do go flat.

- Make an I, make an I shape.

Clickitty clickitty.

There you go you fucking idiot!

- Yeah. See.

- "Isabella's Education" chapter one.

Isabella was a normal girl who lived in a normal house

with her normal dad.

Every day they made breakfast together,

they also made lunch at the same time

at the lunch station.

This was a routine that they had together

ever since her mom moved away somewhere

and hadn't come back yet.

So that's where this story begins, and um...

Stupid.

I mean, this is stupid.

Okay, every day they made breakfast together.

This was a routine they had done

ever since her mom became a worm,

which happens sometimes in this world.

Don't touch that shit.

Still recording.

So yeah, there's this girl,

you could call her Izzy or Bella.

Her name's Isabella, but she doesn't honestly care

if you call her one of those names or the other,

and then her dad, he is just this...

"Isabella's Education", chapter one.

Isabella's a normal girl

who lived in a normal house with a normal dad.

Every morning, they would make breakfast

together in their little nook.

Uh!

I am a writer and this is my story.

Uh!

I can't do this.

I can't.

- I knew it.

- Hello.

- I'm so sorry to intrude, but can I ask you a question?

It's you, right?

Fan Fic Chick with OnlyFans.

- No.

- This isn't you?

I'm not trying to be a creep or anything.

I hate to be this guy, but this is you.

You're Fan Fic Chick.

- Listen, listen, listen, listen, listen.

- I really just love your writing.

The way you take these characters - Thank you

- and you put them in these roles.

- Thank you, thank you, but I need you

to keep that to yourself, okay?

- No, honestly, I'm just, just a fan.

It's nothing creepy or anything.

I'm not like a stalker.

- I understand that, but I came here

to be someone completely different.

That person, that person in there is completely unoriginal

and is using other people's work,

and I came here to make my own work.

I came here to look at what's inside me, okay?

And it would really, really help me

if you would just leave Fan Fic Chick out of this.

- All right, I understand, and I'm sorry.

I'm genuinely sorry for making you feel bad.

- It's okay. Goodnight, Donte.

- Why, why, why?

- So you have an OnlyFans.

You feel like that makes you more of a creative or less?

Cause I can really see it going either way.

- Did you just hear everything that I said?

Could you hear everything in here?

- I heard you screaming in your room.

I think I heard you kicking the walls, heard you crying,

and then I heard most of what happened outside.

You're a very loud person, but I think that's amazing.

I really like that.

Do you think I could um...,

do you think I could see one of your videos?

- Oh.

- You don't have to show me.

- I mean, they're on the internet.

So um...

- What's your username?

- Fan Fic Chick, and my most popular stuff

usually it goes cross franchise or cross genre.

Like, I'll take Marissa from "The O.C."

And make her have a threesome with Legolas and Aragorn

from "Lord Of The Rings",

- Right.

- And my really popular stuff

is this gender fluid Harry Potter stuff

that actually JK Rowling tweeted about

cause she was so mad, and that's really

what made me so popular. So...

- It's this one?

- That's the Harry Potter one. So.

Embers still glowed

in the Gryffindor common room fireplace.

Candle wax dripped as Harry said, "I love you, Ron."

Huffing between thrusts, his strong chest

gliding effortlessly up and down Ron's sweaty back.

The ears are actually the thing that I always wear.

That's how people no it's me, Fan Fic Chick.

Hermione said with a devilish grin,

you really ought to be more careful.

Hermione allowed.

I think that's enough.

- No, no, no. I wanna see the end.

- Revealing a stiff cock bursting from her lace underwear.

Hoping I could join you as I really am.

- You painted a stunning picture there.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

- Oh, I just I read my books,

and then just think about like least likely couples,

most likely couples, grotesque shit

cause people love that stuff.

- Have you done anything like this?

Like, have you pegged someone before?

- Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

just only in story form.

Not..hm..hm...

- You're reacting like it's a crazy thought.

I mean, obviously you've thought about these things.

- Well, I imagine them,

but just because they're in your brain

doesn't mean they belong.

I'm not close-minded, I just...

Have you done any of the things?

You're very confident.

- Thank you.

I like to try everything once just to see if I like it.

- That's smart.

- I would like to try something for the first time.

Is that okay with you?

- Okay.

- Can I kiss you?

- Okay.

- Dude.

- Hey, brother. - How are you?

- How are you, Dominic?

Yeah, great to see you. - Great to see you.

- Yeah.

- Hey, we was just talking over with Donna about like,

how long you can park in our driveway, you know?

And we were thinking one night.

- One night?

- Just for, you know, uh, this is the kind of neighborhood,

and anyone wanna know like.

- No worries, I'll take it.

One night's good.

- Awesome. - I'll figure it out.

Do you want a drink?

- I would love a drink.

- It's no fun drinking alone. Not really

You should borrow this thing.

Take the kids out to Yosemite or Yellowstone.

- If I borrowed this, I wouldn't let the kids near it.

- You gotta like, relish what you have.

This is the golden times.

- They worship you right now. - I know. I know.

We get those moments, you know,

and then there's the rest of it,

and there's an hour a day making lunches.

- So what? - So what?

I can't fucking take it anymore.

- Alice, not a crust fan.

- No? - No.

You know what? - Not many kids are.

I don't know what it is.

- Yeah, she grew out of it though

cause she'll eat crust now.

You're gonna miss that when your kids eat crust.

You'll be like, I wish they didn't eat crust.

- Oh oh..

- Too hard.

No, no, hey, hey, hey, hey, Dom, Dom, come on.

