Behind The Film
What would you say your film is about?
It tackles the issue of domestic abuse.
What was your inspiration?
I am passionate about the everyday hardships people faced in communist Romania, which is where I grew up. In one of my UCLA shorts I wanted to explore either orphanage, poverty or domestic abuse.
Why did you choose the latter?
I talked to friends and people in Los Angeles at the time, and it seemed that most everyone I spoke to knew someone’s domestic abuse story. I was surprised to learn how common this problem was, even in a modern and highly developed country, like the US. When in my research a professional working in this field made a remark about domestic abuse not being considered a crime in our world, but a sport, I knew this was the area I was going to be looking at.
The cinematography is gorgeous in your film.
Thank you. We shot 16mm reversal film, a high contrast stock with a beautiful grainy look! I was very pleased the way it turned out. The cinematographer, Mathew Rudenberg, did a wonderful job.
Why did you make the film in black and white?
Black and white is much more emotional than color. At the end of the day, all abuse, whether physical or verbal, is emotional.
Why did you decide to have no dialogue?
That was a departmental requirement. We all had to tell a story visually. It was a good challenge, but this rule has changed since. My year at UCLA’s undergraduate film program was the last one to shoot a film without sync sound.
So, there was no need to sync.
No need to sync the images with a sound track, but I had to build sound from scratch.
Where did you find the actors?
They were both graduate students at UCLA who came in at the last minute. I was very fortunate.
Why “Our share of night to bear?”
It’s an Emily Dickinson poem I read and thought was close to my film.
How long did it take to complete your short?
Approximately a year and a half. My preproduction was 3 months. We shot the film in 4 days. I took 5 months to edit it. And because of my addiction to sound design, I spent an entire year on the sound.
That’s impressive. It sure sounds good. What’s next for you?
I am still very passionate about making sure that I contribute to society with my work. I have two feature projects I’m working on. One is another heavy drama, a first-hand account adaptation of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. A very compelling story. The other one is a comedy that takes place in 1936 London. There is a lot of social commentary in both, but this second one is going to be funny.
Good luck with both!
Thank you!
