Directed by Angel McCoughtry, ‘Bygones’ is an emotionally stirring short film that peels back the layers of friendship, competition, and generational pain. In just about 26 minutes, it delivers a deeply reflective narrative that cuts beneath the surface of camaraderie to expose the cracks left behind by secrets long buried and choices long made.

At the centre of this story is Charissa, played with a warm and confident Malyah Glover, a young woman with a love for basketball who forms an unexpected friendship at the gym with JJ an older, greying man whose past is far more tangled with hers than either of them initially realises.
Their bond over the game is effortless at first, heartwarming even, and feels like the natural merging of two souls connected through a shared passion for the sport.

But the weight of history always finds its way back. When Charissa innocently invites JJ to a family cookout, neither of them anticipates what they will soon uncover about their connection. A photo of her grandfather, Leon a basketball star from a rival school in the 1960s, sends JJ reeling and causes him to leave abruptly. That becomes the turning point in the story and reveals its themes of long-term consequences of violence, rivalry and regret.

As Charissa quickly unravels the truth through her own research, she discovers that JJ was somehow involved in her grandfather’s death. And perhaps even more painful than the discovery itself is the realisation that JJ never told her. As you would imagine, the betrayal she feels gets even more deeply personal.

Anna Taborska’s writing masterfully weaves between past and present, anchoring us in Charissa’s perspective while also allowing the audience to empathise with JJ as we see a younger version of himself reliving the events of that fateful night when Leon was killed.

The film avoids sensationalism by not leaning heavily into a conversation about racial killings. It rather chooses a sincere nuance that reminds us that regret can love in the quietest corners of our lives.

Without a doubt, the flashback scenes from 1969 are particularly well-executed, vibrant, richly textured, and visually compelling without relying on the typical washed-out aesthetic often used in period pieces. They feel alive and deliberate, much like the memories they’re meant to represent.

What’s most striking about ‘Bygones’ is how effortlessly it becomes a meditation on reflection, on the choices we make and the legacy they leave behind. JJ, now older and seemingly at peace, carries a past that still echoes not loudly, but enough to shape every step forward. You can tell that he is a man who has lived with the burden of one irreversible moment in his life for decades. And as the narrative progresses, we learn more about that night and JJ’s role in all of it.

Charrissa’s grandma, played by Le’coe Willingham, shows us the film’s most important message, which is forgiveness. Having lost a loved one and lived several years with the pain, she is still the one strong enough not to bear a grudge in her heart.

The film delicately explores how sports, which we often see as a great unifier, can also be the site of conflict, pride, and even tragedy. But ultimately, ‘Bygones’ doesn’t dwell on division. Its heart lies in the possibility of reconciliation. It’s a gentle yet firm reminder that while the past can hurt, the act of forgiveness holds far greater power.

‘Bygones’ is the kind of short film that has you thinking for a while after it ends. It isn’t loud, but it sits well with you, and in those quiet moments after the credits roll, you are reminded that healing often starts with the grace we are willing to extend to others.

It is a decent watch that earns your attention and your empathy, and one that is direct about how the deepest wounds can find a path toward healing if we are willing to face them.