A raw, compelling glimpse into a young man's ill-conceived scheme to redeem himself in the eyes of his ex-girlfriend, from the director of "Heart of Now" (click 'HD Trailer' above for a preview of "Heart of Now", a new feature film by Sabi Pictures).
Sabi Pictures presents the breakout performances of John T. Woods and Marion Kerr in this compelling and raw glimpse into a young man's charmingly ill-conceived scheme to redeem himself in the eyes of his ex-girlfriend. As sincere and heartfelt as it is hilarious, Ain't It Cool News has hailed it as "Brilliant" while Rogue Cinema praised the film as "...a beautiful little movie...funny and touching...". Zak Forsman's directorial debut is an assured, emotionally-charged work with highly authentic performances and gorgeous compositions.
Directed by
Zak Forsman
Written by
Marion Kerr …screenstory
John T. Woods …screenstory
Zak Forsman …screenstory
Production Company
Sabi Pictures
Cast
John T. Woods …Ron
Marion Kerr …Carol
Crew
Zak Forsman …Director
Jamie Cobb …co-producer
Matt Garrett …Cinematographer
Addison Brock III …Cinematographer
Renée Day …Editor
Zach Seivers …Sound Designer
Production Notes
AWARDS
Audience Award - Fear No Film Festival
Audience Award - Sacramento Film & Music Festival
Programming Director's Prize - Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles
Grand jury honorable Mention - Fear No Film Festival
To unify the form of this piece with its improvised content, the camerawork needed to read as equally spontaneous as the actors’ performances. A key technique to infuse a unique visual aesthetic resulted in the momentary misframings and over-corrections we were looking for – like a panicked cameraman struggling to keep up with the unfolding story. We made use of existing and supplemented color palettes to contrast the appearance of each character’s world – Carol’s being more balanced but lacking in intensity, and Ron’s being largely out of balance and over the top.
Director's Statement
On ‘IFHY’ we had the opportunity to take some of Sabi Pictures' evolving principles and experiment with them. Myself, Marion and John met on two occasions to discuss character and story. They came with an idea for a very specific scene. I came with a scenario that helped put their scene (which became our ending) within a context. The pairing of the two “half-ideas” formed a structured whole. During our second meeting, John and Marion worked through possible motivation, intentions and objectives for their characters. I sat back and listened, taking note of what aspects of this story and their characters were the most compelling and appealing to them.
Character was explored and discussed until the story emerged. No actual screenplay was written, no storyboards drawn up – the experiment was to see what would happen if we instilled “radical collaboration” to the extent that the actors, director, sound and camera were mindfully attentive to the present moment; improvising to serve the story, allowing the scenes to evolve organically by following them to their natural conclusion.
‘IFHY’ is a small film about unremarkable people. It has garnered much praise and I am humbled by the kind words our audience has used to describe it.
Filmmaker Biograpy
Zak Forsman is an American independent filmmaker whose emotionally-charged work is known for highly authentic performances and beautiful compositions. His stories often depict compelling human threads in a poetic and minimalist style.