A ride-share driver picks up a passenger with a heavy loss, then reveals the real reason he drives.


GUBER is used with permission from Juliet Lucas. Learn more at   / julietl8  .


Carter is a ride-share driver who works all night, providing safe rides home for people who are often too inebriated to drive themselves from their parties back home. Carter encounters all kinds of people as he drives them to and from their destinations. Most barely remember him.

But one night, he picks up a depressed young woman named Pheobe, who is mourning a personal loss. This causes Carter to open up about his loss -- and just why he's working as a ride-share driver instead of pursuing a more conventionally successful path in life.

Directed and written by Juliet Lucas, this short drama is a deceptively modest portrait of a young man whose job affords him the ability to observe others while keeping them safe and off the road at the same time. Captured in naturalistic, slice-of-life storytelling with an even, steady pace and tenor, we follow Carter as he ferries his customers from one destination to another. We get the sense from others' reactions to his job that Carter isn't living up to his potential, and at the start, we are immersed in a stream of images chronicling his customers. Most of them are drunk, and Carter often stoically endures their partying and its effects. It does seem like a thankless job, and we can't help but wonder just why Carter does it.

When he picks up a lone young woman, Pheobe, and takes her to an isolated location, he balks at first, eventually returning at the end of his shift to check up on her. In doing so, he hears just why she's sought solace in a remote locale -- and shares why he became a driver in the first place. Actor Kelton Elliot's performance is nicely understated, hinting at the heaviness underneath an affable, pleasant demeanor. It's quietly moving when he reveals just why he drives, forming a bond with Pheobe and perhaps changing our perception of what it means to be of service in the first place.

Almost minimalistic in execution with its spare dialogue and unflashy visuals, GUBER is firmly rooted in the everyday. But in the end, its interest lies in finding the heroic and beautiful within the world as we experience it. It focuses on how small encounters with people can add meaning to our lives if we recognize and acknowledge the humanity we all carry. And it celebrates how real heroes are often the quiet, reliable and steady people around us, doing their jobs and contributing in small but significant ways that keep our world safe. Success for Carter isn't based on money or a narrow definition of fulfillment. Instead, he focuses on a deeply personal way of contributing to the world around him. It may or may not be a true calling for him, but right now, it's what gives him meaning, assuages his grief and gives him a sense of mission.