Only Savages

An interplanetary mission of destruction goes wrong when two starship pilots discover their target is an inhabited planet.

  • Ben Page
    Director
  • Alexander McPherson
    Key Cast
    Legends & Lies, TURN, Finding Faith
  • Alex Miller
    Key Cast
    Point of Honor, Mercy Street, TURN
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Animated, Drama
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 15, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, 1080p, H.264
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ben Page

Ben Page is a filmmaker from Richmond, Virginia. He studied at the Zaki Gordon Center for the Cinematic Arts and currently works full time as a set lighting technician. Prior to his formal education, Ben worked as a puppeteer and a journalist.

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Director Statement

Only Savages was inspired by the Nuremberg trials that took place shortly after World War II. Many of those guilty of committing horrendous war crimes later defended themselves by insisting that they were only following orders. I wanted to ask questions like: would you obey an order you felt would harm someone else? Have you convinced yourself that anyone else is less than human? How much would you be willing to compromise your beliefs to protect someone you love? I wanted to explore these themes on a macro level in a way that only science fiction can.

The film was created in a unique puppetry process inspired by the works of Jim Henson and Gerry Anderson. I believe that puppetry is one of the most exciting methods for telling stories available to filmmakers today and that there is a myriad of artistic possibilities that still remain unexplored. My hope is that Only Savages will inspire filmmakers to tell their compelling stories on the screen using puppetry.