Cold Decision

When a winter outing goes awry, the cold weather and a harsh decision forever changes a life.

  • Gordie Haakstad
    Director
    Abel's Field
  • Gordie Haakstad
    Writer
  • Gordie Haakstad
    Producer
  • Travis Fowler
    Key Cast
    Sophia
  • Brett Olsen
    Key Cast
    Three Colours & a Canvas
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 16 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 11, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Reel Shorts Film Festival
    Grande Priarie, Alberta, Canada
    May 12, 2015
    (Work in Progress showing)
Director Biography - Gordie Haakstad

An award-winning feature film writer and director, Gordie Haakstad's directorial debut, ABEL’S FIELD, starring Kevin Sorbo and Samuel Davis, was released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. It garnered Best Film, Best Feature, Best Actor, and Best Director at The Attic Film Festival.

Gordie gained his directing background as a filmmaker specialized in cinematography and editing. He began his education at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema and Television where he graduated Magna Cum Laude from the prestigious Production Program.

Following school, Gordie interned under cinematographer Don Burgess (FORREST GUMP, SPIDERMAN, CAST AWAY) on the set of TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES. He kept involved with academia by teaching both cinematography and editing at the New York Film Academy – as well as developing much of the curriculum for those two departments.

He continued his creative pursuits by helping create a number of industrial, short, and feature-length projects. Notably, Gordie directed the award-winning short films THE SOUVENIR and DATING BITES and was the cinematographer behind the award-winning 11 MINUTES AGO – a feature-length film that shot entirely in one day.

Gordie continues to write in Grande Prairie, Alberta, while maintaining filmmaking ties in Los Angeles, CA, and Austin, TX.

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Director Statement

COLD DECISION is all about choices and repercussions. Obviously one mistake can severely impact a life or lives of many people. I hope the audience sees the tempting desire to erase a mistake -- especially when no one is looking, and project what he or she might do given a similar situation.

Even though filming COLD DECISION pitted the production in -27F temperatures, the cast and crew came together and delivered fantastically. Their love for filmmaking and incredible hard work stayed strong even through the brutal cold and harsh shooting conditions. I'm honored to have worked with such a dedicated team.