Coin Operated – A lifelong journey to outer space by Nicholas Arioli

Life is a complex affair, but despite its very nature, all of us get only a single shot at it. A short film called Coin Operated expresses the same idea by beautifully encapsulating the brevity of life. It takes the viewers through the story of a naive space enthusiast who spends 70 years of his life being fixated on the dream of travelling to outer space. Our first introduction to the protagonist comes in the realm of his imagination. While playing with his miniature rocket ship during a stroll with his mother, the boy imagines being among the vastness of the sky and exploring it in a high-octane sequence. However, things become clearer when the viewers are introduced to reality, and to a helmet-faced kid pacing around his adult companion. Tiny additions to the character’s 3-D animated model thicken the plot even more. For example, a small badge on the boy’s t-shirt that says “Space” in addition to his white-colored helmet makes us aware of his fascination with the world beyond our planet. The story develops further when the boy comes across a coin-operated space ship situated outside a store. Little does the boy know that what he thinks of as a real spaceship is, in fact, a variation of the mechanical bull. Being unable to ride it more than once (given his cumulative wealth of a single coin), the boy thinks of opening a lemonade stall after a brief spell of dejection.

Thereon, he spends a considerable chunk of his life collecting enough money to make his trip to space. A fast-forward sequence depicts how the boy ages over the years. His consistent position at the lemonade stand makes it clear that his fixation with his childhood dream has remained untethered. In the final act of the film, the boy amasses enough wealth to finance his trip to space. Therefore, he finally makes his way to the place where everything started. After depositing his entire fortune into the coin-collection cabinet of the first spaceship he ever came across, the boy patiently waits for his departure. However, his adventure takes time to kick off, but as a sudden stir forces a stuck coin to pass through the collection system, the boy-turned-old-man lives his dream of flying to space!

Coin Operated is Written & Directed by Nicholas Arioli

Tags:
Travel, Short film, Animation, Nicholas Arioli, AFI Fest 2017, TIFF Kids 2018, Hamptons Film Fest 2017, San Francisco Film Fest 2018, Mill Valley Film Fest 2018, Best Short Animation, Rhode Island Intl Film Fest 2017, Pittsburgh Film Fest 2017, At&T Film Awards 2017, Palm Springs 2017, Naples Intl Film Fest 2017, Brooklyn Film Fest 2017, Coin Operated