With his latest film, Softly (2007), director Bryan Jackson has employed dolls as actors. By staging them in miniature, handcrafted sets, he blurs the line between dollhouse and reality—creating a world as fragile and ephemeral as the romance story that takes place within the frame. The narrative gently unfolds to music created by his chief collaborator, the Tokyo-based composer Eiji Yoshizawa, and performed by Scudelia Electro.

"Like a little Japanese girl’s dream of what it would be like to be an American gay man. Bryan Jackson uses Bratz® dolls, lovingly-crafted miniature sets, and Sirkian cinematography to stage a simple story of love and longing, which may or may not be a commentary on the naive romanticism of urban gay men." - Paul Sbrizzi, SLAMDANCE

"...preposterously campy and strangely affecting". -Joseph R. Wolin, TIME OUT NEW YORK

"Mr. Jackson’s work (Softly) has a wonderful noirish feeling..." -Roberta Smith, NEW YORK TIMES