- Hey. - What?

- What's that chick you were going on and on about?

The one you really... - Beth.

- Beth.

- I ghosted her, man.

- I didn't know adults ghosted.

- This whole lawsuit was exploding

and the partners were on my back,

and I just I didn't want anybody

around Portland for a while.

I don't know.

- You should just go.

- Just show up?

- Just show up.

Sometimes it's just showing up.

- Dom is down.

- I'm always down.

- Baby brother.

- Good morning, beautiful people.

Is time your friend or your enemy?

- Dom?

- Can I get a little room here?

I just need some space for my process.

- What's your process?

- Oh, it's called power poses.

I've heard about it in a TED Talk.

- Yeah, I saw that one.

- I look at you guys

and you're just at the start of your life.

You get to follow the dream.

Oh my goodness, I would kill to be you right now.

I did everything that was expected of me.

I went to school, got a straight As,

got into the college that my parents wished they could have

just like the typical child of immigrants, you know?

- Where did you go to college?

- I went Ivy adjacent.

- I stand here centered, and then I go into pose number one.

I take a deep breath in and out,

and I feel real confidence.

- Real confidence?

- Yes.

- Come on Charles, just show up.

You can do this.

You're charming, she likes you.

She'll forgive you.

- Going into pose two.

- My roommate in undergrad, we both were playwrights.

She wasn't even that good.

I mean, I was better than her,

but she went the playwriting route.

She suffered, she had breakdowns, she starved.

She attempted suicide.

- Why would you want that?

- She collected so many stories.

You do not want to live the safe life.

You wanna go out and just embrace suffering.

- I don't wanna suffer.

- You have got to suffer.

You've got to suffer for your art.

You're so lucky you have your whole life

to suffer and drink it up.

- Ha-ha-ha, slow it down, slow it down.

That's good.

It's been a while.

Is it a month? No, no.

Hey!

- Charlie. - Hi

- You guys, I'll be right back.

- Hey, I was down in So Ca.

Man, you look great.

You look great. - I'm going to work.

- Oh yeah? - Yeah.

- How's practice? Good?

- Yeah, everything's good.

- Yeah?

Those are beautiful.

- Thanks - God. You look good.

I... - What do you want?

- I just wanted to say I'm sorry

for not emailing or calling for the last few weeks.

- Yeah, that was really weird.

- I know, and Beth, I didn't forget about you.

I was just swamped and there was some ridiculous

peanut allergy lawsuit that candy was processed

in a facility that had, you know, had peanuts.

- Why are you here, Charlie?

- I guess to see if you wanna hang out,

maybe... do something.

- Uh...

Thank you.

I don't want these.

An RV is perfect for you.

You can drive around from town to town,

from person to person, and never be accountable to anyone.

- Listen, would it be okay just to hang here for a night?

I just wanna run the engine

and charge it up. - What?

You wanna park your RV in my driveway to charge it?

- I'm not talking about using anything in the house.

I won't talk to anyone.

I just wanna- - No.

- Oh my God, you idiot.

- All of you beautiful people are here

to fulfill your potential, and everyone has potential.

That's a fact.

Potential is a form of energy.

It flows in currents.

You know what else flows in currents?

Money.

That's why they call it currency.

Money is pure potential energy.

It moves shit.

Look, I'm prepared to write a check for $10,000

to anyone who wants to quit right now.

Seriously, I have a bell out there in my front yard.

If you go out and ring the bell,

my notary will write the check.

If you think $10,000 represents

more potential than your future as an artist,

ring the bell.

I mean, it's no shame.

It's actually the smart thing to do.

Accelerate the inevitable.

Ring the bell.

- I hereby declare that from this day forth,

I no longer call myself an artist.

I free myself from the burden of my unfulfilled potential.

Should I endeavor to display, perform,

or publish works of art for any reason,

I understand that I will be held liable in civil court.

I make this declaration freely without reservation.

- Now go.

You know, I once trained with this Olympic athlete

who taught me about this rule of thirds.

This rule of thirds can be applied to anyone chasing a dream

or trying to create art.

And it goes like this.

One third at a time, it's gonna be all good,

one third so-so, and one third hard as fuck.

Are you willing to embrace the hard, enjoy the good,

and persevere through the so-so?

$25,000 now for whoever rings this bell.

- Excuse me, Abbot.

So, is this number going to continue to increase?

Is that part of the game here?

- There's no game here.

We're here to find your fullest potential, not mines.

My checkbook is unlimited.

- Respectfully, but if the number keeps going up,

what's to stop someone

who has no intention of completing the residency,

just waiting out the highest number possible,

and then quitting.

- Oh, that's a good question, Wesley.

Did you dig deep for that one?

My residency, my rules.

The 25,000 is there now, but it might go away.

Back to work.

- Claire.

- How can I help you?

- So you're leaving?

- Yeah. - That's cool.

- This place, it reeks of desperation.

I cannot be here anymore.

- I thought if you just, I thought if you stayed

we could just like make it fun,

and I just wanted to say it was really cool

hanging out with you,

and I wish things could have been even cooler.

- Things will be cooler for you Alice, but I need to go.

- I thought we were special friends.

- Oh, Alice.

We're camp friends.

Goodbye.

- Fuck!

Dad?

- Alice!

- Fuck!

Fuck... Stop

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

- Are you okay? - What the fuck

are you doing here? Oh my God.

It's been a logistical- - - What the fuck

are you doing here?

- Are you okay? - Are you okay?

You have to leave.

You can't be here.

- Okay, I'm sorry.

- You are not allowed here.

