RVA’s International Short Film Contest Awards: “Love in Action” Decries Vincible Ignorance
Love in Action is a small film with a large conscience. In just three minutes, it quietly unsettles the comfortable spaces we build around ourselves. The story unfolds through a simple game of Jenga between a father and his young son. What begins as playful bonding soon becomes an unexpected moral dialogue. When the child complains about the heat, the father casually brushes it aside. But the boy, disarmingly honest, links the rising temperature to global warming and to the older generation’s failure to act. The game of Jenga slowly becomes symbolic: each block removed resembles the fragile balance of our planet.
Watching this through the lens of Laudato Si', the film becomes more than a family conversation; it becomes a moral mirror. Pope Francis reminds us that ecological responsibility is not optional but a matter of moral conversion. The father in the film initially represents what moral theology might call vincible ignorance, not a lack of information, but a quiet choice to ignore what we already know.
And that question lingers long after the video ends: Do I forget to do my part… or do I simply ignore it?
The most striking moment is the child’s clarity. In the Gospel, Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me… for theirs is the kingdom of God.” Here the child becomes a prophet of conscience. He exposes the illusion that providing materially for one’s family is enough. True love must also safeguard the future they will inherit.
Directed by The Pik Family, the film has an intimate authenticity. Arunakorn Pik (the son), Nehowa Pik (the father), and Patcharawadee Pik (the mother) bring a natural warmth that makes the message feel personal rather than preachy.
“Love in Action” is brief, but like the last unstable block in a Jenga tower, it nudges the viewer into reflection. You don’t just watch it, you examine your conscience.
