A young, ambitious journalist will have her first high-profile live interview with the President. The country is on the verge of a significant war, externally and internally. After a series of questions, the interview takes a dangerous course.

Review by Julie C. Sheppard

Though fictional, the short film Exposed is an apt parallel with what is going on in the world today, as so many conscientious journalists courageously seek to reveal the truth. The talented performer playing the central character convincingly depicts a journalist who is in the right profession, given her desperate need to expose corruption, even at the risk of losing her job. Another skillful performer plays the president, a driven woman who, unlike the journalist, seeks to hide the truth from the general population, as so many politicians are known to do. The structure of the short is airtight, moving from a strong set up of the journalist fighting to expose the president’s lies at the potential cost of bringing the network down, to the interview that pits the two together in a parry of wits.

In advance of the interview, the staging of a flurry of production staff working on a time crunch is quite believable, as is the flashy TV promo announcing the upcoming event. Once the interview begins, the brilliant screenplay reveals a strong undertone of mistrust and competitiveness between the two female leads, who have both fought hard for their positions. What begins as a civil interchange, the situation quickly moves to justified anger of the journalist and attempts of political manoeuvring and denial by the president. 

The resulting tension in the production booth, combined with the pride of the journalist for doing her job, moves the situation rapidly into dangerous territory. Despite the undertones of danger, it can be quite satisfying for the viewer to see that justice is served in this fictional account when, in our world today, there are so many untold secrets that journalists of integrity are constantly having to fight tooth and nail to expose.