We can't have anybody here.

- OK. I didn't know that, Allison.

Uncle Dominic said he didn't have room

for this junk in his driveway.

- What? - And Beth was super...

I don't understand.

- Dad! Are you okay?

Because if you are okay, then you need to leave.

And if you are not okay, then you need to tell me right now.

So are you okay, or are you not okay?

- If I had to choose, I would be obligated to select

the not okay option.

I'm not okay, Alice.

I'm not okay.

- Alice?

- Hey. Dr. Marigold.

I'm her dad.

This place is amazing.

- You know that no guests are allowed here.

- I know, no guests allowed here.

This residency is the most important thing to me,

and I am here, I am completely here and so is he now.

And now that he's here, I can't unsee that he's here,

and I can't look at his face without feeling

like I need to help him.

- Would you like for him to stay?

- I can't in good conscience ask him to leave.

- Show him to the east parking area.

- Yes, Abbot.

- Hey, Wesley.

Sorry. I'm interrupting.

- No, it's okay.

Gotta go with it.

- Yeah, um, I forgot my stylus tool.

The Notary said you might have nails here or something.

- Oh yeah, there's probably nails around here.

Sorry, I just. - No, that's okay.

I really like this by the way.

- Thanks.

I think we're getting to a place with this series

where it's finally gonna, you know, rise above mediocrity.

- Trying to be great, you know,

never really leads to greatness, does it?

- Yeah, well, I mean, you gotta leg up on everybody.

I mean, it runs in your veins.

I was just gonna say

I think my parents would be pretty tickled

we were talking to each other

cause they own like, three of your mom's pieces.

- I'm gonna change the subject

because it's like a really personal thing.

- Oh, totally. - But I don't know you

well enough to...

exp...

It doesn't matter.

- Family shit is intense. - It's intense.

- Yeah, look, I know what that's like.

You know, I don't know if you've heard of my family,

but, you know, the Pools were kind of big in real estate.

So every time I just try and get people

to look at my painting for what it is,

they're like, oh, it's one of the top, you know,

real estate families in San Diego.

Rich with a B.

It's embarrassing.

- It's difficult.

- Yeah.

- Thank you.

- Have a seat.

Some tea for you.

This is my own special blend.

Yeah, it's hot, and about 36 different herbs in there.

It's good, huh?

- Strong.

- So, Dr. Charles, let me ask you, why are you here?

- I guess I had nowhere else to go.

- And you decided you'll come here,

park your RV on my property, and just live off the land.

That's your plan, doctor?

- No, the Abbot.

No, I did not have a plan unfortunately.

I didn't realize that this place was so serious.

To me, art felt like a playground

where people were running around

and having paint fights or something.

I didn't get how severely strict

and heavy handed it could be.

Alice mentioned you actually sue people.

Like, you go after people.

- Yeah, I do.

There was a finger painter who came here

and he quit before the program was over,

and he went and became a dentist.

Three kids, wife, happy, and then one summer

he decided to throw a small art showing in his community.

And I sued that motherfucker.

- Yeah, but how much did you sue him for?

- Half a mil.

That motherfucker still paying now, you understand?

- Wow.

- Because listen, listen, it's not the money, doc.

It's the principle.

Principle is the most important thing in life.

You know, the principle of life,

the principle of the sun, moon, and stars,

and my favorite principle of all is honesty.

You understand that principle, doctor?

- I do.

I mean, I understand the concept of honesty pretty well.

- Well, lemme ask you a question and gimme an honest answer.

- Okay.

- Why the fuck are you really here?

- Well, um...

the truth is,

I don't know who I am

when I'm not being a doctor, and I lost my practice,

and I don't know who I am when I'm not being a dad,

and so I showed up here

cause I knew she wouldn't push me away.

- That was honest.

For now, let's enjoy some tea together.

- So I can stay here with my RV?

- Well, to be completely honest with you, doctor,

Alice is not allowed to have guests, but I am,

and I'll invite you to stay as my guest.

- All right, thank you, thank you so much.

- Please. - Oh my gosh.

- Have some tea.

- I've had a lot.

- Drink the tea.

This is Dr. Marigold. - Hey.

- He'll be joining us.

He's a personal guest of mine.

- Can I sit anywhere?

By my daughter?

Oh, oh yeah, I'm her father.

This is my daughter Alice.

I guess that was worth noting.

Sorry.

So where's everybody from?

- It's a silent meal.

- What?

- It's a silent meal.

We eat in silence.

We don't talk.

- Okay.

- Fuck yeah.

- One time, Isabella's dad.

- Are you getting a read?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Your heart rate's going down.

- What's the problem, Alice?

- Wake the fuck up!

Time is passing.

- It's not that hard. - Stop procrastinating.

Is time your friend, or your enemy?

- Why can't I do this?

- Something bad happened, doc.

- Oh no.

If you see right here, like, I don't know

if it was like a fire ant or something or a wasp,

but like, it does not feel good, sir.

I'm hurting right now.

- Okay. All right.

I'll tell you what, get some Benadryl.

Do you have some Benadryl?

You can put your foot down.

- I don't know if I have any of that.

- Okay, well then go to the store

or have Sarah or Andy.

- All right, all right. - Dad!

- Yeah, we're just gonna have to reschedule, okay.

What's up?

- I've been having...

I think there is a big way that you can help me.

- Okay, what do you need?

- I'm having trouble creating my deliverable,

which is a story that I proposed in this proposal.

So the story is about a girl who is discovering

that she has these magical powers

and she grew up. - Oh, that's good.

