Nevada Women's Film Festival / Film Invasion LA 2020 – Possibilities
Immediately after his dog dies, Dennis goes on a tinder date thinking it will make him feel better. He is wrong.
Interview with Writer /Director/Editor Charlotte Barrett and Sean Fallon
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
SEAN: Thank you. The idea for Possibilities started while we were screening our previous film at film festivals. That movie, A Bad Feeling, was also a comedy about grief. It was about a couple who attend their local comic con the day after suffering a miscarriage. Which is a terrible idea. Do not attend a comic con the day after suffering a miscarriage, but the couple in the film didn’t know any better. That film was inspired by our experience with miscarriage and the ridiculous things we did in order to avoid our grief. When screening the movie at festivals audience members would talk to us afterwards about their grief. It was fascinating. It was emotional. It was beautiful. And it made us want to further explore this topic.
CHARLOTTE: I got pregnant while making A Bad Feeling. Making that film was a healing experience. In exploring our miscarriages and creating art about it, I became pregnant. But during the pregnancy, our dog died. So we were finally having a baby, but our dog passed away. And we plunged back into grief. Part of our filmmaking process is exploring our emotions through our art and here we are. A comedy about a dog dying. But it happens before the movie begins. So there are no dead dogs in the movie.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
SEAN: Audiences should watch Possibilities because it’s funny. And who doesn’t need a laugh right now? But in addition to being funny, Possibilities is about grief. It’s about what we do when we’re feeling an overwhelming sense of grief. What do we do? How do we heal? How do we move forward? These are always important issues, but it feels especially so in times like these when we’re all grieving and unsure what to do. But most importantly the movie is funny.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
SEAN: Well everyone grieves. Everyone gets sad. Everyone can relate to our lead character. They might cringe at the choices he makes, but they can recognize themselves in what he does.
CHARLOTTE: What truly excited us about the film was how his choice to go on a tinder date after his dog died and force his grief on an unsuspected woman allowed us to explore topics such as sexism, community, and unconscious bias.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
CHARLOTTE: The film originally had much more of a downer ending. There’s no way to avoid your grief. You have to deal with it. And the movie ended with our lead character alone with that realization. And we felt like we had seen that ending a million times. Especially in an indie movie. Sad guy alone staring at the water. We get it. So the biggest evolution was in figuring out what happens next.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
CHARLOTTE: Overall it’s been very positive. People laugh and some have cried. We did not expect that.
SEAN: It’s been great! The film has started a lot of discussions, some of them heated and it’s been a lot of fun! That’s what it’s all about. We’ve had fun debating the characters' choices.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
SEAN: Yes. It’s important to seek out feedback that doesn’t just reinforce the way you already feel. However, I am always surprised when someone likes a movie we make and I’m surprised when someone doesn’t like our movies. So I guess I’m just easy to surprise.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
CHARLOTTE: An opportunity to connect with other filmmakers and film fans who are interested in these types of films.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
CHARLOTTE: Film Festival directors, journalists, and producers. Due to music licensing we’re not interested in selling the short, but we want it to be seen at film festivals.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
CHARLOTTE: Well we hope everyone likes it. But more importantly, we hope they have an emotional reaction. Good or bad. It doesn’t matter. Obviously, we would hope it’s good, but an emotional reaction to a piece of art means that the art had an impact. The worse thing would be for the film to be forgettable and cause no reaction.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
SEAN: The question that seems to set off every conversation is “what did you think of Lola?” and then the debate begins. (We like Lola, FYI).
Would you like to add anything else?
Hi Mom. Hi Dad.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We’re finishing editing a terrific short film called Psychosis in Venice that is written, directed and starring Elizabeth Masucci. Before COVID-19, we had just started pre-production on our next feature called Grasping at Straws. It actually took its inspiration from Lola, the female lead in Possibilities. We’re still working on it, but as for shooting or any other details, like everything else, it is on hold. Also, our first feature film, Virgin Alexander, will be available to stream on Amazon prime very soon. Maybe by the time you are reading this.
Interview: June 2020
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
Possibilities
Immediately after his dog dies, Dennis goes on a tinder date thinking it will make him feel better. He is wrong.
Length: 11:30
Director: Charlotte Barrett & Sean Fallon
Producer: Will Halley & Caitlin Crommett
Writer: Charlotte Barrett & Sean Fallon
About the writer, director and producer:
CHARLOTTE BARRETT and SEAN FALLON hail from Henderson, Nevada. They have been writing, directing and editing movies together since they met in their first film class at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Their last film, A Bad Feeling, a comedy about miscarriage and Star Wars starred Lily Rabe, Eric Ladin and Robert Picardo. Their first feature, Virgin Alexander, won awards from film festivals across the country.
WILL HALLEY is a producer with Don’t Panic Films. In addition to Possibilities, he produced the short film, A Bad Feeling starring Lily Rabe and Eric Ladin. His past work in advertising includes serving as Video Production Manager for the Air Force Reserve’s agency of record. There he produced a variety of video content across multiple platforms; working with such talent as Tim McGraw, Astronaut Leland Melvin, Chris Tucker and Gabriel Iglesias.
At age 15 CAITLIN CROMMETT became the founder and CEO of the nation nonprofit DreamCatchers Foundation whose purpose is to fulfill the finals dreams of hospice patients and terminally ill patients with less than six months to live. It has since grown to over 30 chapters across the US. She is the author of the book, Millennials, and was named one of the Top Outstanding Young Americans in 2017.
Key cast: Patrick Zeller (Dennis), Michelle LaRue (Lola), Rusty Meyers (Ken the Boom Operator)
Looking for: journalists, film festival directors, producers
Hashtags used: #PossibilitiesFilm
Website: www.dontpanicfilms.net
Other: Vimeo
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Film Invasion LA - Los Angeles & Online - June 8-18; Nevada Women's Film Festival/Las Vegas & Online - June 25-28; Manhattan Film Festival/New York, NY - August 28.