Eli Johnson struggles through high school challenged by his self-loathing and the pressure to be “normal”. Falling hopelessly for Addison McKnight, he looks to his love for her as an escape out of his deep depression.

Interview with Writer/Director Des Matelske

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I began writing my film Sincerely, Me in hopes to “wake up” the people in the world around us. Everyone is so involved with their own lives and what’s on the media that they’re blind to the things that happen everyday around them. Teen suicide, stereotyping, bullying, and drug use is huge and I really wanted to bring awareness to these four topics because people don’t like to talk about them when they really need to. I wanted to show it in the most realistic way, by not hiding the gruesome realities that can come from such things, and not cutting away from it in the film. A very big focus and main theme within Sincerely, Me is stereotyping and we wanted to show how badly people can judge others by their looks or how many number of friends one has (or doesn’t have).

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

Sincerely, Me hits a lot of hard topics and we want people to be more aware of what’s going on in today’s world, especially in teenage lives. Not only is bullying a problem, but the number of teen suicides around the world, especially in the U.S., has gone up dramatically over the last few years and keeps steadily rising. On top of that, the numbers of drug use are at an all time high and we really wanted to pull the audience in to show how easily it is to get addicted or how easy it is to use any type of drug as a coping method. High school can be the best years of some people’s lives, but we wanted to show that it can also be the worst years of someone's life without other people even realizing it. Myself along with some of the other cast and crew members lived through it and we wanted to show an audience what it’s like.

Eli Johnson (Nick Earl) and long time best friend Mackenzie Dover (Dani Matelske) in the halls of William Moore High in *Sincerely, Me*.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

I saw firsthand the effects of bullying and wanted to portray the effects in this film to bring awareness to how small acts of grievances can affect good people.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?

When I first wrote the script for Sincerely, Me in 2014, it was a very straightforward drama screenplay with little between the lines. After casting the main characters for the film and releasing the scripts to them, they each took on their characters in the most personal way and made it their own. They filled the empty spaces between the lines and gave each character meaning. As we began production, it was absolutely amazing to see how every main developed throughout the film and how the actors gave each one their own twist. My director of Photography, Thomas Matheis, and the rest of the crew took on the story as well and made each shot up close and personal, so you knew exactly what the characters were thinking and made the audience get inside their heads.

Tension builds between Evan Moore (CK Steele) and his girlfriend Addison McKnight (Haley Calhoun) in *Sincerely, Me*.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

So far, the feedback for Sincerely, Me has been fantastic. Multiple people who went to our special Cleveland premiere screening approached myself and the cast and crew and told us they could really relate to the film and that anyone truly could on some level. I’m looking forward to hearing viewer’s thoughts at our upcoming screenings.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

The positive feedback has surprised me but of course that is because I am a perfectionist when it comes to my work. I am so happy that we are hearing such great things because my cast and crew worked so hard on this film for about two years in total.

Kat Vallair (Claire Arble) introduces Eli Johnson (Nick Earl) to his new coping method in *Sincerely, Me.*

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I’m looking to achieve more exposure for my cast, crew, and the film itself. I am also very grateful to be apart of www.wearemovingstories.com because of their strong support of women filmmakers. I am proud to be a women director and I look forward to the future in hopes that more women will be involved in the film industry.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

We would love for distributors to come on board to our film so we can get our film’s message out to a bigger audience. The support and attendance at our screenings has been absolutely incredible and we’d love to go even bigger.

Eli Johnson (Nick Earl) and Addison McKnight (Haley Calhoun) share a moment at the jock's party in *Sincerely, Me.*

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I hope this film impacts our audience and viewers in ways to make them “wake up” and not be blind to what is happening in today’s society.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Why can’t kids just ignore bullying? If you’re having suicidal thoughts, why can’t you just stop them and be happy?

Would you like to add anything else?

Thank you so very much for giving myself and my film an opportunity to be on www.wearemovingstories.com. For those interested in our film and future screenings and releases we may have, our hashtag for Twitter, Instagram and Facebook is #SincerelyMeMovie.

Eli Johnson (Nick Earl) being held back by the jocks of William Moore High while Evan Moore (CK Steele) gets ready to fight in *Sincerely, Me.*

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I, Des Matelske, am currently writing my next feature film (a psychological thriller that takes place in the 1960s) with Claire Arble, who played Kat Vallair in Sincerely, Me. I hope to get a producer on board with within the next year to start production by the end of 2017 into the beginning of 2018. This next feature will be huge and I am very excited to release the details in the near future. A lot of our main actors and crew members are working on multiple other projects and I couldn’t be more proud of them. My director of photography, Thomas Matheis, has been asked to work on big projects and inside TV studios, and I aim for him to be the director of photography on my next feature film as well.

Interview: September 2016

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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. 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

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Sincerely, Me

Length: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Director: Des Matelske

Producer: D. Daniel Productions

Writer: Des Matelske

About the writer, director and producer:

Des Matelske, writer and director - 21 year old filmmaker from Cleveland, Ohio studied film at New York Film Academy and screenwriting at Harvard University. 23 awards in the film industry.

Key cast: Nick Earl (as Eli Johnson), CK Steele (as Evan Moore), Haley Calhoun (as Addison McKnight), Dani Matelske (as Mackenzie Dover) and Claire Arble (as Kat Vallair)

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Buyers, distributors, and film festival directors

Funders: We have had many independent funders, local business donations, and crowdfunding

Made in association with: Des Waz Here Productions

Release date: May 13, 2016 - coming to more festivals and theaters in near future