In 2007, having graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Inon Shampanier decided to make a short film that could showcase his writing and directing talent, and ultimately, help him get his first feature made.  That billiards short film was called 8 Ball.  Released in 2008 at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, 8 Ball was well-received, and it subsequently played at several other film festivals.  It also helped Shampanier achieve his larger goal:  in 2012, he directed The Millionaire Tour, his first feature film.

8 Ball occupies an interesting niche in the “billiards movies” genre in that it uses pool as an “allegory for life,” while the actual game of pool is only featured in the opening credits and first scene.  As Shampanier shared with me, the larger allegory is that “like balls on a pool table, the lives of strangers collide and change course.  The film poses questions about the accidental nature of these collisions and the sense of ‘order in the chaos.’”  Said differently, a billiards game may make all the sense in the world until one unintended shot completely disrupts everything, creating a new game to play.

In more practical terms, the movie mingles the separate lives of three characters: an ex-con terrified to reunite with his daughter, a hustler who is terrified to breach his moral limits, and a tough orphaned child who is terrified about his exterior cracking and revealing a longing for family.  And, of course, these lives not only eventually intersect, but also have an unexpectedly optimistic conclusion.

Though the film’s pacing is a little erratic, it’s quite impressive the amount of interesting story-telling that Shampanier packs into 24 minutes.  And any billiards short film that gets one thinking about the cerebral nature of pool is a winner by me.

Special thank you to Inon Shampanier for sending me a private copy of his movie and responding to my questions.  8 Ball is not currently available for sale or public viewing.