A short film that I wrote, directed and filmed in New York while I was studying there in 2007. Inspired by a friend’s short documentary about Hikikomoris, Japanese youth that shun themselves from society. I wanted to tell a story of what would make a Hikikomori come out of their cocoon and back into the world.

I wrote the script during my first few weeks when I arrived in New York and didn’t film it until after my writing course at the New York Film Academy. When my parents came to visit me, they lugged my Sony FX1, one of the very first HD cameras in the mid 2000s for me to use and I purchased a Manfrotto Fig Rig from BandHPhoto for stabilisation.

I got great help from my fellow New York Film Academy screen writing classmates Priya, John and Ya Fang. Special thanks to Stine who took the time to produce the film for me and finding some great aspiring actors that were perfect for the roles I had in mind.

The filming went well and the only hurdle was filming in the financial district where a security guard came up to us and told us not to face the camera towards the building. Cause you know, we looked that shifty, right?

It has always been a dream to film in the Big Apple and now that I have, I can’t wait to get the chance to film there again.

Until next time,
Bernard