- Yes, she's like the hero of the story.

Like, it's very inspiring.

This is gonna be for young, young audiences,

and she lost her mom just like me,

and she grew up with just her dad and her.

- Okay.

- So in order to win the hundred thousand dollars,

I need to write from a place of truth.

And for me, that story includes mom.

Honestly, I've been I wonder things about her.

Like, I don't know much about her,

and I figure, you know, I'm not asking

for the really big things.

Just like, okay, if you ever had an experience by the ocean.

- But why do you have to fixate

on maybe the most painful part of our family?

Like, isn't art supposed to be fun?

Can't you find something else in the world to write about?

- It's fiction. She's...

There are dragons in this story.

- Then write about, follow a dragon.

- No one's gonna know that it's about you.

It's fiction. - Then if it's not even

you or Camilla, then why do you need any detail?

- I just have to start from somewhere.

- I don't wanna revisit it, I don't.

- Then don't read the book.

Then don't read. - - And if you were a parent

and you lost your spouse,

you wouldn't wanna revisit it either.

You wouldn't, even for your kids' stories you wouldn't.

And honestly, we have a very functional,

healthy relationship because we don't go into the past.

- Oh, wow, wow! Really?

- Yeah. - No, that's not right.

- Boo-hoo poor, pitiful me.

Guess what?

The bills don't get paid.

- That's...

- - You don't go to soccer practice, we don't eat.

That's what life is.

You don't linger in the past.

You try to move forward.

- You're just carrying it all on your back like a backpack.

I'm trying to put it out there!

- I let it go, you're holding onto it.

- Oh my God.

- Alice, Alice, come on.

Alice, Alice.

- No, no! No.

- A lot of my friends who have, you know, daughters

say that the father-daughter relationship is really fraught

so I feel for you.

It's hard to parent.

- It is single parent, even harder.

- Yeah, that's something I've not gotten to experience,

but I would've killed to.

It looks like you are doing a great job.

- Thank you.

I don't know that that's true, but I'll take it.

- It is true.

I mean, what kid wouldn't love their dad

to be there for them the way you are?

I can't tell you how badly I wanted my ex

to be the kind of man that wanted a kid

and that wanted to be with him.

- Can I ask you a question, Kimmy?

- Of course. Ask away.

- As a woman.

- Yes.

- Single. - Yes, I am.

- I'm sort of in this relationship

with a woman named Beth.

We're dating and then I blew it.

I can't stop thinking about her,

and I was just wondering, as a woman,

is there anything I could do to sort of warm her heart

or to win her back, or at least get her to understand

I'm seriously working on who I am

and I'm seriously interested in us working out?

- Okay, well, let's role play.

This is what I do with my students.

- Oh. - Yeah.

- Oh, I didn't know you were a teacher.

- Oh yeah, so you will be Beth.

I'm gonna be you.

- Good luck.

Good luck being me.

- And I am going to respond

in the way I think you should respond

in order to win her back.

- I appreciate this.

- Okay, let's try.

Knock, knock, knock.

Beth. - Charles.

- Beth, I know what you're going to say,

but I've been giving it a lot of thought,

and I behaved very badly,

and I am...

I am so lonely

and barren without you.

And in this moment right now, looking into your eyes,

I can see that you are the partner

I have longed for my whole life,

and I am not going to miss this chance.

I'm not going to leave here wondering what could have been,

what would've been.

I am going to take a chance,

and I want you to take that chance with me.

- Yes, Charles. Yes.

- love you, Beth.

- I love you.

I'm Beth and you're Charles.

- Oh yeah, of course.

- I didn't wanna put anything out.

- Oh, no, no, no.

- This was really helpful. - Okay, good. All right.

- Thank you Kimmy. - Sure.

- Yeah. - Okay. Bye.

- I thought I'll take a moment to, you know,

check your temperature, see how you're doing.

- I guess my internal conversation

is that writing is an isolating pursuit,

and that's what making art is.

It's a lonely, solitary project

and you have to still do it, right?

Isn't that right, Mr. Abbot?

- I mean, this whole time I've been trying

to separate myself from my mother and my mother's gaze.

Not the friends she hangs out with, but her viewpoint.

At first I thought that was what I needed to do,

but now I'm sort of thinking like art's a conversation

so is that not a valid reaction?

- Am I behind in my journey?

Is there...

It's not a race, right?

- I mean, you're just, you're gonna be so impressed

with what I've come up with.

At this point, it's really more about editing than anything.

Wahhh!

- I think that I'm giving my best effort.

I'm not even halfway done,

but I'm trying my hardest, Abbot.

- I know that someday this is just gonna be

considered my early work.

It's okay to do my "Rubber Soul" right now

so that I can make "Revolver."

This is a small sample of a larger work that I'm working on,

and I need somebody to just look at this

and tell me what it does for them.

- I'm an unqualified eye.

I mean, honestly.

I don't know. - That's good for me.

No, all I ever have is qualified eyes

and people trying to make me happy with their opinion.

I'm looking for the pure experience

when someone looks at a painting,

and I think you can give that to me.

- Okay. - Great.

- Okay.

I'm at a gallery and I see this on the wall.

Well see, I like the turtle.

That to me makes sense.

That's an animal I care about.

The sort of washed out red and sort of lazy bleeding

of everything into one another.

It has a sort of chaotic indifference, which I find sad.

I would walk past this painting.

Some paintings are curious enough for me

to go deeper and go, what's that?

Or how does that relate to this?

This doesn't have that quality.

But again, I don't know anything about art

so I'm not a qualified observer.

