‘Be The Cowboy’ is a tale of fury, sisterhood and cinematic rebellion – an experimental action-style short that rewires the cowboy mythos through the lens of trauma and protection. Writer/Director Abbie Oh Arroyo filters the genre through the burning eyes of Dan Bi (Abigail Rheem), a young woman raging against the violence her sister Choon Hee (Stephanie Li) has endured.
It begins with a flicker – Clint Eastwood on the TV. Classic, cold-blooded justice. What grows is something far more intimate and unhinged: Dan Bi steps into the spurred boots of a lone gunslinger, her inner world morphing into a cinematic battleground. Cowboy hats, dusty vengeance, but the showdown unfolds in two worlds – her symbolic alter ego and reality. Her mind flickers between fantasy and the brutal present.
Choon Hee retreats into silence. Her trauma is raw, unspoken. Dan Bi steps forward, not to speak for her, but to do something – anything -to reclaim control. The result is both action-packed and emotionally loaded, with a clear-eyed sense of purpose. AJ Matheson-Lieber plays Gene – “the cowboy” villain who becomes Dan Bi’s target. The face-off between them is shot with wide-screen ambition, beautiful close-ups, a restrained yet expressive color grade, and impeccable sound design that underscores the psychological warfare beneath the bullets.
With minimal dialogue, the film communicates through mood, gesture and impact. The performances smolder in silence – Rheem speaks in glances, in clenched jaws and flickers of breath, while Li haunts the frame with a stillness that aches. Posillico’s camera knows exactly where to look, capturing the fury between them in wides and close-ups that spark with unspoken emotion. ‘Be The Cowboy’ is cinematic and shattering. A symbolic punch of female rage and love, crafted with heart. Unmissable.
