GenreBlast / Austin Revolution Film Festival / FilmQuest 2019 – Boo
A traumatic event forces a recovering addict to face her demons, without her worried fiancé uncovering the truth.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer/Actor Rakefet Abergel
Watch Boo here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
After the success of my short film, Jax in Love which I wrote and produced, I wanted to make another film right away! This time, besides writing and producing, I decided to also take on the challenge of directing. Boo was based on a story that my boyfriend (boo) at the time told me and I was inspired to write something about addiction because it's an issue that many people close to me have been affected by.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Boo is a story about a recovering addict having a very hard night and the choice she’s forced to make between who she loves and what she loves. It's dramatic, suspenseful, and even comedic at times and it's a really enjoyable ride!
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Horror is a fitting genre to explore the universal themes of struggle, pain, and love. Addiction is a serious illness, and although we explore it in a creative way, I wanted to treat it with the gravity and respect the topic deserves. I’ve been close to many people struggling with addiction. In sobriety meetings, they talk about the inner “addict” and I always wondered how that would physically manifest itself. What does the “addict” look like? What does it want? What lengths will it go to get what it wants? What choices will it make?
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
It all happened really quickly, actually. I started working on the script about a year before the shoot. My good friend Tiffany Kiely helped bounce around story ideas with me and I got a lot of my writer friends to give me some great notes. Then I submitted the script to about 15 or so festivals to see if it was well-received, which it was! It got into all but two and was nominated for Best Short Script at Nightmares Film Festival and Women in Horror Film Festival. It took home an Honorable Mention at WIHFF and also won Best Short Script at Vancouver BadAss Film Festival. From when we started pre-production to when we were finished it took about six months. Post-production was only six weeks because I had a bunch of festival deadlines I didn't want to miss. I thought maybe we rushed it, but I think it's working out okay!
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We have had an immensely positive reception with audiences, festivals, critics, and friends. I couldn't be more proud of anything and I am truly honored that so many people have responded to it with so much love.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I never really saw myself as a filmmaker, since I primarily worked as an actor before this. It's been really different to be viewed as a writer/director with something to say. It's encouraging and scary at the same time!
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I'm hoping to spread the word about our screenings and get as many people to see the film as possible. I'd also like to reach production companies and people who would be interested in developing either of my shorts into tv series or features, as well as to work with on projects they already have. I have lots of ideas and I'm ready to work!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I would love to hear from anyone that is interested in seeing the film or selling the film or developing it into a different format. I'm open to hearing from sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists, and even fans who want to let me know how they liked it!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would love for the film to increase awareness about the feelings behind addiction. Although we have a little fun with it, its a serious problem and something that I think is misunderstood a lot. I also want to increase the visibility and opportunity for women filmmakers and women in the film and tv industry in general. I hope by being a woman who creates good content, hires talented women, and champions other female filmmakers, I can do my part to further our proliferation within the industry.
I’m really proud that both our cast and crew were made up of over 50% of women! Being a female filmmaker and a woman creating within the horror genre, I believe we have a responsibility to increase visibility and job opportunities for women and minorities, as well as to introduce new types of leading ladies to the screen. Women come in all shapes, sizes, and colors and we should be representing them all if we can. We touch on this a lot in our behind the scenes documentary.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
My hope is that audiences enjoy it not only as a horror film with a supernatural twist but also makes them question the parts of themselves they try to hide and why. We all have an addict inside us. What does yours want?
Would you like to add anything else?
I'm so thankful to the fans, friends, festivals, journalists, and to my family for all their support during this very exciting journey!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm currently working on two feature scripts. One is a supernatural horror called New Mom. The other is a black mirror-esque story about a suicidal rape survivor. I'm also working on some other ideas for features and hoping to continue developing Jax in Love into a series for television.
Interview: August 2019
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
Boo
A traumatic event forces a recovering addict to face her demons, without her worried fiancé uncovering the truth.
Length: 15:00
Director: Rakefet Abergel
Producer: Rakefet Abergel & Marshall Langohr
Writer: Rakefet Abergel
About the writer, director and producer:
RAKEFET ABERGEL is an award-winning American/Israeli actor, writer, director, and producer. Boo, which she wrote, produced, and starred in, is also her directorial debut. Rakefet’s first film, the award-winning horror/thriller short, Jax in Love, garnered Abergel ten Best Actress awards from festivals worldwide, as well as over 30 other awards. She works as an acting coach/mentor for kids and adults at Kid (F)Actor, a company she founded in 2010. Boo is the second production from Rakefet’s Cyclamen Films. She’s represented across the board at Bohemia Group in LA and New York.
MARSHALL LANGOHR is a Northwest-bred, Los Angeles based high school drop out, and Seahawks fan. When he's not experimenting with how to best live his life he can be found doing any number of things. The question isn't what he is doing. The question is: what isn't he doing? www.marshall-langohr.com
Key cast: Rakefet Abergel (Devi), Josh Kelly (Jared), Parisa Fitz-Henley (Ava), Laura Slade Wiggins (Grace), Michael Villar (Chris)
Looking for: distributors, journalists, film festival directors, producers, buyers, sales agents
Facebook: Cyclamen Films; Rakefet Abergel
Twitter: @CyclamenFilms; @rakefet27
Instagram: @cyclamenfilms; @kef827
Hashtags used: #booshortfilm #womeninfilm #womeninhorror #horrorfan #femaledirector
Website: www.cyclamenfilms.com
Other: IMDb
Funders: Seed & Spark
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? HollyShorts Film Festival/LA, CA - August 15, 2019 - 10pm; Southern Shorts Awards/Roswell, GA -August 17, 2019 - 2pm - 8pm; *3 Nominations - Best Horror, Best Actress, Best MakeupFX; Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival/ Buffalo, NY. -August 27, 2019 - 4:45pm; Cindependent Film Festival/Cincinnati, OH - August 30, 2019 - 10pm; *Nominated Best Off-Kilter Short; GenreBlast Film Festival/Winchester, VA - August 31, 2019 - 3:05pm; *3 Nominations - Best Actress, Best Film, Best Director; Reels of the Dead: DotD Red Track/Louisville, KY - August 30, 2019 -10:30pm; DragonCon Film Festival/Atlanta, GA - September 1, 2019 - 11:30pm; Austin Revolution Film Festival/Austin, TX - September 7, 2019 - 5pm; *5 Nominations - Best Female Filmmaker, Best Actor/Director, Best U.S. Genre Short, Best Women in Horror, Best Genre Filmmaker; FilmQuest/Provo, UT - September 12, 2019 - 8pm; Detroit SheTown Film Festival/Detroit, MI - September 13, 2019 - 9:30pm (Friday the 13th!); NOLA Horror Film Festival/New Orleans, LA - September 26-29, 2019 - TBD; Hot Springs Horror Film Festival/Hot Springs, AR - September 26-29, 2019 - TBD; Rendezvous Film Festival - September 26-29, 2019 - TBD.