Two former friends sit down for a conversation. One is a puppet.


FRANK AND EMMET is used with permission from Carlos Fernandez Puertolas. Learn more at https://lnk.bio/frankemmetfilm.


Frank and Emmet are two lifelong friends and show-business partners who were once close but have been drifting apart. Frank has been preoccupied with other events and developments in his life, but at his granddaughter's house, he finally sits down with Emmet to have a much-needed conversation.

The talk is initially friendly, but things take a turn when Frank finally summons the courage to tell his longstanding creative partner the truth about where he comes from: Emmet is a puppet. Frank has his own truth to disclose, one that promises to profoundly alter their relationship.

Directed and written by Carlos Fernandez Puertolas, this grounded yet whimsical short drama explores friendship, truth and the magical symbiosis of creativity. Inspired by the golden era of Jim Henson's Muppets and told with a charming and engaging mixture of puppetry and grounded naturalism, the story begins with Emmet at his most magical and charismatic, enchanting Frank's granddaughter with his energy and charm. Essentially a two-hander whose action is contained in one central conversation, the film quickly transports us at the start into a world of childlike enchantment, where fuzzy characters have come to life and sing beautifully yearning songs that give voice to a longing for a solid place in the world and a strong sense of self.

But that atmosphere is ruptured with the intrusion of "real life," and Frank enters the narrative. But Emmet, however, doesn't turn into a manipulated assemblage of cloth and wires. Instead, he remains a vibrant, living presence, alive and present to Frank like any other sentient being. This aliveness to the "creator" is the central conceit of the film's premise, enabling the gently humorous and sensitive writing to explore a few sensitive subjects, beginning with Frank breaking the news to Emmet that he is, in fact, a puppet.

Actor Paul Eiding as Frank plays beautifully off of Emmet, performed by puppeteer and performer Brian Michael Jones. Frank has a warm, kind openness, undergirded by a sense of wisdom and melancholy, while Emmet has a distinct personality of his own, as an open-hearted, naive and innocent being. But part of that innocence falls away as he learns what he is. But as his doubts and fears unfold, they're beautifully handled by Frank in such a tenderhearted, loving way, helping Emmet accept the situation -- and a hard truth about Frank's own life.

Gentle-hearted and empathetic, FRANK AND EMMET is essentially a goodbye. It's a goodbye to innocence, as well as the breaking of difficult news, making for a moving, tender scene between two beings that care for one another very much. But it's also a beautiful meditation on coming into our own and gracefully accepting who we are and the reality of situations. And a tribute, too, to the supportive loved ones who will always be with us, even after they're gone.