I grew up in a small town.
I would wander down the roads no one drives down.
Explore the woods.
Follow unknown paths.
Sometimes I would just sit out there.
Alone.
I felt free.
It was quiet.
Peaceful.
Scary, but also exciting.
I could dream out there.
And I think the woods became a void, or a canvas, or even a mirror for my thoughts.
And sometimes my fears would show themselves.
Fears about growing up.
About what happens when you’re no longer a kid and you’re supposed to become an adult.
Where do I fit in?
Where do I belong?
I think I worked through those fears by turning them into stories.
The woods became the place where those stories could exist.
And somehow, a fictional world I dreamed up, helped me work through fears I didn’t fully understand yet.
I think that’s why filmmaking has always felt right for me.
You get to play in the unconscious.
To explore thoughts and ideas you don’t understand yet.
You can sit with them and ask questions.
And if you listen quietly enough...
Sometimes the answers come.
I ended up shooting my first feature film in those same woods.
Maybe filmmaking became a way to grow up without letting go of the part of me that still wanted to wander into the woods and dream.
This is beautiful, and SAME.