How does a 16 year old girl convince the most stubborn billionaire in Gotham that she’s a worthy successor to the Caped Crusader?

There are lots and lots of Batman fan films, but not that many about Batgirl – but we found you a great one. Written and directed by Franklin Rich, the Batgirl fan film New Wings follows Barbara Gordon after one her first nights of vigilanteism. She comes home to find an unexpected house guest, Bruce Wayne, who she quickly discovers has more secrets than she does.

Starring Emma Catharine, Anthony Paderewski and David H. Horne, New Wings is the remarkable exception to most comicbook fan films, in that it doesn’t rely on spandex to convey the idea of superheroes. Instead, it relies on wonderful acting and brilliant writing. The film doesn’t rely on traditional Batman Gotham-style grit, either, instead showing us humor and whimsy, deeply tuned character development, and good story and character arcs.

Emma Catharine is wonderful as Barbara Gordon, and David H. Horne hits the mark as Police Commisioner Gordon. Anthony Paderewski delivers a credible performance, playing against type but giving a solid believable Bruce Wayne despite this.

New Wings is written and directed by Franklin Ritch. The Director of Photography is Britt McTammany, and we’re calling out Britt specifically here because it’s very clear that the D.P. really really understands their craft, with each scene painted in light as only a true artist can.

Laurel Wilson produced the film. Usually the audience doesn’t care much about who produced the film, because it’s hard for them to see the evidence of a good job done, but if you think about it, you can tell a well produced show from a bad one. It feels collected, like everything you see is planned, is not only supposed to be there but is there for a well considered reason. The evidence of a well produced film is something you feel more than see. Lauren Wilson, we want you to know that you are seen.

Enjoy this short subject – we’ll be looking for more from Last Resort Ideas, the production company that made this delightful and satisfying DC Comics fan film, and we encourage them to make more Batgirl films, if for no other reason than we want to see more of its star Emma Catharine in action.

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