Experiencing Interruptions?

The Falling Star

When 14 year old Daisy stumbles upon a quirky alien prince, she must enlist his help in finding her father.

  • Darcy Thompson
    Director
  • Darcy Thompson
    Writer
  • Jeremiah O'Mahoney
    Writer
  • Nick Ransom
    Producer
  • Alex Carroll
    Key Cast
  • Mackenzie Volpert
    Key Cast
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Student, Indie
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 45 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 17, 2016
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Darcy Thompson

Darcy Thompson is a young director with three high-production quality short films under his belt. Focusing primarily on science fiction stories, Darcy is always looking for new ways to create the elements needed for his visually complex tales. An innovator and artist, his work dovetails his experience as an actor with his interest in science and storytelling.

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Director Statement

As I grow older, I begin to think more about how my relationship with my father has shaped me not just as a person but specifically as an artist. The Falling Star was born from a combination of things but many seemed to originate from my father’s influence.
My co-writer Jerry O’Mahony and I listened to copious amounts of David Bowie when writing it. I realized that my father was the one who first introduced me to the artist when I was young. The film draws from the feeling of Bowie songs listened to during this period of my life. Also feeling the loss of Bowie himself contributed to the piece.
The character of Hal is himself pulled from real history in part, as the name refers to the youth name of King Henry V of England. Of course, the characterization is more so a reference to Hal of Henry IV the plays by William Shakespeare. Within the plays, both Part I and II, Hal and his relationship with his fatherhood and the experience of growing up is a overarching theme of the piece. I remember reading and eventually seeing a recorded performance of both plays and connecting deeply to Hal through this part of his story.
The Falling Star is, at it’s core, a story about growing up. To do so, it felt necessary to pay homage to many of the classic 80s films which I grew up watching. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is clearly there throughout as inspiration but other films like Stand By Me or Home Alone had significant impact as well. The way I approached our cinematography was new for me. I am far more often a very architectural shooter, using geometry of the environment to frame weird symmetries. In that sense I tend to aspire to visual stylists like Kubrick or Lean. However, for this piece, that felt simply wrong. Instead, I opted for a much more Spielberg kind of movement. Oners which change slightly as the actors move around the space. Our lighting too was more colorful and playful and meant to invoke the feeling one would get from older cinema.
All I can say I hoped for with Falling Star was to tell a story that a me at the age of 8 would have connected with without knowing why.