Focus on AFI Conservatory - The Hideaway
After hearing rumor that her mother is a stripper, 14-year old Nika becomes determined to discover the truth, unknowingly crossing the threshold into adulthood.
Interview with Writer/Director Jane Stephens Rosenthal
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
As an artist, I am so curious about the inbetween moments of our lives, the little things that make them up, the small moments that we don't necessarily see but changes everything. I am also obsessed with womanhood and what it means to be an adult, and in many ways how to make sense of what it means to be a woman, and I thought the Hideaway was a perfect place to try to dig in to all the pain and contradictions of being female. The desire to grow up and be in the body, the power we can have, the ownership that so often one might feel they don't have or can't have, and also the fear of it.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
For me I like films that make me turn inwards and think about my life, and I think this is a very powerful film about the moment in which childhood is stripped away and one finds themselves standing right there at the door of adulthood and it is never quite what you thought it would be, and also the painful and empowering moment when we get to see our parents are actually just human.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I work a lot with emotion and longing and desire, and I think those things universally all make up being human. I found childhood and teenagedom quite uncomfortable and painful and I often wish I had someone to say "hey it's all going to be okay" and I hope this film soothes that child that still exists in each of us and let's us breathe and let go a little bit.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script changed a lot over the 6 months it was worked on. At first it was very long, it was much more a story about Nika versus the world, but as we came closer to shooting and the realities of making a short film, the film shrunk to be about a very fraught and tender relationship between mother and daughter. The desire for the two to connect and the frustration and jealousy and then the ultimate getting to know each other now, in the present.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
People have really responded to the film. To the longing, to the mother daughter relationship, to the complexities of being a woman. I've been very pleased that the film is translating to people on all different levels.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
People's reactions have been so beautifully in line with what we set out to do.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Being an artist is hard and getting your work out in the world even harder, it is nice to feel that there is a space that champions the art and artists working today.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Sales agents! Buyers! Distributors! Film Festival Directors! Journalists! But most of all we just want our film about growing up seen in the world.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I always want someone to pause and turn into themselves after the film, and maybe to text their parent and say "thank you."
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Do you remember the moment you grew up?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Right now, Jane is working on finding her first feature, and putting a poetry book together.
Interview: July 2021
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
The Hideaway
Length:
14:55
Writer/Director
JANE STEPHENS ROSENTHAL has been a writer and a published poet for as long as she could write. In 2017 she worked with Yuval Sharon and the Industry to write the mobile opera HOPSCOTCH, her work was described as a "lush, spiritual melancholy." Her first film as writer/director NO ONE EVER SAID premiered at Hollyshorts . She wrote and directed THE HIDEAWAY for the AFI based on a story by her dear friend Anthony Sneed. She is currently working on a feature film based around the competitive tennis world, growing up, and sexuality.
Producer
Ross O'Shea and Katie Paczynska
Key cast:
EVee White (Nika), Scottie Thompson (Chrissy), Lance Guest (Mike)
Looking for:
film festival directors, distributors, buyers
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thehideawayfilm
Made in association with:
AFI Conservatory
Where can I watch it?
You can watch online - September 17th -26th for the Catalina Film Festival, or view in person, screening to be TBD.