IFS Film Festival - Fade Away
A young woman facing the future entirely alone comes back to the only place she's ever felt comfortable, only to find everything different.
Interview with Writer/Director Elijah Senn
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I was in a really dark place when I made Fade Away, constantly waking up to long days of questioning my value or the value of anything, anyone at all, and I wanted to express the deep longing for meaning I was feeling to try to exorcise those demons.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
So I think the existential questions this character is facing are things that nag at the corners of our consciousness, but which we lock away because they're hard to process, and if you as an audience member examine her journey it might open the door to having that hard conversation with yourself. Because that's the only person who can come to any comfortable answers: yourself.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
For me, feeling unloveable at that time led me to the initial idea of Fade Away, because being loved perpetually felt just outside my reach; like I was on the other side of a fence, peering at something but never getting the full picture or close enough to touch. The frustration I felt pushed me to the realization that even when we're in love, and receive love, we are experiencing it, at a fundamental level, with ourselves alone.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
That led to the first pass of the script, which was much much longer, and if I'm completely honest, it was too raw. I was close to the themes, and when you're surrounded by this cloud of it you end up analyzing it to death, and that came out in the script. We ended up shooting it almost exactly as I had it written, because the visuals were ready, but then when I did my first edit with the voiceover as it was and sent it to people I trust, the reaction was a resounding "meh." After revisiting it with a little distance, I could see why they were having trouble: I had been so intent on getting all of my analysis across that it was emotionally closed, and there was no room for anyone else. I took out 85% of the dialogue that wasn't explicitly related to the arc of the character, trusted that the visuals expressed the subtleties I personally wanted to say, and let the audience engage with it from their own perspective.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
That change opened the door for much more positive feedback across the board. A lot of what has come across is the emotion is much more tangible, the character's past and future are shaded by her present without being explicit. While no one has come forth and said this outright, I feel that the ambiguity that each of those parts offer gives more room for the viewer to see a part of themselves in the character. The trimmed voiceover can boil with that emotion of someone facing down an unknown future, trying to recreate the past, and being alone in the present, and the viewer feels that in their own way.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Having so many different kinds of people viewing the film, some of the feedback has definitely challenged my own point of view. I think it's important to say that my perspective has changed since we did the first draft of the film, so I get to take it all with a bit of distance, and I think that's very helpful. Overall, the most glowing feedback comes for the star, Catrina Del Re, which is fantastic, because she is a creative, artistic person who put a lot of herself into Fade Away for the two years it was worked on and shaped. It's also gratifying for me as a director to hear the praise for her, knowing how hard we worked together to get the pieces together just right.
On the other hand, some of the feedback that challenged me has been the very interesting interpretations people bring to the experience; someone asked me if the main character were actually dead and regressing to a fetal state in the afterlife, another was convinced that it was all Brian imagining this as some kind of fantasy revenge against someone who hurt him. Seeing how they took what was on the screen, and what was implied, then extrapolated something so unique opened my eyes to the depth of the role the viewer plays in making the piece meaningful to themselves, as well as the limits any artist can make in their expression.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
By putting the film out through wearemovingimages.com, Catrina and I are hoping to draw more attention and interest to ourselves, the film, and our future projects. Fade Away is only one of several pieces that we have and are collaborating on, and to have greater visibility to Fade Away will hopefully bring greater visibility to us as artists and our work.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Part of that attention we seek is certainly from producers. As a writer/director and workaholic, I am looking to grow my career through collaboration with other creative, driven people. I'm extremely lucky to have surrounded myself with some of those people, like Catrina and my sister Anna Senn, both of whom are incredibly talented women who motivate me every day. I would love to have someone with a creative business mind see the film, recognize kindred artists, and reach out to be a part of the future with us.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I want to see Fade Away push more people to explore those deep questions of meaning in themselves. It's a lifelong conversation, and one that might be more of an argument with hopelessness than a dialogue. It is possible to find that sense of meaning, comfort and fulfillment, but only by turning a glance inward and moving away from complacency. I want at least some people watching this short will start that journey for themselves, but hopefully with a more positive outcome.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
That journey will start with a single question: "What inside you would hold you up on the worst day of your life?"
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Catrina and I have partnered to create a series of one-minute episode Instagram TV shows on the network @_pocketwatch_. The first one, "Almost Single," premiered in March and is almost wrapped on its first season, and we are currently in pre-production on a drama "Lonely City" to follow it ironically about social media. I personally am writing two features, one of which I am planning to shoot this year, and working with my sister on developing her sitcom. Catrina is an accomplished actress, and continues to work in the field. She is directing her first film Phoenix Rises and is in the development stages writing and pre-proing a biopic and original series.
Interview: May 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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Fade Away
A young woman facing the future entirely alone comes back to the only place she's ever felt comfortable, only to find everything different.
4:27
Directed by Elijah Senn
Produced by Catrina Dro & Elijah Senn
Written by Elijah Senn
Elijah Senn: "Elijah started his career as an editor at 17 in feature films, TV and the web; he now directs as much as possible."
Catrina Dro: "Catrina started out working as a model, yet her background was in theatre and music. She had an opportunity to come to LA for a TV pilot and has not stopped working since."
Star: Catrina Dro
Looking for producers and agency representation.
Elijah Senn is @elijahsenn on all platforms.
Catrina Del Re is @_royalmisfit_