Synopsis:

Best friends Nate and Darcy meet up late at night at a dingy boxing gym under the tracks. Nate wants to spar, but the two friends end up exchanging emotional blows while discovering new layers of friendship.

Filmmaker Aaron Craven says:

"This film was adapted from a short play that I wrote, which was featured in several play festivals over the last few years. People who saw the play commented that it would make an interesting short film.   I forgot about the idea for awhile until I walked into the beautiful and decrepit confines of the Astoria Hotel's basement boxing gym, located on Vancouver's rough and tumble east side.

As I wandered through the gym, rank with the smell of sweat and must, littered with fight posters and tattered boxing equipment, I thought to myself, "this place is the epitome of primal masculinity".   The story of The Masculine Mystique is about surpassing the limits of traditional masculinity, so the thought of setting this very tender conversation piece against the backdrop of the environment interested me.

We shot this entire short in one day, with heavy rehearsal time preceding the actual shoot. We used practical lighting, came in with the actors well rehearsed, the shots story boarded, and let loose with a hectic 12 hour shooting day. The primality of the location, the simple camerawork and the vulnerable performances are hopefully evident on screen.   I admire films made in the 1970's, when shots were able to play out longer and the audience's attention span was respected. If all elements are well crafted, I believe that the audience will stay tuned in to subtle nuance and the inner monologue of the characters in close-up.

I spent dozens of hours with our editor watching and fine tuning the piece and to this point, the performances still speak to me on a profound level. I hope the audience, particularly the young men of this generation, feel the same."