Vimeo Staff Pick Premiere 2020 – Uproot
A sister helps her brother grow.
Interview with Writer/Director Julia Bales
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
This film’s creation has an interesting backstory. Madelyn Wilkime, a fantastic production designer I’ve had the pleasure of working with, reached out last summer to see if she and I could collaborate on a project together. She was looking to develop a project that would highlight her work in a more stylized world and specifically "a world where plants had taken over."
As a writer, it felt a little backwards at first to come up with an idea from that prompt but turned out to be a great exercise. We went through a couple of different ideas, more sci-fi related, but eventually I pitched the idea of an agoraphobe building his own little ecosystem in his house, and then watching him leave it behind.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Inadvertently, this film has become somewhat timely. It’s about being stuck inside, scared to go outside, and feeling alone. It also deals with the dynamic of adult siblings; How even as adults you can feel powerless in your family, and how your siblings will always be connected to you.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
It’s about family, loss, sibling relationships, and re-building connections. I think a lot of people can relate to this in one way or another.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Though the film is pretty much word-for-word whats on the page, our cast really helped to shape this film’s narrative. Joey and Ptolemy brought amazing reverence to their roles that made the film much heavier than I imagined when writing it, and for which I am so grateful to them. It was also great to see how the look of the film evolved as my DP, Luc Delamare, and I sat down in the space to create our shot list.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
This is our big premiere on Vimeo so we’re excited to see what people think. We’re very happy that Vimeo enjoyed our film enough to Staff Pick Premiere it.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’ve always loved the curation at We Are Moving Stories and it’s exciting to be able to have something to share with the community here, that I’ve loved following.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope positive! If it makes someone call their sibling and check on them, I’d be happy.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Less of a question, but it’s surreal to me that we shot this in early October of 2019, and it feels super relevant for where we are in early 2020.
Would you like to add anything else?
Very excited to finally be able to share this!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Quarantine Edition!
Julia Bales is currently writing another short film to shoot post-quarantine (hopefully) as well as in development for a young adult fantasy novel adaptation.
Tim Wilkime is currently writing a feature film and spending his quarantine shooting short films with Madelyn.
Madelyn Wilkime is currently brushing up on her Sketchup and drawing skills, focusing on her newly added garden and using her quarantine to update her reel and website with her newest projects over the last few months.
Luc Delamare is temporarily transitioning to VR cinematography and is currently working on an entirely CGI music video.
Interview: April 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
Uproot
A sister helps her brother grow.
Length: 9:41
Director: Julia Bales
Producer: Tim Wilkime
Writer: Julia Bales
About the writer, director and producer:
JULIA BALES is a writer/director based in Los Angeles. Her short films have played at various festivals throughout the country and online.
TIM WILKIME is a SXSW award-winning director that has recently worked on The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS) and Adam Ruins Everything (TruTV).
Key cast: Joey Ally (Nina), Ptolemy Slocum (Greg), Randall Crane (Tyler), Wallis Barton (Brandy)
Looking for: journalists, film festival directors
Twitter: @juliabailz
Instagram: @julia1sabella
Hashtags used: #stuckinside #plant #staffpickpremiere #drama #comedy #siblings #
Website: www.julia-bales.com
Funders: Tim & Madelyn Wilkime
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Vimeo.com!