One difference was Michael was a producer on the film and ran a lot of the production elements, while Will was an executive producer and helped secure financing. We sought everyone’s input and created a climate for everyone’s voice to be heard. We came up in the theatre and love that communal experience of collaboration. We both created and directed the film and were there for all parts of the filmmaking process. How did the collaboration between you two work out? We were both interested in writing about grief and wrestling with the loss in our own lives. And since we’re both writers, we would meet in the park for avocado sandwiches to volley new ideas, as writers do. We met in the most unlikely of places: an acting class in the valley. Q&A with directors Will McCormack and Michael Govier (spoilers follow) There are layers of grief and anger within the frames of this otherwise beautiful dream/nightmare. Again, I don’t want to say too much, except that the simple 2-D animation style perfectly suits the story, as it feels like a collection of drawings by someone younger than the couple in the film. The film will undoubtedly spark conversations, but the impact of watching it might delay those discussions as you gather your thoughts and emotions together. McCormack and Govier’s delicate and haunting film has undeniable power as the story shifts to flashbacks and moments of joy bring shape to the overall tragedy. Is their marriage over? What is dying between them? As they wander through their house in the following scenes and observe some dried blotches of paint on the walls and a record player on the floor that starts playing after the family cat accidentally triggers it, the story becomes clearer: They have lost someone. They do not communicate, but are isolated within their own experiences of grief as shadows of their conflict play out over them. In this case, there is something misleading about that. The film starts out with an image of a couple eating dinner at opposite ends of the table, often signifying a communication gap. McCormack and Govier’s animated short feels like a prayer, but to elaborate on that might mean spoiling part of the experience of watching the film, which builds beautifully to its central premise instead of laying it all out at the start. There is much to talk about with this film, aside from the responses. In spite of its popularity, I’m still going to proceed without divulging too much, as I originally had planned before all this happened. After watching the film, I told him I would definitely love to write about it for Ebert in December. Normally, a Netflix deal for a short film is reason enough for filmmakers to pop open the champagne. Fast-forward to November and their film now has a Netflix deal. He told me last summer about this short he and McCormack made. We worked together many years ago in a theater group called “Barrel of Monkeys” (now called “Playmaker’s Laboratory”).
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