Are you okay?

- Yeah. - Are you?

Look, but also, you know, I would get a second opinion,

especially someone who's qualified.

- No, thank you, thank you.

- Are you okay?

You... what?

Shit.

- You.

It's you.

And this is yours.

- Thank you.

- You can thank me by keeping this in your family

until the end of time.

This is so that in a way,

I can be part of your family forever, but just in intention

cause the enlightenment that we've had here,

none of us that have been here on this day

at this time should ever forget what we felt,

and I just feel calm.

I feel like time has slowed down.

- I want that feeling.

- You can get it. Yeah.

I've done stuff like this before.

Like, I've gone long periods without talking,

I've done the fasting thing and everything,

but it just took this moment where I wasn't expecting it

to just jump up and bite me,

and now I can just, I can see it all so fucking clearly.

I have spent so much money and time

chasing this feeling in my life.

You know, I went to Tibet.

I've met the Dalai Lama, I met the Dalai Lama

and this was better than that.

I've followed gurus and enlightened people,

and, you know, no one in my life had ever told me the truth.

That's never happened for me in my life.

Nobody could ever tell me the truth until your dad.

- My dad?

- Your dad.

- What the fuck did he say to you?

- Listen, I know that you may not be in a position right now

to recognize your father's brilliance.

Accept this painting as an heirloom for your people,

and let me go do what needs to be done.

- No.

No.

Fuck... Fuck.

Indigo.

Anyone of these canvasses

could have been the "Mona Lisa," or "Guernica",

or "Starry Night", and now they can't be that,

and that's okay.

- Yeah.

Why is it okay though?

- I think it's so exhausting

trying to live up to some abstract goal.

- I know.

- I really thought that I would have no reason to live

if I couldn't make this work,

if I couldn't create something worthwhile,

but it's just not true.

I have so many things to be grateful for,

and this has made me so unhappy,

- So unhappy. - So, so terrible.

- I'm so unhappy.

- My God.

- It's awful. - It really is.

- But, you know,

I... I... I don't need approval or attention.

I just, I really just wanna try and be happy.

- What are we gonna do with our hands?

I hereby declare

that from this day forth,

I no longer call myself an artist.

I free myself from the burden of my unfulfilled potential.

Should I endeavor to display, perform,

publish works of art for any reason,

I understand that I will be held liable in civil court.

I make this declaration freely without reservation.

- All right. - Okay.

- Oh, no, no, no, no. - No, thank you.

- Hey, listen, who would've thought an hour ago

that us three...

Hi, Christopher.

- Pardon me.

- How are you?

- I'm okay. Do you mind?

- Oh, of course not. Have a seat.

- Thank you.

Well, I wanted to seek you out specifically actually.

You know, as a professor,

I think you could give me some good feedback.

- Okay, but here's the thing.

I'm not a professor here, I'm an artist.

- Oh.

- But I'm here for you as a fellow artist.

- Right.

- Let's hear what you've written so far

and we can go from there.

- Okay. This is untitled.

- Oh, okay.

- I know you watch me sleep, see how I turn in the night,

view how I dress in the morn, feel when I turn out my light.

Oh, goldfish, I've never touched you,

but I wanna hug you so tight.

- Okay. - Hm...

- That's, no, what I thought was lovely about the poem

is that I can feel a sense of sorrow,

a sense of loneliness, a sense of loss,

and that is quite touching.

It's, it's...

No?

- No, this is comedy.

This is not art.

- A lot of comedians actually come from a very dark place.

- Oh God, I do not wanna be a comedian.

- Oh, okay, so what do you want?

- I want to hear some of your stories.

I feel like you have trauma,

and you look like you've lived a really hard life.

- I look like I've lived a hard life?

- Yeah, I mean, you're old, you're a woman,

you're Asian.

I mean...

- And first of all, before we go any further, I'm not old.

I'm older than you.

- Right. Of course.

- And being Asian is not traumatizing like it must be

to be a Black man in America.

- Oh.

- Who's not like everyone else. Not...

- Right.

- I mean, it's not really accepted

the lifestyle you may

want to live, right? - Yes.

They don't want me to be an artist.

- Right.

- They don't want me to be a poet.

They wanted me to go to business school.

- Right, and anything else?

- Pretty much just that.

So if you'll just indulge me, professor,

imagine I'm in your class.

I'm a student, I'm stuck.

I'm asking you to do your job

and give me trauma to write about.

- If you were in my class,

I would've told you to access your own trauma.

Go deep, and if you can't access your trauma,

if you want to keep bearing it,

then go on writing your silly little poems.

- I'm sorry this wasn't more productive, professor.

- I'm sorry too.

- Donte.

Let's get fucked up.

- Cheers.

Here's to not quitting.

- Oh yeah. - I'm so comfortable here.

I could sit in the kitchen all day.

- Don't remind me of the kitchen, man.

I used to have a shitty job washing dishes

from like one in the afternoon 'til one in the morning.

It really sucked.

- Oh my God, I washed dishes too.

My parents had a restaurant.

Every time the dishwasher didn't show up.

Lemme see your hands.

- I always wish I worked a blue collar job, you know,

just so I could have some of that shame

just to carry it with me.

I feel like it could be inspiring.

- Well, yeah, and you get people skills

by doing these rough jobs too,

which I'm sorry you might have missed out on.

- Regrets.

There's nothing more damaging to the human spirit

than the word regret.

It's a burden that we put upon ourselves,

a weight that we force ourselves to carry,

and it withers you down.

