​​IN THE NEWS:

 

“The Last Emerald does the job and rivals many human-made animated films I’ve seen.”
- Film Threat​

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In a world obsessed with trends, approval, and the safety of sameness, a treasure hunter uncovers something so rare and extraordinary that no one knows what to do with it. What follows is not a story of fortune, but of pressure, of doubt, and of the irreversible cost of listening too closely to those who cannot recognize wonder when it stands before them. “The Last Emerald” is a modern fable about creativity, conformity, and the danger of reshaping what is rare to please those who cannot see its worth.

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After more than two decades and 22 feature films, “The Last Emerald” marks Steve Balderson’s first short film. Rather than a step backward, it is a distillation, an intimate return to fable, metaphor, and visual storytelling in its purest form. Like a short story, it is meant to exist fully within its own frame, not as a proof of concept or a pitch for expansion, but as a complete work of art. This film is not a trailer for something larger; it is a finished thought, a singular moment, and a deliberate celebration of the short form itself.

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