Experiencing Interruptions?

Dormancy

1932. At the height of prohibition and the growing American eugenics movement, the state of Vermont passes a law allowing for sexual sterilization of "idiots, imbeciles, feeble minded or insane persons likely to procreate."

Our story follows a young immigrant woman and her new husband, who live simply with hopes of eventually starting a family. Like many Vermont families at the time, they are visited by field workers involved with the eugenics movement. Their family history and their French Canadian roots are well documented. Given false information about their health risks, they eventually agree to undergo "new procedures" available to them. The couple is lured into a rural clinic where they are subjected to the sadistic goals of the doctors and eugenics field workers. For this modest family, life will never be quite the same.

  • Luke Becker-Lowe
    Director
  • Nicholas W. Callais
    Director
  • Luke Becker-Lowe
    Writer
  • Nicholas W. Callais
    Writer
  • Steven Szmed
    Producer
  • Kayla Becker
    Producer
  • Nicholas W. Callais
    Producer
  • Luke Becker-Lowe
    Producer
  • Lee Goldberg
    Key Cast
    "Emily Cloutier"
  • Blanca Vivancos
    Key Cast
    "Mother Ann"
  • Pierre-Luc Desilets
    Key Cast
    "Jacob Cloutier"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Historical Fiction
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 42 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 4, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, French
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Luke Becker-Lowe, Nicholas W. Callais

Luke Becker-Lowe is a cinematographer, writer, and director based in Brooklyn, New York.

Luke works full-time in the film industry as a DP, Gaffer, and Key Grip and has worked on shows and films for Apple TV+ and Netflix.

For this short he stepped into co-writer/co-director roles in addition to DPing for the project. "Dormancy" reflects the stories Luke is passionate about telling: often forgotten stories of marginalized groups throughout history. He thought there was no better place to start than his home state, Vermont.

He graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Film Production in 2018.

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Nicholas W. Callais is a Director/Producer based in Los Angeles CA. Co-Founder of ACID Media, his work spans from narrative to commercial and just about everything in between! A graduate of Emerson College, '18, Nick works as a creative producer with LEFT Productions, creating music videos with artists like Diplo and Christina Aguilera, Commercial content for clients like Budweiser and Snapchat, while continuing to direct & produce narrative work through ACID Media. Over the years his films have screened at festivals nation-wide with his most recent short film "Holy Hell!" coming to Roku streaming.

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