Chipper
After receiving a mysterious letter, a wayward son returns to his childhood home to wrestle with a dark family secret.
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Shaun MacLeanDirectorChipper
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Lane SkyeWriterBecky, The Devil to Pay, Rattle the Cage
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Ruckus SkyeWriterBecky, The Devil to Pay, Rattle the Cage
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Shaun MacLeanProducerAlways Forward, The Push, It’s ok not to be ok
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Jesse ScimecaProducerCedar Bluff, The Knockover, Goodboy.
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Jayson Warner SmithKey Cast"Reese/Chipper"The Walking Dead, Rectify, American Made, 42, Where the Crawdads Sing
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Brad CarterKey Cast"Brother"Yellowstone, Ascension, Ozark, True Detective, Black Mass, Sons of Anarchy
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Ryan WiedmayerExecutive ProducerChipper
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Jayson Warner SmithExecutive ProducerChipper
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Rob MelloCo-Executive ProducerCoffee Kill Boss, Chipper
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Drama, Family, Aging, Right to die
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Runtime:20 minutes 47 seconds
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Completion Date:September 16, 2022
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Production Budget:20,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States, United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:4:3
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Stony Brook Film FestivalStony Brook, NY
United States
NY Premiere
Won - Jury Award - Best Short Film -
Atlanta Film FestivalAtlanta, GA
United States
April 27, 2023
Georgia, Southeast Premiere
Official Selection -
Macon Film FestivalMacon, GA
United States
Won - "Karen Black Audience Award" Best Narrative -
Deep in the Heart Film FestivalWaco, TX
United States
July 22, 2023
Waco Premiere
Won - Best USA Short, Nominated for: Best performance in a Drama Short, Best Short, Best Drama Short -
RIFF Rome Int'l Film FestivalRome, GA
United States
Won - Jury Award "Best Georgia Short" -
YES Film FestivalColumbus, IN
United States
Won - Audience Award Best Short -
Bergen International Film FestivalBergenfield, NJ
United States
July 20, 2023
New Jersey Premiere
Won - Best Actor Nominated - Best Film -
Poppy Jasper International Film FestivalGilroy, CA
United States
April 15, 2023
World Premiere
Won - Audience Award - Best Drama -
Foothills Film FestivalShelby, NC
United States
North Carolina Premiere
Won - Award of Excellence - Drama -
Hollywood Shorts FestLos Angeles, CA
United States
Finalist -
New York Indie Shorts AwardsNew York
United States
Finalist -
Minneapolis St. Paul Int'l Film FestivalMinneapolis St. Paul, MN
United States
April 26, 2023
Minnesota Premiere
Won - Honorable Mention - Fiction Short / Best of the Fest -
Hang Onto Your ShortsAsbury, NJ
United States
May 6, 2023
New Jersey Premiere
Nominated: Best Drama, Best Director, Best Actor -
Northeast Film FestivalTeaneck, NJ
United States
Nominated: Best Actor in a Short, Best Short -
Indy Film FestIndianapolis, IN
United States
April 22, 2023
Indiana Premiere
Official Selection -
Juliene Dubuque Int'l FFDubuque, IA
United States
April 27, 2023
Iowa Premiere
Official Selection -
Hill Country FFFredericksburg, TX
United States
June 1, 2023
Texas Premiere
Official Selection -
Sarasota FFSarasota, FL
United States
March 25, 2023
Official Selection - Virtual only -
Port Townsend Film FestivalPort Townsend, WA
United States
Washington Premiere
Official Selection -
Atlanta Underground Film FestivalAtlanta, GA
United States
August 5, 2023
Official Selection -
Tacoma Film FestivalTacoma, WA
United States
Official Selection -
Georgia Film FestivalGainesville, GA
United States
Official Selection -
Anchorage International Film FestivalAnchorage, AK
United States
Alaska Premiere
Official Selection -
Hell's Half Mile Film FestivalBay City, MI
United States
Michigan Premiere
Official Selection -
Lone Star Film FestivalFort Worth, TX
United States
Official Selection -
Beaufort International Film FestivalBeaufort, SC
United States
South Carolina Premiere
Official Selection -
Beloit International Film FestivalBeloit, WI
United States
Wisconsin Premiere
Official Selection -
Dam Short Film FestivalBoulder City, NV
United States
February 17, 2024
Nevada Premiere
Official Selection -
Casper Film FestivalCasper Wyoming
United States
February 3, 2024
Wyoming Premiere
Official Selection
Shaun MacLean is an Atlanta native, University of Georgia graduate (2015), and alumnus of the Horizon Theatre Apprentice Company. A lifelong thespian, Shaun is best known for his work as an actor in theatre, television, and film. Recent acting credits include Wandavision (Marvel Studios), Dynasty (The CW), and The Game (Paramount Plus). But he has found a calling behind the camera as well. Over the past few years, Shaun has produced five narrative short films for various charities and causes with the non-profit production company, Rising Act Films. He is now taking the next step in his career as the director of the short film, Chipper. This marks Shaun’s directorial debut.
We all hope for a peaceful death at an old age, surrounded by the ones we love. At least I do. This is, in part, what makes the tragic stories of a sudden death, a life taken too soon, or a gruesome demise so devastating to us as humans and intriguing to filmmakers, writers, and artists alike.
But there are not as many stories about the elderly who are awaiting death. Those who are in limbo due to ailment or disease, slowly withering away, hoping for the end. This is what sparked Jayson Warner Smith’s idea for his short film in 2016. As his parents’ health began to decline, he speculated on the worst case scenarios. Jayson explored these fears with friends and writers, Ruckus and Lane Skye. They went on to craft a sobering script about a son who is confronted with a grim moral dilemma.
In 2019, Jayson and I met as fellow actors in the repertory production of Our Town and The Laramie Project at Atlanta’s Theatrical Outfit. If you do not know, these are heavy, profound, beautiful plays. Our Town and The Laramie Project both explore life and death. They are both vignettes of American communities at different points in time. They both feature a young person whose life ends too soon. Jayson, twenty years my senior, and I bonded over our philosophical conversations about these themes. He told me about the short film he had in his back pocket. At the beginning of 2022, I was formally brought onboard to bring Jayson’s project to fruition.
We set out to make a film that prioritized our actors’ performances. The script already lent itself to that and we had assembled a cast of Atlanta’s best talent (JWS, Brittany Deneen, Rick Andosca, Brad Carter, and Kathrine Barnes). But we also wanted to shoot in a way that gave the actors as much freedom as possible. Our Director of Photography, Jesse Scimeca, made this a reality while still creating beautiful, cinematic compositions. We worked out large sections of the script that would be shot in one take. We decided to focus on Reese throughout the film, forcing his perspective onto the audience. And similar to the proscenium arch of a theatre’s stage, we shot our film in a 4:3 aspect ratio. Now, I don’t particularly love 4:3. It is confined, it is dated, it is cramped, it makes me a little uncomfortable. This is exactly why we decided to shoot in this aspect ratio. I wanted to give the audience a taste of Dad’s reality. He is confined to his body, unable to move, surrounded by the same walls he was the day before.
Most members of Generation Jones and Generation X find themselves with baby-boomer parents in their final years. As medical science and technology continues to progress, so does our ability to prolong life. But this new frontier comes with increasingly complex quandaries about quality of life. Gen X is the first cohort to truly experience this unique 21st century gray area. They certainly will not be the last. The right to die is a moral dilemma that will continue to become more prevalent as science advances and time goes on. We hope our short film, Chipper, incites conversation over this impending reality.