Hollyshorts - The End of Mara
A woman helps her husband break free of a curse that's brought him back from the dead and trapped him on Manhattan Island.
Interview with Writer/Director Kim Garland
Watch The End of Mara here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
THE END OF MARA is the third film in a trilogy of shorts set in an underground world in NYC where people can resurrect from the dead. We made the film to complete the trilogy but the trilogy itself is about how different individuals deal with death and grief.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It’s a supernatural thriller that throws you right into the middle of a high-stakes story about a couple on the run from a nefarious and mysterious group. He is undead and she’s trying to help him stay out of the clutches of this organization. The acting is fantastic and each character takes a full journey in a short period of time. In addition to the film’s entertainment value, it's a portrait of a couple dealing with grief and loss and allows the audience to consider how they, too, would handle trying to grieve under such unusual circumstances.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
In THE END OF MARA and in the complete Resurrection Trilogy we deal directly with the process of grieving by having characters come back from the dead and confront the circumstances of their deaths or the loved ones they left behind. We all experience death as a one-way street and these films explore what would happen if we had a second chance to either reconnect with those we’ve lost or avenge those who took our lives.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The challenge with THE END OF MARA was telling three full character arcs in fifteen minutes. We wanted this film to give each of its three characters the chance to go through the events of the film and come out as freer people on the other side. This required tough decisions as to how much of each character’s story we needed to tell while keeping the film at a festival-friendly length of 15 minutes or less.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We’ve had great feedback on the film, thankfully. The acting and cinematography have been lauded and we’ve been told by fans of the evolving trilogy that MARA was an emotionally satisfying end to the three. We also won Best Narrative Short Film at the Flyway Film Festival, which was great, too!
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback was overall as I expected, including the audience's desire to know more about this world even once the trilogy was complete. These three shorts were never meant to tell the full story of this world and were intended to be a glimpse into it as we develop it into a series.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We’d love for people to watch the complete Resurrection Trilogy. The other films in the trilogy are VIVIENNE AGAIN (2012) and DEAL TRAVIS IN (2013) and all three films are available to watch online.
We’d of course also love for interested producers or reps to contact us about the series we are developing in this world or to see our work and reach out about other jobs or representation. Our goal is to make lots more work!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Producers and reps for sure but also fans. We are developing a lush supernatural world but we’re doing it at this point on a very low independent budget. If fans watch the films and see what we’re aiming to develop, I think it would go a long way toward getting the word out about this world. Same goes with journalists, any help we can get sharing these stories and this world is very appreciated.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We want to entertain, first and foremost, but we also want to have audiences think about their time in this life being limited and how they can live in the moment so when they leave it they have no regrets. Our characters tend to have regrets but get to come back and deal with them, the rest of us don’t get that chance so we should live like we only get this one go-round.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Most people who've seen the films ask us who are the shadowy people that are known as the Bloodhounds and what is the origin of this resurrection phenomenon. These are the questions we're answering in the series but I love hearing fan theories because the fans of these films tend to be super-smart!
Would you like to add anything else?
Support women in film and especially women in horror! 🤘🏼
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Matt Garland and I are currently touring the film festival circuit with a graphic horror short film called BODY IMAGE that I wrote and directed and he produced. We're also developing a supernatural thriller feature about extreme paranormal investigators. And, of course, we're working on the series for the Resurrection Trilogy.
Violetta Ekpe is a screenwriter, in addition to being a producer, and she's developing a couple of feature scripts right now herself. She’s a very talented storyteller in her own right and I’m excited to see what she comes out with next.
The actors in this film — Elena Hurst, Samrat Chakrabarti, and Kate Rogal — are all working actors and can be seen in film and on TV regularly. Find them on the web and be sure to catch them in future projects because they’re rockstars!
Interview: October 2017
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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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The End of Mara (2016)
A woman helps her husband break free of a curse that's brought him back from the dead and trapped him on Manhattan Island.
Length: 15:06
Director: Kim Garland
Producers: Violetta Ekpe, Matt Garland, Kim Garland
Writer: Kim Garland
About the writer, director and producer:
Kim Garland is an award-winning screenwriter and director living in Los Angeles, CA, who specializes in character-driven stories set in fantastical worlds.
Violetta Ekpe is a Los Angeles-based producer who's produced several features, shorts and documentaries and divides her time between documentary and narrative production.
Matt Garland is Los Angeles producer and Co-owner of City Kid Films. After receiving his MFA in Sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Matt continues his creative career working as a designer, technologist and entrepreneur.
Key cast: Elena Hurst, Samrat Chakrabarti, Kate Rogal
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Journalists and fans of the supernatural
Social media handles:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheEndOfMara
Twitter: @CityKidFilms, @kim_garland, @garlandMatt
Instagram: @kimgarland_films
Other: www.ResurrectionTrilogy.com
Funders: Self-funded
Made in association with: City Kid Films, LLC
Where will the film screen in the next month?
Jekyl Comic Con, Jekyl Island, GA, 12/9-10, 2017 Also, the complete film is available to watch online at https://vimeo.com/210456533