Festival Season:
September 2026
THE ART OF RESTRAINT
Directors:
Writers:
Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke, Nathan Emery
Producers:
Alan Clarke, Zac Orender
Run Time:
0:17:01
Awarded for the following Category(s):
Awarded Category(s)
The Art of Restraint is an intimate portrait of Dr. Marshall Hanson, a dentist and craftsman whose work is defined not by transformation, but by knowing when to stop.
Set against the vast landscapes of Utah, the film explores Marshall’s pursuit of natural beauty and the philosophy of preservation that shapes both his work and his life. Through reflections on craft, perfectionism, faith, family and personal struggle, a portrait emerges of a man learning that mastery is not always found in doing more.
Sometimes, the greatest expression of artistry is restraint.
Submitter Statement
I didn't come to filmmaking the usual way. I trained as a cosmetic dentist, and I've never had a traditional film background.
What pulled me in was people. What drives them. How they develop their craft. And the experiences nobody really sees, the ones that shape the work they eventually put into the world.
I'm drawn to very specific worlds. So far that's been dentistry and dermatology, but the industry has never really been the point. A dentist obsessed with restraint. Another who built a life in Los Angeles around his own point of view. On the surface these are small, particular stories. But the more specific the world, the more universal the questions underneath it get. Identity. Ambition. Vulnerability. Purpose. Why someone chooses the path they do, and what it costs them.
I still think of myself as an outsider to film, and I've stopped seeing that as a disadvantage. It means I'm led less by convention and more by curiosity. I'm not trying to make films about what people have achieved. I'm trying to understand how they became who they are.
That's the question I keep coming back to. I suspect it's the one I'll be asking for a long time.
Alan Clarke is a filmmaker, producer and entrepreneur. He is co-founder and CEO of Pasted, and leads Pasted Studios, where he works across directing and producing.
He trained as a cosmetic dentist and came to filmmaking without a traditional film background. What drew him in was people: what drives them, how they develop their craft, and the experiences nobody sees that shape the work they eventually put into the world.
His films move between documentary, portraiture and craft. They start in very specific worlds and use them to get at bigger questions about identity, ambition, vulnerability and purpose.
He directed The Art of Restraint, a short documentary portrait of Dr. Marshall Hanson, and Built by Design, following Dr. Jon Marashi. His next film, The Art of Becoming, will be released in fall 2026.
Clarke still approaches filmmaking as an outsider. He's led less by convention than by curiosity about why people become who they become.
Key Cast
Other Credits