Take My Hands

Produced for class at Boston University, this script was to focus on a “moment of change.” It was the first time I wrote a script prioritizing positive and negative charges in narrative structure and producibility on a time crunch, as preproduction was already underway, while staying true to my more experimental/ poetic style. The script was written in only two weeks, and with only a $300 budget (nearly all of which went to meals and transport) I am incredibly proud of my team for bringing what I believe to be a compelling and emotional story to life. I aim to instill a sort of faith in randomness with my work, and so I incorporated the psychic power as a function to resolve this raw human conflict while aiding belief in some higher universal power.

This was the first time I directed a true cast and crew, which was such a fulfilling experience. During the dark void scenes, I choreographed complex, mid-shot lighting changes and prop switch outs which had to be precisely timed. It was so gratifying to see everyone working so hard and in sync in service of this story, making dream like visuals come alive with no special effects.

Working with professional actors for the first time, I aimed to focus heavily on my technique, detailing the characters’ given circumstances and objectives and providing the actors with physical tasks and meaningful objects. I hope to continue improving on my directing skills to evoke the most nuanced and natural performances from actors.

As a co-production designer, Ilana and I transformed her apartment into a whimsical psychic studio riddled with warm tones alluding to themes of motherhood. And we didn’t buy a single thing! It was quite rewarding to see what we could do repurposing our own belongings as well as sourcing from our community.

While I have edited all of my own films, this was the first time I worked with slating and syncing sound. There were many more takes to work with than I had previously been able to obtain on less official film endeavors. I grew a thicker skin with rounds of feedback sessions with my team, professor, and classmates to see what was landing and what wasn’t. I found a new appreciation for editing especially as a writer, getting to rework lines and find means of delivery even better than I had not imagined.