Fantastic Fest / New Orleans Film Festival 2019 – In Full Bloom
The surreal manifestation of a black hole within her home impels an agoraphobic widow to make a difficult choice.
Interview with Writer/Director Maegan Houang
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I made In Full Bloom to try to encapsulate my own feelings surrounding losing someone I cared deeply about. Even though the story is told in a surreal and fantastic fashion, I still wanted it to be emotionally grounded.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
In Full Bloom features no dialogue, stop motion animation and practical effects. If those things interest you, in addition to a moving story about an older woman grappling with the loss of her husband, then I would recommend the film to you.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I tried to tie the universal theme -- grief & loss -- into the main character's personal story. At the end of the film, I wanted to pose the question: how do we move on from losing the person we love? Is there a right choice?
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The biggest changes the film faced were budgetary. I re-wrote the script over 10 times leading up to production to re-write the SFX scenes in a way that we could feasibly do within our budget. The goal was to avoid CGI because it was cost-prohibitive to get the correct aesthetic. That meant that we needed to achieve all our effects practically and rely only on VFX compositing in post.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
A lot of people who have experienced some kind of devastating loss have told me the film really works for them, which is the biggest compliment I could receive. People have had a lot of different interpretations of the film which I love. I personally enjoy films that aren't exactly about one neat thing and I'm glad that people are able to get different experiences from it.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
More than anything, the feedback has deepened my point of view and allowed me to see all the different ways the film can have meaning for others.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope this film helps people struggling with grief feel recognized.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Would you make the same choice as Cecile?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm hoping to make another short film next year about how a mother copes with climate change. I'm also currently working on a new TV show as a story editor that is not yet announced.
Interview: September 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
In Full Bloom
The surreal manifestation of a black hole within her home impels an agoraphobic widow to make a difficult choice.
Length: 10:49
Director: Maegan Houang
Producer: John J. Lozada, Vanessa Elliott
Writer: Maegan Houang
About the writer, director and producer:
MAEGAN HOUANG is a writer/director based in Los Angeles. She recently finished working on the Starz show Counterpart as a staff writer on Season Two. Maegan has also directed several acclaimed music videos for artists such as Mitski, Charly Bliss, Chastity Belt and Skylar Spence. Her short film In Full Bloom starring Kieu Chinh (The Joy Luck Club) recently premiered on Short of the Week.
Key cast: Kieu Chinh (Cecile)
Twitter: @houangm
Hashtags used: #infullbloom
Website: ifbfilm.com
Funders: VSCO Voices Creator Grant
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Fantastic Fest, Austin, Date TBD; New Orleans Film Festival, Sunday, October 20 9:00 PM CAC Ranch Theater, Wednesday, October 23 - 1:15 PM - CAC Ranch Theater.