Interview with director David Holechek (CRADLE)

Short Film played at the June 2017 Sci-Fi FEEDBACK Film Festival in Los Angeles.

WINNER of BEST FILM at the festival.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

David Holechek: Short films are an amazing way to push yourself creatively and to venture into new territory as a filmmaker and ‘Cradle’ provided a great opportunity to try something truly different. Jake Hart wrote the script and had been living with this concept for years and the complexity and nuance of the story was something that excited me and made me want to pursue the project. It’s rare to work on a film where so much of the action and complex plot happen off screen or are presented to the audience but not fully explained. The world and rules in Jake’s script were so detailed and the challenge for us was to present all of these big ideas in a visually comprehensible way. We wanted to withhold information and keep people guessing but also wanted to give them enough to stick with us until the end. In short, it presented a creative challenge that was a bit new for me so I wanted to take it on and bring this fun, complex, weird sci fi tale to life.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

Well, the idea had been with Jake for a long time but I was pitched the project just a couple weeks from when we started production. For me, from the first time I heard the idea to the completion of the film was about 4 months of sporadic work.

How would you describe your short film in two words!

Mind games.

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

We had completely wrecked a good friend’s converted attic space to use as the location for the film. After two long, hard days of filming we had to pick up our mess…that was not fun.

What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

5. I’m always interested to hear if an audience generally “gets” what the film is trying to do and am relieved when the connection is made. Was really nice of the festival to provide the opportunity to hear what people took from it.

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video of the short film:

How did you come up with the idea for this short film?

Jake Hart, the writer, has had the basic idea for a long time, since childhood I believe. He was challenged by the filmmaking group Dare:LA to write a film that featured many moments but in one location and that inspired him to craft his time-jumping idea into ‘Cradle’.

What film have you seen the most in your life?

Probably either The Two Towers, the 1989 Batman or Return of the Jedi.

What song have you listened to the most times in your life?

That’s a tough one. Either an R&B track from the early 90’s or an emo song from the mid-00’s. Not sure I’d admit to any one particular song though 🙂

What is next for you? A new film?

I run a production company called Duality Filmworks with my twin brother Daniel Holechek so we’re always pretty busy with television and film projects. Currently developing a biopic feature film and am waiting for Jake to finish the feature version of ‘Cradle’!