TheMovieWhore.com November 16th, 2009 TOUCH, Why you should see this short As you look back across your life, I am willing to bet there are people you have forgotten, whose lives were altered by nothing more than a kind word or a comforting touch from you. This is a thought that is easy to dismiss as we rush through our lives always on the way to somewhere and often oblivious to the people around us. Going through our daily routines, heads down, just moving along and getting through the day. Think for a moment about a time in your life when in the middle of that routine and amongst a crowd of people you felt completely alone. All you needed was a kind word or a comforting touch to remind you that you are not alone. How often in your life has been something so small made such an impact? TOUCH is more than brilliant example of filmmaking. It is a reminder that even the smallest act of compassion can make the biggest difference in someone’s life. TOUCH reminds you to pay attention to the world around you and look for the opportunities to make a difference with nothing more than a small touch of kindness. Some of my favorite films are the films that speak to me on a personal level. There have been times in my life when I felt alone in the crowd. There have been times when that random stranger offered only but a moment of compassion and I left that moment feeling much better. As I look at my life now, I often find myself being that random stranger and it reminds me that no matter what I may need in life, I always have something to give as well. TOUCH gives you that reminder that you have something to give that won’t cost you anything but will mean so much. The two women in this film were perfect. There was a genuine sincerity that came through the screen as I sat I watched this film. These women took the words from the page and with an artist behind the camera captured a moment in life that so many can relate to. Everyone should this film at least once to remind them a touch of kindness can save a life.

Joe Flood, September 14, 2010 Despite our affluence, Americans suffer from record levels of depression. People feel disconnected from life, even in the midst of busy urban environments. What’s missing? Jen McGowan examines this problem in her film, Touch. It’s a simple setup – two women on a train platform. Lily Knight’s performance in this short is amazing. The camera is close on her face for nearly the entire film and she communicates incredible suffering, nearly wordlessly. We never learn why she is in pain. But, following a chance encounter with a stranger, we discover what she has come to the train platform to do. In the Q&A session following the screening of Touch, director McGowan explained that finding her lead actor was the hardest part in making this movie. She looked for months until she saw Knight, who had a bit part in another film. Touch is a beautiful short that demonstrates the power a simple act of kindness can have on someone’s life.

InlandEmpire.us October 8, 2010 Another film, which won honors at Big Bear, is the 11 minute short, “Touch” may also be nominated for an Oscar because it already won a major award, best prize at the Florida Film Festival. “If we even get a nomination,” said first time director, Jen McGowan, “it could mean a deal for my next project, a feature length film.” McGowan gets the best out of her actors, Lily Knight and Rachel Kanouse, in a moving story of a chance meeting at a train station.

E Insiders November 30, 2010 Her first film since 2005, filmmaker Jen McGowan returns with “Touch” a short film shot entirely in a subway station featuring two characters. Smartly cast and paced, this tight narrative is less complicated than her kid skewing, critically lauded, short “Confessions of a Late Bloomer.” In “Touch” we meet a middle aged woman (played well by Lilly Knight) as she waits for the subway to arrive. The weary, clearly troubled woman is edging ever closer to the edge of the platform when she is interrupted by a bright and chatty younger woman (a bubbly Rachel Kanouse). The nothing conversation, mainly concerning the younger woman’s impending job interview, provides just enough distraction to pull the older woman momentarily from the edge. The younger woman is oblivious to her older companion’s intentions, and the central question is whether she will recognize what is going on and whether the older woman will follow through with the suicidal tendency. The dramatic tension is thick over the brief running time. McGowan demonstrates a keen understanding of the short form populating her film with just two finely crafted characters played by actors up to the challenge. The understated narrative is enough to hold viewer attention and the excellent cinematography gives this small piece feature feel. Budding filmmakers take note: more often than not this is the best way to make a short film on a limited budget. “Touch” plays less like a tune up for a feature, as 2005’s “Confessions” seemed, and more like a stand-alone, self-contained, complete film. Viewers will be left wanting more, however, because the film introduces us to two souls drawn together by chance each sharing with the other intimately during a momentary encounter.