So I know some of you have some deep regrets,

but I want you to be at peace with them

and share them with me right now.

Donte, come on, man.

Your deepest regret.

You could whisper it right in my ear, please.

- My deepest regret is getting all these tattoos

just to be cool and to fit in with others.

- Brother, that's not a regret.

That's a lesson.

- I regret the day that I joined Twitter.

- That's not a regret.

That's a lesson.

- I regret giving up all my dreams for a man.

- That's not a regret, that's a lesson.

Learn from that.

- I think I need to say mine out loud, Abbot.

- Good doctor, good doctor.

You always impress me, man.

The floor is yours.

- As many of you may not know, I'm a single dad,

and Alice's mom, my wife, passed 20 years ago,

and I, uh...

uh...

I regret, Alice, that I didn't give you

much information about your mom.

Camilla was her name,

and being here...

has helped me realize

I didn't talk about her because I was always afraid

of where it would end, and it was about the thing

I didn't ever want you to know that you can't know

and I can't say.

I can't, I can't, I can't.

- Charles, brother, breathe it in, let it out.

- When I was cleaning the house out after your mom passed,

I found two months worth of Gleevec in her closet hidden.

Gleevec was the drug that was found

to be very effective for a type of leukemia,

which was a motherfucker.

And I... felt so guilty for a long time

because I missed it.

I had no idea she was checking out.

- What are you saying?

- She quit. She quit, Alice.

And I didn't ever want you to know that.

You were a kid.

You just needed a life, and we had a life.

I should have told you a while ago.

I got busy.

I got...

Alice.

Alice.

- Let 'em go.

- Alice...

Alice. - No.

- Alice, please. - No.

- I just wanna, I just wanna talk.

Alice, please... - No.

Alice please, please stop.

- Move. I need to go.

I need to go to my cabin.

- You always tell me I have to talk.

- No. - I want you to talk.

Are you okay? Sorry.

- Mm... mm... mmmmm... mm... mm... mm..

Mmm!

Do you know, dad?

I have spent my entire life trying to protect you.

In middle school, you would work late,

you would call me and say 30 minutes, always delayed,

always I will be home, and then no, you're not home.

I am hungry, I was very hungry, and I would make us dinner.

We would sit and eat dinner, not even talk about it,

no acknowledgement.

And I don't say anything

because I don't want you to feel bad.

And then in high school,

I make no plans on the weekend never ever

because maybe you wanna do something

and I should be there, and I am always there.

I don't tell you things.

Do you know how I make money?

I wear skimpy outfits, dad,

and write erotic fan fiction

and display it on the internet and people pay me,

and I didn't tell you because I wanted to protect you.

And now I realize that I was trying to protect you

with incomplete information.

- I didn't know you were trying to protect me.

I feel terrible.

I just thought you were a great kid.

I didn't...

I protect you.

I was protecting you this whole time

before I told you all this,

and I was making sure we had everything.

- This is exactly...

See, you're... you're hurting,

and this is what I didn't want to happen.

I didn't want you to get hurt.

- Okay. I'm not hurt.

Thank you for telling me about your internet writing.

I didn't know that.

And are you safe? Is it safe?

- Yes. Yes. - Is it?

- Yes.

- I mean, it's kind of like telemedicine.

You make people feel good on the internet.

You're just like me.

Alice, I think it's time for me to leave

as long as you're okay.

- You have no place to go.

- Don't worry about me.

I'm okay if you're okay.

- Okay.

- I'm gonna leave and you're gonna win.

- Okay. - Okay.

- Okay, let me walk you out here I guess.

- I'm really sorry.

I know that wasn't great timing.

Do we keep these,

or do I return this onesie to the Abbot?

- Hi.

- Hi.

- How are you? What are you doing here?

- Nothing, I just, I'm gonna tell you

without looking at you cause that makes me feel better.

Um...

I will. This is fine.

I like this.

- Aw, aren't you lovely?

- You remind me of a mom,

and I will sometimes go outta my way to...

be in a space

that feels closer to people like you.

So this is your space where you usually work

so I thought I would come here.

- That makes me feel so good.

- Why? Why?

- I can't tell you, that is like a dream come true.

- Why?

- Because I've always wanted to be a mom,

and for you to say that means so much.

And you're gonna be a great mom someday too

because you end up being more of a nurturer

when you know what you're missing.

Yes, you will be.

I had a friend who once told me that

you never know

the kind of love that a parent has for a child

until you give birth to your own child,

and that always made me so sad.

But I promise you right now,

you sitting in my lap,

I realize in this moment that you can actually love somebody

just as much if they didn't come from you as you can.

Just knowing somebody, and feeling their energy,

and feeling their need.

I think that's why I love teaching.

I didn't realize I loved it until just now.

- You do? You do?

- Yeah.

- Because you have so many kids.

- I have so many kids.

You know what?

I think I'm gonna ring the bell now.

- What? - Yeah, I gotta go.

- What about your writing?

- Ugh, I haven't written a word since I've been here.

- What?

What? Are you serious?

- This has been the absolute

most honest moment I've had here.

Okay. Goodbye my dear.

- Look at you guys looking all sad and shit.

Listen, don't mourn those that left us.

Nah, celebrate them.

I mean, it's a beautiful thing what they achieved.

Clarity.

Buddha had to sit under a tree for years before he saw it,

Jesus on the cross, me 40 years of trying to be something

that I was not.

Look, you got another week here, right?

I'll say instead of wasting my motherfucking time

and wasting yours, I wanna raise the ante

to $50,000 for you to quit right now.

