CAST:

Riley Stearns / The Master  > Darcy Brown

Rachel the Agent > Darcey Eagle

THE ROOMMATES:

Kit > Carlo Boumouglbay

Eli > Jahla Black

Maddie > Daisy Calnin

FAME LIMBO CAST:

Stevie McKeon, Daniel Agar, Erik Janssen, Tom Matthews, Eliza Janssen, Noah Janssen, Anthony Carr, Tilly Webb, Hanna Sandgren, Agnes Forrester

THE BOARD:

CEO > Adrian Naudi

EXECUTIVE #1 > Kaori Maori-Judge

EXECUTIVE #2 > Callum O’Malley

DIRECTOR > Cameron Taylor

CASTING ASSISTANT > Aisha Aidara

THE AUDITIONERS:

Rishab Kern, Nic Van Litsenborgh, Lucas Tranch

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CREW:

Producer > Caitlin Soennichsen

1st Assistant Director > Anna Warwick > Tessa Bagshaw

Director of Photography > Gracie Dephoff

1st Assistant Camera Operator > Madelaine Jamieson

2nd Assistant Camera Operator > Bella Smith

Gaffer > Glenn Parker > Hamish Rayner > Tom Hodges

Sound Recordist, Score > Anthony Carr

Editors > Noah Janssen, Gilda Jones

Continuity/Script Supervisor > Andréas Giannopoulos

Production Designer/Location Manager/Runner > Chooka Pettenon

Costume Design > Izrael Little

HMU > Izrael Little > Indigo Lily > Stevie McKeon

Catering/Unit Base > Eliza Janssen

SFX > Erik Janssen

VFX > James Haggarty

Screen Material Design > Isaac Haigh

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SPECS:

AWARDS > Kickstarter Projects We Love Selection + Fundraising Goal Reached on Kickstarter

SHOT IN > April 2024

CAMERA  > ARRI Alexa Mini LF > iPhone X > Sony DCR-SR47 Handycam

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NOTES:

At the outset, I told myself I wouldn’t romanticise or indulge the obsessive core of this project. I can get obsessive, the film itself is about obsession, and as it became harder and harder to get the fucking thing made, it was tempting to make the obsession a character for myself. To go Coppola or Herzog mode for a little 20 minute short film set in a bedroom is really a bit much and I was committed to not being that guy. It was legitimately tempting, cause I was buzzing with anxiety for 90% of making this, from pre-production all the way through to wrap. I mostly think I held off, and learned some shit in the process.

One of the beautiful things about artistry and filmmaking as a whole that makes me tear up is the way it teaches you how to live, and this is a film that taught me a LOT about how to live. We faced MANY roadblocks; difficult crew changes, an ambitious (possibly too ambitious?) script for the time we had, and finally, a many months-long delaying Covid outbreak. Whilst experiencing these setbacks, the sentiment that got me through not just the shoot, but my personal feeling of victimhood, was that artistry and life is best lived with a healthy relationship to failure; all things in balance. To strive for perfection whilst accepting limitations or the ever changing circumstances, to advocate for yourself and your vision but to know when to listen and maybe even concede. There’s a quote from the late William Friedkin that I said out loud multiple times a day while making this film; “Filmmaking is eating shit.” It’s constant problem solving, constant crisi management, constant time and economic crunch; why panic about literally any of it? It gets done or it doesn’t, but how can you live inside of it sustainably?

This is a deeply personal project. It is my attempt to capture my feelings on artistry and where it intersects with capitalism, and in turn with validation, and in turn with self respect. It is my attempt at harnessing cringe to manifest understanding. It is my attempt to conjure the hidden veil that lays behind my Instagram Discover tab.

I cannot wait to share it with the world. Darcy Brown is nothing short of miraculous in it. Gracie Dephoff’s cinematography is haunting. Anthony Carr’s score absolutely fucks. I’m so grateful to everyone who helped make it happen, I’m so stupidly lucky. Much, MUCH more to come.