Told in a stylistic reverse narrative, The Cycle of Broken Grace touches upon the violent yet hidden nature of abuse, and the fantasies created to cope as survivors.

Creative team

Writer/director/producer: Tufford Kennedy

Filmmaker’s statement

“This is a film first and foremost about abuse, and as such is left intentionally ambiguous.

When it comes to the hidden nature of abuse, I tried to embed the film with many obscured symbols. One such symbol – often missed – is how the blood never actually touches the hero. It is deeply and violently associated with him but we never actually see it touch him – even in the opening scene.

Another symbol is the belt which, upon reflection, is absurd for a pimp to pull out of a robe and track-pants. There are lots of others too but I’d love to know what you find.”

About Tufford Kennedy

This was my first indie film as writer/director/producer.

I have co-directed, produced and written many live and recorded performances.

As a performer, I have screen time with Oscar® winners Reese Witherspoon, Christian Bale, Jared Leto and was a recurring character on Degrassi: The Next Generation where one of the episodes I co-starred in was nominated for an Emmy.