Three unlikely travelers band together to survive the harsh realities of a post-war world.

Interview with Director/Writer Zenon Samuels

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Survive was motivated by the current political climate of the United States, with the aim to create a talking point to bring about positive change. Myself and many of the cast and crew are immigrants and children of immigrants living in the US. With concerns regarding the increasing divisive rhetoric in the country, I wanted to use this film as a way of exploring those issues and asking the question “why do we vilify what we don’t understand?”

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

I think this film is very interesting, in both subject matter and overall tone, presenting a science fiction story in the shell of a social drama. I want to take audiences on a character-driven ride, throwing them into the middle of a story and watching as scenes unfold for both characters and the viewer. We open on what we can only guess are campers lost in the woods, and as tension begins to rise, the film takes some unexpected twists and turns.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

This film deals with themes of racism around refugees. As an Australian living in America it has been difficult seeing hate speech spewing across the country, prompting me to ask the questions, “why do we attack certain cultures?” and “who decides what is right or wrong?” This eventually led me to a story about survivors trying to reach the border, with characters of completely different cultures, all seeking the same thing and asking the question “why do only some have the right to survive?”

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

A previous project of mine (titled Robot) explored the notions of vilifying an enemy in war, with the main character seeing the world in black and white. Survive was the natural progression of those themes and stories. The two films serve as proof of concepts for a feature film that tackles both these issues in one – so it was a very simple task to adapt those concepts into the short film itself. Watching the events of 2017 continue to unfold, I knew the time to tell this story was now, so Survive was quite rapidly shot, cut, and is now in the process of visual effects.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

After initial screenings, the feedback so far has been positive; we’ve received praise for the performances of the leads Steve Chivers, Cait Engler and the genuine performance by our youngest cast member Hadassah Shaheen. Viewers stated they were hoping to explore further stories with these three characters, which is good to hear since that’s where the plans are headed.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

One filmmaker commented that “the film makes a statement reinforcing the themes of ‘don't judge a book by its cover.’” It is particularly rewarding to hear audiences reacting to the themes of the film in a positive way. I’m always pleasantly surprised in the way that people find their own personal meaning within the film, and especially pleased if they echo my own thoughts on the themes of the project.

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

So, our aim is to share the film around as much as possible to help reach audiences of similar interest, to help bring about a discussion on the topic of immigration and how film as an art form can be used as a way of sharing and learning. At the moment, we’ve just put a crowdfunding campaign together to help raise a bit of money to mix the sound, add some additional vfx, and get us into festivals and get the film out there.

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

Anyone and everyone! This film is a proof of concept piece that I would love to develop further and I believe with this current political climate, now is the best time to share a message that we must accept all nations and cultures.

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

If this film can bring about some form of discussion on the topics of immigration and vilifying the innocent then I’ll be pleased. If it manages to change some people’s opinion for the better, that would be even more rewarding!

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

The key question for me would be, “why do we vilify what we don’t understand?” I want this film to encourage conversation -- exploring racial tolerances in the United States and immigration across borders. This film was inspired by many of those stories, and I believe that we as filmmakers have the ability to explore and share those stories as way to bring about change in society.

Would you like to add anything else?

If you would like to participate in the completion of this project, we have recently started a crowdfunding campaign (the link can be found at www.igg.me/at/surviveshortfilm), with the aim of adding some finishing touches to the VFX, sound & music and more importantly getting people involved in the cause. You can also check us out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (below) – we’ll be sharing some cool updates with you and look forward to reaching out to communities this project will resonate with!

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

At the moment I am working on completing three short film projects – Survive, Monolith and Robot, with the hopes of turning the former two into feature films and Robot into a TV series.

Interview: September 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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Survive

Three unlikely travelers band together to survive the harsh realities of a post-war world.

Length: 10 Minutes

Director: Zenon Samuels

Producer: Mari-Liis Userdnov, Ginnie Palm

Writer: Zenon Samuels

About the writer, director and producer:

Zenon Samuels is an Australian writer, director of short films and music videos, and is also as the creator and owner of production company ZenCo. Productions.

Mari-liis Userdnov is an Estonian producer of short films and commercials currently based in Los Angeles.

Ginnie Palm is a director, producer passionate about social justice issues, her career has taken her to the UK, Egypt, & around the US.

Key cast: Steve Chivers, Cait Engler, Hadassah Shaheen

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): All of the above!

Social media handles:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/surviveshortfilm

Twitter: www.twitter.com/survivefilm

Instagram: www.instagram.com/surviveshortfilm

Other

Indiegogo: www.igg.me/at/surviveshortfilm

Website: www.zencoproductions.com/survive

Funders: Self Funded/Crowdfunded