Two friends reflect on childhood birthdays, missed opportunities and growing up alone at a picnic in this scene study.

THE FILM

2019 Official Selection - Oregon Cinema Arts Film Festival

MY STORY BEHIND THE STORY

This is the first in a series of films from 2018 I worked on with my friend Jake Samson where we wanted to showcase his range as an actor. This film was originally conceived as a sort of spiritual successor to one of my prior short films "We're Gathered Here". I wanted to create another dry-humored slice of life which explores regret in a new way in the same vein as that film.

For me, the key underlying material in this scene study is a sense of toxic masculinity where because of an inability to process his feelings of otherness as a child, this character bursts out with a overtly ridiculous proposition and from there how these two characters deal with trying to express their feelings about it. In the script, there is one key moment that says "They avert eye contact because men don’t look each other in the eyes when they’re sad." which I think sums up the film very well.

Like one of my previous films, "We're Gathered Here", there is an aesthetic simplicity where there aren't any extra bells and whistles and the setting and frame are supposed to cultivate a sense of stillness so that the audience can just join in and be present in the moment and then leave after getting to know these characters just a little bit better.