Melting Pot

In 2014 after a lengthy struggle with dementia, my father passed away. He was a complex man, very generous, but not very emotional and amazingly awkward socially.

For the last years of his life, he lived with my family and we hired home health aides to assist. I was fascinated by the relationships he built, some positive, some not so much. For a man who accomplished much in his life, his humor was often directed from the lowest denominator, the bathroom, which he presented often to his family and aides.

His sense of humor is what I, as writer and director, built into our lead character, Stan.

This movie, though, is more than something inspired by my Dad, although much of it comes from there. This movie is about open minds, positivity, patience, acceptance, all the things that human beings must embrace if we're really going to continue to populate the great melting pot, not only in our society but also in our personal lives.

The relationships in this short are diverse and the characters are complex, but they're happy. They're ultimately kind and generous. They love each other and they embrace the differences they have and allow those differences to be a part of the fabric of the family.

The story came to me in a near dream state one evening as I was laying down, hoping to get some good REM-time preceding a long day of production. The story hit me hard, and I wanted to start writing immediately, but needed to rest. I accomplished neither, as I laid awake thinking about the ideas dancing in my mind. The story came to me quickly, and the screenplay underwent 8 different drafts once producer Greg Kraus and writer Michael Ferree came aboard. These guys are thoughtful and talented and brought much to the development of the screenplay.

The casting process was challenging, as we waited until the script was written to seek cast members. Also, we decided to film during the week, a difficult task in Ohio's rather barren independent film industry. But the team brought together four very talented actors to whom I am personally grateful beyond words for their wonderful performances.

The original score by Cut Time Music is thoughtful and helps to further define the complexity of the characters, each one with a theme that evolves along with the story.

The crew was positive and loved what they were doing, and I couldn't be more pleased with the family we built on set. We ate together, we drank together, folks stayed in our houses and when the camera was rolling, it was capturing the essence of our production as well as the action: people coming together to do something special and amazing.

My Dad always respected my leanings towards art and music and storytelling and he encouraged it. I can only hope that he's looking down from Heaven at what my new family has created. I hope he's as proud of this movie as I am.