I'm available for one-on-one meetings

in the arts and craft cabin after our delicious breakfast.

- I am doing so well here

and I would like to ask though,

if I may, for just a little more time

so that I can fully soak in your teachings and marinate.

- There are no extensions here, Christopher.

The contract clearly states 30 day residency,

which is more than enough time.

- Well, you know what?

I'll just think about it.

I'll take some time.

Okay, yeah, maybe in a couple of days.

I guess 50,000 isn't so bad.

- No, no, no, no, no, Christopher, no, no.

Let me be clear.

The 50,000 is different from the other offers.

It expires tonight.

So either you take the 50,000 and quit now,

or you finish off the residency for the remaining week.

Donte, $50,000.

Why don't you just go out there and ring that bell?

- Don't you believe in me?

- Belief is for people who go to church on Sundays.

- So you don't believe in me.

I thought you saw something in my art.

I thought you understood

how hard it is for me to even be here.

People like me where I come from

don't get picked to be at a residency, and you know that.

- Oh, you thought that since you're from the hood

and I'm from the hood I should understand your struggle,

and I should just kinda like open up my doors

and let you come on in here and make your way to the top?

I didn't pick you for no special reason.

My selection of you was just random

as me picking a jellybean from this jar.

I get thousands of applicants every year,

and I just pick randomly.

Alice, I'm gonna invite your dad to the presentation.

- Are other people's parents coming?

- No. Just yours.

I mean, if you don't want him to come,

you could just quit and take the 50,000,

but he'll be my guest of honor.

I'm very fond of him.

Charles makes me laugh.

- Is this a test?

- Yeah, it's exactly what this is.

I mean, look, Alice, it's obvious that your fantasy world

is based on your mother,

and you're terrified to show that to your father

because you know that it will hurt him.

So, no better person to be in the audience.

Don't you agree?

- Greetings, Alice.

Are you okay?

- Yes.

- Are you sure?

Because it seems like you're about to give up right now.

- I'm just, I'm trying to figure out

if I'm embarrassed or stupid.

Like, I could convince myself

that I'm any one of these things right now,

and I'm just trying to think and decide which one I am.

- You're neither of those things.

You're an amazing, talented writer

who deserves to be in a happy place right now.

We're creating, we're artists, we're surrounded by artists.

We should be inspired, we should be motivated,

we should not be down right now.

- Why are you being so nice to me?

- Because no one's ever nice to me,

no one ever tells me nice things.

It's just blah, you know?

- Yeah.

- I couldn't help but notice you both out here

enjoying the night.

Can I offer you a map of the stars?

The Abbot is very passionate about star gazing.

- - Is he?

- Yeah.

- Alice, I have one story.

I hope it works for you.

I met your mom at medical school at Columbia

and she was an undergrad in journalism,

and when my first residency was in Portland,

I was terrified that we weren't gonna make it,

that we'd break up, and she said,

"One day you and I are gonna start a family,

and that's final."

If she wanted something and she knew she wanted it,

there was nothing that could stop her.

So, I hope that helps.

Okay. It's dad.

When is that time we went to?

Oh, the camping story.

We went camping in the Badlands, your mother and I,

and this storm rolled in out of nowhere, like,

just right over the plains.

And every other camper in that park left.

Like, literally cars were rolling out

and we stayed in the tent,

and we both got pneumonia,

which was so dumb to stay out there, so dumb.

Anyways, this is dad.

Super competitive, some of our worst fights

were over like backgammon matches.

She loved pudding, that was probably her favorite dessert.

She was crazy about pudding.

Hated using tinfoil.

She loved black coffee, black coffee no mix.

We had bunk beds when you were little

because your mom thought we might, you know?

You're most like your mom when you're mad at me,

and when you're sleeping.

When you're sleeping, you're both just so peaceful,

and poised, and wonderful.

- Isabella opened the dusty old scroll.

So this was the secret about her mother

that the elders had kept hidden.

Chapter 14, "Mommies and Monsters."

- Yes!

Fuck yeah.

- Beautiful people, today you will find out

if you will walk away with a hundred thousand dollars

to further your art, or leave here with nothing

to never create art again.

Now, I would love to give each one of you 100K apiece,

but that's only if you have reached your fullest potential.

It's all or nothing, now or never,

or as we said in my old neighborhood, do or die.

You said that you wanted to remove commercialization

with your verbalization.

Are you ready for that?

- Yes.

- You, your imagination would've overcome your stagnation.

Are you ready?

- Yes.

- And you, would your aspirations overcome your hesitations?

Are you ready?

- Yes, Abbot.

- In that case, let my guests in

and we'll begin the presentation.

- Thank you, the Abbot.

- That must be Beth.

- Yes, this is Beth, everyone.

She is my girlfriend or whatever it is you call

when two adults are committed to one another.

- Hi, Alice. - Hi.

- I'm Beth. Nice to meet you. - Alice.

- This is Alice.

Break a leg.

- Excellent.

Now that everyone's here, take your seats,

and the presentation shall begin.

- This is a collection of poems

that I wrote titled, "Under the Table with the Lights Out."

There's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out.

But death wants more death, and its webs are full.

I remember my father's garage,

how childlike I would brush the corpses of flies

from the windows they thought were escape.

I say these are my hands, my knees.

I may be skin and bone.

Dying is an art like everything else.

I do it exceptionally well, unlike the flies.

That's my first poem.

- Does that represent your full potential, Christopher?

- Well, isn't that for you to decide?

- Only you can judge your own full potential.

What the Abbot does is judge

whether or not you're being honest, so.

