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In Christopher Gessner’s ‘Buff,’ Starring Jena Malone, a Buffalo Represents Quiet Heroism and Freedom

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In director Christoper Gessner’s debut short film, “Buff,” he asks the audience to contemplate freedom for 15 minutes.

The film is the story of a woman, played by Jena Malone, who feels a kinship with an abused rodeo buffalo. That buffalo is perhaps the most famous buffalo performer of all, Clyde, who lives at Mortenson’s Eaves Movie Ranch, which makes him a local star of the Santa Fe International Film Festival, where the film is debuting,

Ahead of the film’s premiere Saturday, Gessner shared his thoughts on working with a buffalo, what he learned making his first film, and reclaiming freedom.

Christopher Gessner on ‘Buff’

Christopher Gessner: As a large swath of the United States is being taken by corporate capture to build data centers or oil pipelines using eminent domain laws, it led me to consider the aftermath. Where do protestors go after the acceptance of surrender, when it’s no longer a headline, but a way of living?

Then I came across this picture of a young man with a mohawk, attempting to pet a buffalo through a barbed wire fence, crossing private property to do so, daring to nourish a better world: hope. It’s a lot of things.

By Deirdre McCarrick