Experiencing Interruptions?

Ambiguity

In a small southern church community, Pastor Oliver Hartwell is slowly driven to his wits end when the new Associate Pastor soon turns the church into a breeding ground for conspiracies.

  • Blake Kinsey
    Director
    The Anomaly, Word Association, Breaking and Entering, Assorted Fruits
  • Blake Kinsey
    Writer
    The Anomaly, Breaking and Entering
  • Aindrea Hopkins
    Director of Photography
  • Cassidy Burns
    Producer
    Bed n' Bloodshed
  • Larry R White
    Producer
  • Brian Plocharczyk
    Key Cast
    "Oliver Hartwell"
    Christian, Chicago Fire, Shameless, Empire
  • Mike Yow
    Key Cast
    "Gerald Nospurt"
  • Heather Johnson
    Key Cast
    "Lorraine Carlile"
    Bed n' Bloodshed
  • Sterling Hart-Peck
    Key Cast
    "Camille Hartwell"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Dark Comedy, Drama, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 6 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED Dragon 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Western Carolina University
  • Raleigh Film & Art Festival
    Raleigh, NC
    United States
    October 8, 2022
    Official Selection
  • New York Lift Off Film Festival
    New York, NY
    United States
    Official Selection
  • Rome International Film Festival
    Rome, Georgia
    United States
    November 13, 2022
    Georgia Premiere
    Official Selection
  • RoleCall Indie Showcase
    Atlanta, Georgia
    United States
    January 25, 2023
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Blake Kinsey

Blake Kinsey is a recent graduate of Western Carolina University's Film and Television Production Program. His last collaborative directorial project, The Anomaly, has received several official selections from festivals across Europe and the US. It's received recognition from several monthly & bi-monthly festivals including finalist status in Mindfield Film Festival & Cannes World Film Festival.

Blake was born and raised in the mountains of Western North Carolina and has a rich appreciation for the arts. He's just reached the end of his time in film school and has found so much new insight into the world of filmmaking. He hopes to use film as a medium to create emotional experiences, and strives to do whatever he can to share his work.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This project has been a long time in the making. I wrote the first draft something close to 3 years ago. Back then, this project felt pessimistic. It was a "gotcha" piece. I channeled my frustration with the Christian community and funneled it into a script meant solely to offend.

Later, it began to change. In a new draft, the story began evolving. Oliver Hartwell started to take shape. Though the story still felt pessimistic, it began to hold a deeper character focus rather than a clear message of hard opposition.

A year after this draft, I finally decided to drop the pessimistic nature. It didn't feel right. I still had something to say about church communities in America, but I felt I should be more thoughtful about it. And unfortunately, the past couple years presented far too much material. The frustration I felt with Christian isolation from the public health crisis and the tragedy surrounding it started to pour into the final few drafts.

With this, the best version of Ambiguity was birthed. It became a quiet, internal story of a Pastor struggling to understand the blind following of a charismatic, bumbling, pathological liar. The message is there, but it lives inside the disdain Oliver feels for the way his church is leaning.

My ultimate wish is for this film to provoke some conversation among Christian communities. At the very least, I hope it finds its way to the right audience.