- I mean, these are objectively good poems.

There's no arguing that.

- You know, I know you think many things about me,

but I didn't think you thought I was stupid.

Plagiarizing Charles Bukowski, Emily Dickinson?

Total contradiction to everything you said you represent.

- You read Emily Dickinson?

- She's one of my favorites.

I'm disappointed, Christopher,

because I wanted you to embrace your own voice.

- My own voice?

My own voice isn't good enough.

You say you're disappointed in me,

everyone's disappointed in me.

My parents, my grandparents, my whole family, my teachers,

that guy who changed his address

after we went on that one date,

and I thought it was a really great date.

I don't even know why. Uh... uh...

Christopher... Uh... uh... uh...

I'm not good enough.

I'm not good enough.

Are you happy?

- And that was beautiful, that was honest.

It was definitely in your own voice,

but it wasn't part of your presentation,

so you're gonna have to leave.

- This isn't an artist's residency.

This is an exercise in narcissism.

What, you aren't comfortable with your own failures

so you have to create these circumstances

by which you can manipulate all of us

to join you in your mediocrity?

You waste our time with aphorisms

that you source from, I don't know,

some middle-aged white woman's Pinterest

so we won't look at your low rent monastic aesthetic

that really is no more than cultural appropriation.

I mean, it's sad really.

God, you remind me of my father.

You know what?

Fuck you, fuck you Alice, fuck you Donte.

Beth was it? Fucking bitch.

Get outta my way! Move!

- Who's next?

- Greetings, Abbot.

This is a story of "Donte and Unicorn."

♪ Chimes from video ♪

- Donte, what's wrong?

- Everything.

- How come...

you don't move your mouth when you talk?

- Because I'm talking to a unicorn

that only exists inside my head.

- You could at least try to smile.

- Uni, come on, my life's shit.

I'm a depressed broke artist who nobody believes in.

- You just need to believe in yourself.

- Easy for you to say.

You're a rare species

with a horn sticking out your damn forehead.

- You're a rare species too.

How many people from South Central

get to make animations at a residency?

I'm proud of you, Donte.

The world needs to hear your story.

What do you have to lose by believing me?

- Damn, Uni.

You know what? You right.

I got this shit.

- Now that's the spirit, and I love to hear it.

Let's go, baby.

- Let's go uni. Let's go.

♪ Music from video ♪

And that's my film.

- Donte, was that your fullest potential?

- I think so.

- Donte, is that your fullest potential?

- I really hope it was because to be honest with you,

if it's not, and if it doesn't live up to my potential,

then I really have nothing else, man.

I just, I just don't.

It's not in me.

- Yo, it was perfect, man, honest, and beautiful.

Congratulations. You made it.

- Really?

- You made it, man. - Really?

- Alice, you're next.

- Hi, I'm Alice obviously, and um

I am here to present my audio book novella

about Isabella and her magical middle school,

and I invite you to put on your headphones and press play.

- Alice, Alice, Alice, Alice, Alice.

You made it through the 30 days,

you've created a piece of art, but do you seriously believe

that this piece of work deserve 100K grant,

and more importantly, in front of me, your father,

your fellow artist, and Beth, do you honestly believe

that you have expressed your fullest potential?

- Yes, I do.

- So do I.

- Thanks.

- The illusion of luxury

has trapped so many people inside of its web.

Money becomes the only lure for their creativity.

This camp was never about money.

This residency was about creativity.

May this hundred thousand fuel your journey.

You two are fucking artists.

- Yeah!

- Picture, picture, come on.

- Yes, Abbot. - You're free to go.

- Free to go where, sir?

- Head down to the arts and craft cabin.

- And weave you another dream catcher?

- Nah, weave one for yourself.

- Oh wow.

- Bye. - Bye.

Call me when you land if you have time, okay?

- Okay - Or not. Or not.

- I will, I will, I will.

- Oh, and I have sandwiches in here

if you and your buddy Donte want-

- She doesn't want your sandwiches.

- Right. Why would she?

You're right. Okay.

All right. Love you.

- I love you. - All right.

- Have fun.

- Put that check in the bank.

- Uh...

- Yes. - Bye, Alice!

- Bye!

- We're wearing real clothes.

- I am a real person.

- I just though of an idea for my next story.

About dragons.

- Dragons?

- Dragons rule! Yeah!

- Ahhhhh

♪ The colors are built up in my mind ♪

♪ And bleeding through my heart ♪

♪ But nobody knows that they exist ♪

♪ Look at my bursting veins ♪

♪ Now do you see the red in me ♪

♪ It's a sign for the end ♪

♪ Only the ends of the red ♪

♪ Will show you my blue side ♪

♪ Only the ends of the red ♪

♪ Will show you my blue side ♪

♪ I've been given my precious plate ♪

♪ Where will I pick my life ♪

♪ And will the fire in the sky ♪

♪ Believe in what I dream ♪

♪ It's so hard for me to explain ♪

♪ What I will miss to my self ♪

♪ Only the ends of the red ♪

♪ Will show you my blue side ♪

♪ Only the ends of the red ♪

♪ Bap, bap, bap, bap, bap ♪

♪ bap, bap ♪

♪ Bap, bap, bap, bap, bap ♪

♪ bap, bap ♪

♪ Only the ends of the red ♪

♪ Will show you my blue side ♪

♪ Only the ends of the red ♪

♪ Will show you my blue side ♪

♪ Only the ends of the red ♪

♪ Will show you my blue side ♪

♪ Only the ends of the red ♪

♪ Will show you my blue side ♪