Chasing June
Hoping to bury his past, a young man returns home only to have an old friend trigger his memories.
Interview with Writer/Producer/Director/Actor Shelby Slager
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
The core inspiration for Chasing June and the character of Oliver is the death of Nathan’s brother. Nathan was six years old when he witnessed the freak accident that took his brother’s life and saw first-hand the fracturing effects that it had on himself and his family. Given his young age, he didn’t know what to do with his grief. He repressed it for years until he was forced to face it. June is who pushes Oliver to finally face his grief. Her character and cancer are directly inspired by watching my mother’s fight against cancer. I saw the strength, beauty, and resilience my mother showed throughout her battle and I wanted June’s character to embody those traits.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Chasing June at its core is about people. I think everybody can find something to relate to within it. We relied on magical realism to visually explore the way that Oliver’s emotions are eating away at him. When a film is set fully in realism you are limited in what you can show or do, but by using magical realism you are able to push past the realms of reality and make emotions both physical and visual.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Our film explores themes of toxic masculinity, repressed emotions, grief, illness, and returning home.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
We initially began writing this project as a feature-length film. We ultimately decided to instead make a proof-of-concept short film as the first step. Going from a run time of 90 minutes to 15 minutes meant we really needed to dig deep to decide what was most important to fit into this film. Ultimately, this is the best choice we could have made. We made so many changes to fit this into that 15-minute run time that is now reflected in the script for the feature film.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
A lot of the feedback we have received has been about the emotional resonance of the piece. Chasing June also ends with a bit of a cliffhanger which has left people longing to see more. There are quite a few people who have either experienced cancer themselves or had someone close to them go through it. They have commented on the authenticity and attention to detail shown in the film regarding June’s cancer.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Our film is a proof-of-concept and we hope that by having our film be more visible we can find people who are interested in the story and want to see more. Our goal for this film is, and always has been, to make a feature-length story. We cannot wait to dig deeper into the story and characters as well as explore additional themes including fear of abandonment, the relationships between young adults and their parents, and hereditary cancer.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We are hoping to have producers and distributors come on board for the feature version of this project. We would also love to have more film festival directors and journalists on board to help get the word out about the short film and hopefully gain more interest in the full-length film that’s currently in development.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We hope that this film makes people feel seen and heard. We did our best to create an authentic story with real and relatable characters. We believe that film can truly make a difference and that our themes are universal.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Can you ever really move on?
Would you like to add anything else?
I was absolutely honored to be the Beverly Hills Film Festival 2024 award winner for Best Female Performance. It was so wonderful to have this film festival be our World Premiere and it was surreal and such a privilege to receive this award.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Nathan L. Slager and I are currently in the developmental stage of writing a feature film of the same name. I also recently acted in the film Spin the Bottle which is in the post-production stage.
Interview: May 2024
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Chasing June
Hoping to bury his past, a young man returns home only to have an old friend trigger his memories.
Length: 14:56
Director: Shelby Slager & Alana Areyzaga
Producer: Shelby Slager & Nathan L. Slager
Writer: Nathan L. Slager and Shelby Slager
About the writer, director and producer:
SHELBY SLAGER is an actor, director, writer, and producer based in Los Angeles. After directing a handful of theatre productions Chasing June is her film directing, producing, and writing debut. She aims to tell stories that explore humanity and feature complex and nuanced characters.
ALANA AREYZAGA is a filmmaker and graduate of Columbia College Chicago. She has written and directed numerous short films, documentaries, theatrical productions, and web series including her award-winning film Decrescendo. Alana works as a professional makeup artist, specializing in FX gore.
NATHAN L. SLAGER is a screenwriter and producer based out of Los Angeles. He graduated with his BA in English Literature from North Central College. After trying out a variety of different careers post-graduation, he found his passion for screenwriting. He's constantly fascinated by the nuances that exist within relationships and by the drama of a seemingly simple life.
Key cast: Sargon (Oliver), Shelby Slager (June), Craig Ymson (Michael)
Looking for: producers, distributors, journalists, film festival directors
Facebook: Chasing June
Instagram: @chasing_june
Hashtags used: #chasingjune #chasingjuneshortfilm #interlunarpictures
Website: Chasing June
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Interlunar Pictures
Funders: Indiegogo