Private Project

Cahaba

*Official Selection: George Lindsey Film Festival*
*Official Selection: Smoky Mountain Film Festival*
*Official Selection: The Indie Gathering*
*Official Selection: Best Independents International Film Festival*
*Official Selection: Azalea Film Festival*

An educated painter seeks inspiration from a talented youth on a chilly morning by the Cahaba river.

In the midst of an artistic drought, Tristan agrees to meet with a talented and unknown artist with the hope of being inspired and reminded of his love for painting. However, when this unknown artist arrives at their agreed meeting spot on the bank of the Cahaba River, he is not as he described himself: he is not an elderly man finally following his lifelong passion, but an eager teenager in need of a warmer coat.

Cahaba is a surreal slice of life that uses the biodiversity and pollution of the Cahaba River to explore the identities of two artists struggling with their own forms of pollution.

  • Brett Blaylock
    Director
  • Donald Martin III
    Key Cast
    "Tristan"
  • Jojo Elias
    Key Cast
    "Chris"
  • Brett Blaylock
    Writer
  • Hunter Nichols
    Director of Photography
  • Brett Blaylock
    Producer
  • Donald Martin III
    Producer
  • Hunter Nichols
    Producer
  • Kenneth Bauer
    Composer
  • Jackie Robinson
    Make-up Artist
  • Summer Steele
    Assistant Director
  • Noah Fink
    Sound Designer
  • Frankie Galvez
    Sound/Boom Operator
  • Gyasi Howard
    Gaffer
  • Kyle Mackenzie Sullivan
    Assistant Camera
  • Laura Jansen
    Colorist
  • Faith Bruner
    Script Supervisor
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    drama, surreal, southern, nature
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 53 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 15, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.66
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • The Indie Gathering
    Hudson, OH
    United States
    August 10, 2019
    Ohio Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Smoky Mountain Film Festival
    Gatlinburg, TN
    United States
    June 22, 2019
    Tennessee Premiere
    Official Selection / Best Actor Donald Martin III
  • George Lindsey Film Festival
    Florence, AL
    United States
    March 2, 2019
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Best Independents International Film Festival
    Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg
    Germany
    December 21, 2018
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Azalea Film Festival
    Mobile, AL
    United States
    Gulf Coast Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Brett Blaylock

Brett Blaylock is an actor and filmmaker from Birmingham, Alabama. After graduating from the University of Alabama Birmingham with a BA in Theatre, he spent some time performing with Birmingham Children’s Theatre and City Equity Theatre. After moving to Los Angeles, Brett studied at the Groundlings, Upright Citizens Brigade, and Margie Haber Studio, and wrote and produced six short films. CAHABA is his directorial debut.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

CAHABA was originally envisioned as an honest and loving tribute to central Alabama; but, as I developed the story, it became more of a tattered post-card than an outright love letter. The characters in the story - including the Cahaba River itself - have immense potential that is being constrained by forces beyond their control, through literal and figurative pollution.

I left a lot of blank spaces in CAHABA; there are many missing narrative details. I always want to avoid unmotivated exposition and to focus on the characters and how they relate to one another. And, although the actors, crew, and I had a mutual understanding of the larger story, I wanted to engage the audience's imagination, curious how they might fill in those blank spaces, if they would fill them in at all. Finally, I hoped that, by leaving details out of the narrative, the audience would share with the characters the sense that something is missing.

My goal is to leave you with a hope that, regardless of where you are, you will find your way, even if that way is different than you envisioned.

- Brett Blaylock