HollyShorts 2018 - Every Other Weekend
Gripped by a self-destructive personality, a divorced mother attempts to teach her children valuable life skills, but instead becomes a liability they must survive.
Interview with Writer/Director Josh Victor Rothstein
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I have always aspired to make a film that touches upon the turbulent years of my childhood growing up between two drastically different worlds. However, I could never quite pull the trigger on executing a story. Perhaps it had all always felt too close to home. But, after working on the set of the Greatest Showman – shooting documentary promos for the movie musical – I was inspired the bravery of the filmmaking that I witnessed first hand. I had the unique privilege to get to know the incredibly talented Keala Settle. After the film wrapped, I decided to approach her about the prospective of writing something for her. To my surprise and delight, she expressed an interest in acting in a drama to show off her acting chops. So, I bunkered down with my collaborator and co-writer Candace Little, and together, we crafted a story based hinging on our joint experiences growing up with both complicated and intense relationships with our parents.
The end product is "Every Other Weekend", which is a film that is very much inspired by my childhood experiences. However, the characters and story lines are shifted and re-imagined in such a way that it does not feel overly personal to me. This was a perfect balance for me to sink my teeth into as a director, as I felt close to the material but still distant enough that I felt objective about pursuing the best choices possible.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you have ever been a child or a parent, this film is for you! Ultimately, if you ever had a complicated relationship with a family member or loved one then this film is worth watching (which I suspect is a fairly larger percentage of the audience). We certainly do not sugar-coat anything in this raw style of filmmaking – the subject matter is heavy but there are no cheap shots here in this film either. In the end, this is a film that audiences have enjoyed because it has depth and layers to the story and characters. Our hope is that it will touch you personally and that you will walk away feeling inspired and actively reflecting back on some of your own interpersonal relationships in your family.
This was possible along with very talented young actors, and the film star Keala Settle, who many know as the bearded lady from the musical The Greatest Showman. In addition to Keala's beautiful singing scene in our short film, audiences will be thrilled by seeing Keala's powerful dramatic acting abilities on full display.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
This film is highly personal as it taps directly into my childhood experiences. However, the universal story and theme here is simply about family members who want to connect with each other but just can't. Unfortunately, many of us can certainly relate to that common phenomena with family members. Additionally, there is a universal and very relatable theme in the film about simply wanting to be seen for who we really are. This is true of all three of the characters in our film and again, I suspect many audiences members strive to be seen for their true selves as well.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The beats of this story are non-fiction so the themes have been around for a long time, waiting to be crafted into a story. In turn, the actual script, once we jumped in, was written extremely quickly (over the course of 2 weeks). Through the course of development and production the story evolved from being a story that was very personal to me, to a story that feels completely unique to the characters of the film. In the end, this has been a very good thing, as I feel proud of the fact that I was able to use my personal experiences as inspiration to birth powerful characters and story lines.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
People are very impressed with the acting and production value, which we are very pleased to hear. Audiences have mentioned that despite the intensity and misguided nature of some of our characters, they find the film's overall message to be positive and with a spirit of redemption.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Receiving this feedback has been validating and reassuring that the underlying message of the film is coming through, and so that's very gratifying.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
My goal is to gain exposure as a narrative filmmaker and writer.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Any and all of the above! I'm open to meet new people who champion the style of filmmaking that I make. We are currently writing a feature length version of this story so I would be interested in meeting individuals who could see the potential for expanding this short into a longer form piece.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like the audience to feel as though they are seeing a very honest and raw style of filmmaking that is unique, and ultimately, a heartfelt and honest portrayal of characters and family dynamics.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
As parents, although we want our children to follow our advice and our direction – what's the best way to go about this?
Would you like to add anything else?
Thanks for the opportunity to have more attention on our short film!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are currently writing a feature length version of this story so I would be interested in meeting individuals who could see the potential for expanding this short into a longer form piece.
Interview: August 2018
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
EVERY OTHER WEEKEND
Gripped by a self-destructive personality, a divorced mother attempts to teach her children valuable life skills, but instead becomes a liability they must survive.
Length: 19 minutes
Director: Josh Victor Rothstein
Producer: Schuyler Weiss and Carlos Zozaya
Writer: Josh Victor Rothstein and Candace Little
Key cast: Keala Settle, Angelina Palma, Julian Lerner
Looking for: producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists, but mostly sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors.
Facebook: EOWMovie
Twitter: @EOWMovie
Instagram: @eowmovie AND @josh_rothstein
Other: http://www.joshrothstein.com/Eowmovie.html
Funders: Executive Producers Michael D. Grabow, Fran Grabow and Blake E. Swerdloff
Made in association with: Joshua Strauss, David Weinstein, Sonia Brown, Matthew Eisendrath and Cameron Connors
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? We are currently looking for distributors. However, audiences should feel free to request a viewing by writing me an email at info@joshrothstein.com.