Trapped in an abusive home, a housewife must decide whether or not to protect herself, and more importantly her children.

Interview with Writer/Director Nick Stellon

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

The inspiration for my film was fear. It was written with the genre of Horror in mind for a reason because when I kept researching cases of domestic violence in families, that’s all I could think of. Having that in mind, and wanting to create this world of tension and constant anxiety was something that I tried to translate from the script into every aspect of our production.

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

This isn't a happy film. It's uncomfortable. It's a stressful ten-minute experience, but those ten minutes are just a glimpse into what a life under these conditions is. As an audience member, that glimpse could give you a whole new perspective on the issue of domestic violence.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Home is the story of a nightmare situation. It is a situation we never want to think about, yet it happens every day in the places you'd never expect. It's been our goal to tell a story that not everyone has experienced, but anyone can empathize with, and I think that we really were able to accomplish that.

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

The script itself took many forms during the pre-production of the film. The journey from a script tiny in size, to a film way too large to produce on our budget, to the perfect size it ended up at was an extremely collaborative process that was supported by the incredible faculty and students at The University of Alabama. Because it had gone through such intense workshopping, I was confident that every word had its place in the final film.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

The feedback we've gotten so far has been great. Hearing from people who were involved from the very first draft of the script to hearing from people who'd never heard of the film before seeing it has really given a great range of insight.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

It's been interesting to see what small pieces different people have taken from the film. Having it seen by so many different kinds of viewers has really been a great learning experience, and We've taken away new things from the film itself after hearing what others think.

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

This is a great opportunity to showcase a topic that is often discussed, yet never seen. I think that our film tries to get into the details of abuse in a new, tense way, and having this visibility on wearemovingstories.com will allow new viewers to see that too.

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

My hope with this film has been from the start to make people feel uncomfortable. It’s easy to take on such a big topic as domestic violence and get across that it’s an issue, but to really make someone squirm, or hate a character deeply, or feel panicked as to what’s going to happen next, I think that’s one of the things that film can do best. If I could invoke that visceral of a reaction, even into just one person, then I’d know I did my job.

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

I think that the central question from the outset of this film has always been, what would you do to protect your children? It's a question you never want to ask, but one so many people have to.

Would you like to add anything else?

The biggest lesson I learned from this process has been to tell anyone who’ll listen about what your vision is, and then to trust that they’ll make it happen. The students at The University of Alabama that were on this project are without a doubt much better filmmakers than I am. All it took was me telling them what I pictured, and they did everything in their power to make it happen. From DP to Production Design to a PA spraying a hose in the freezing cold to make rain, this was the most collaborative experience of my life, and that’s something I’m extremely grateful for.

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

The writer and director Nick Stellon will be teaming up with Director of Photography Reagan Wells on a new film produced at The University of Alabama this fall.

Interview: June 2018

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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

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Home

Trapped in an abusive home, a housewife must decide whether or not to protect herself, and more importantly her children.

Length: 10 min

Director: Nick Stellon

Producer: Megan Farrell

Writer: Nick Stellon

About the writer, director and producer:

Nick Stellon is a writer and director currently studying at the University of Alabama who one day hopes to write and direct feature films.

Megan Farrell is a producer and director studying at the University of Alabama who has worked on numerous student productions, including her own film, The Bunny

Key cast: Hannah Manning, Brandon Barranco

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

Social media handles:

Facebook: Home, a short film (https://www.facebook.com/Home-a-short-film-378351662597072/)

Made in association with: The University of Alabama

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

The film is being submitted to countless festivals across the country to be featured this coming fall. After a festival run, it will be released online, which you can see on our facebook page.