Experiencing Interruptions?

Bowler Up!

The headstrong captain of a bowling team must defeat her ex-teammate, turned DJ of the bowling alley, in order to make the league finals. The catch? Her team’s bowling success is dependent on the music playing in the alley.

  • Hunter Hawkins
    Director
  • Hunter Hawkins
    Writer
  • Hunter Hawkins
    Producer
  • Kiara Lin
    Producer
  • Olivia Christine Smith
    Key Cast
    "Winnie"
  • Christian Haddad
    Key Cast
    "Calvin/CJ the DJ"
  • Beatrice Tolan
    Lead Animator
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short, Student, Other
  • Genres:
    comedy, musical, fantasy
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 51 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 4, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    5,600 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Hussian College
Director Biography - Hunter Hawkins

Hunter Hawkins is a Santa Barbara raised multi-disciplinary creative: a narrative-driven artist, writer, singer-songwriter, and award-winning filmmaker, with background in acting and vocal technique. Hawkins’ debut film Window (2021) garnered awards and official selections from Top Shorts Awards, Indie Short Fest, Los Angeles Student Film Festival, and International Fine Arts Film Festival. After that first taste of writing, directing, producing, editing, and scoring their own film, they soon followed up with a busy 2022 at California State University of Northridge’s Film Production program (B.A.), in tandem with heading up multiple overlapping independent projects as well as performing the occasional live show. They have since completed eleven additional short films as writer, director, and co-producer: two five-minute experimental shorts, Sisters and At Home; a Bolex-film shot music video for a track from their own musical release as an artist/singer-songwriter, Seeking Release; a CSUN CTVA 355 film, Dawn; an indie short which also features Hawkins as an actor, Jay & Ginny; an indie crowd-sourced short, Bowler Up!; directed & story-assisted a short film for Scira Studios production company, Scale the Gates; two CSUN CTVA 350 three-minute shorts, Boxed and A.W.O.L.; a live-action scene adaptation from the Pixar film WALL•E, entitled Wally & Eve; and most recently, a professionally commissioned narrative PSA for the office of CSUN President Beck, featuring Erika D. Beck, herself, entitled Welcome Back, Spring!

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Before Bowler Up, I found myself submerged in LA’s indie band culture. My friends, music, live shows, and the personalities of artists surrounding me were inspiring! My idea first came when I’d seen Christian Haddad (cast as Calvin/CJ the DJ) perform with his at the time band, and felt compelled to capture the energy of the friendships and tensions, on and off stage, between his team. He was the first person I’d expressed the idea to, and he loved it!
I felt there was a story to be told about a team’s yearning to be
understood, to be reunited by each other—and their competing desire to win.
Bowler Up, quirky and strange, has been an oddly vulnerable experience for me to share with my collaborators, from writing to post. This film is a bit of my brain turned inside out: my sense of humor, an amalgamation of parts of my life that simply interest me. The critic in me felt the idea was too silly to be made, however, I was pleasantly surprised by how well received it was. From concept, to the cutting room, Bowler Up has proven to me that moving towards exactly what interests me, regardless of others’ opinion, will bring out an essential authenticity that leads me to make better films—original stories that I really care about. I hope you enjoy it!