At a time when form trumps content, when euphemisms are euphemisms of euphemisms, when words lose even the remotest connection to reality, Open Minds seemed an apt title It's also the one trait above all others that most everyone claims to have—including Raymund, a somewhat modern day 'Candide': Voltaire's joke about man's capacity for denial. As he (and we) bear witness to a bizarre mix of indifference, corruption, and stupidity, Raymund, unencumbered with any sense of irony, takes comfort in an agglomeration of empty bromides totally oblivious to the incongruity of what he's saying and what we are seeing. In fact, the only thoughtful words in the film are in the form of a question to Raymund, "Don't you ever have any doubts?" Raymund is without a doubt—without a doubt. —Joe Sedelmaier www.sedelmaier.com See more Sundance curated short films at www.youtube.com/screeningroom

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