KEEP MOVING, 17min., USA
Directed by Colin Harabedian
a journey through grief

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU-VlgKN8Bh2UQbAPnpo6xw

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I think there are quite a few different motivations for this film. In September of 2021, my aunt passed away very suddenly. It shocked our family and was a very strange time for all of us. We had not all been together since pre-pandemic, so we hadn't gotten to be very close in quite sometime. It was a very strange way to get the family back together, but all acted as a way for us to reconned and restrengthen us as a group. It was also at this time I was rehearsing for a show, and had to be away from a while to attend the funeral. It reminded me how a lot of the deaths I have experienced have overlapped with times in my dance career, and how we as artists have to cope while also having to perform and manage our emotions. All of this reminded me of the 5 stages of grief, and how we experience loss. I thought about how to express this idea, and rather than do a very direct interpretation of this idea with one person going through the stages, I wanted to make the story bigger, feel real, and have multiple characters focusing on a specific emotional aspect of grieving and implement the idea that we are all going through something and that universal experience can connect us as people. While it can be very abstract and symbolic, I also wanted it to be grounded enough that there anyone can understand it and resonate with it in their own way. To me this film is an ode to why I love dance, and the power that it has as a storytelling device.

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

From idea to finished product it was from December 2022 to May of 2023. December and January were preproduction and February through may was rehearsals, production and shooting days. So most of the production was comprised in about 14 weeks, but as a whole was about a 6 month process.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?\
Two words: cathartic, hopeful

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The biggest obstacle was filming out in the desert for the first section. The average temperature was about 100ºF (37.7ºC) , with the high being 105ºF,(40ºC) so we had to plan very strategically around the day and with how we prepped to make sure we could do this safely for the cast and crew, and maximize the time we were out there as much as we could knowing we did not have a lot of time to secure what we needed. Being on location also meant we really couldn't go back and reshoot anything so we had to make sure we were very confident and happy with what we got.

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

I was very nervous, because I wasn't sure how people would take to it. When we were making it initially it was very different and a big risk. But it was a very exciting experience to hear other creative people talk about what so much of the cast and crew spent so much time on, and how it made them feel. To know that other people have watched this short film also brings a great deal of validation and gratitude and as sense of connection to other dancers and filmmakers that are also doing the same kind of work.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

I was always really inspired by dancers on youtube, and the concept videos that dancers would make for their work. So that always inspired me as something that I wanted to do. But I don't think until a few years ago I really felt like I could do it as a career and as an extension of my dance career.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
I think the film I have seen the most is the first Spider-Man (2002) movie. I used to always watch it as a kid, and hearing the soundtrack brings back so many feelings when I listen to it.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

I think continuing being able to open festivals to all genres, and have public screenings to have the filmmaking community be able to come together and make connections.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
So far they have been very good. Everyone communicates well and they system if very easy to use

10. What is your favorite meal?

Ramen

11. What is next for you? A new film?
Next I want to continue directing and choreographing for stage or film, and try to do more creative directing in TV and film, while also producing independent projects like this one.