Private Project

Garden DayZe

Garden DayZe is a short film that explores the relationship that manifest between the daughter of a gay man and his young lover in the face of unexpected tragedy.

Having received a call that her father has been in an accident, Esme returns home to not only find changes to the house where she grew up, and where her other father passed away, but Jack - a new, young love in it. Set in one location, we follow Esme and Jack, thrown together, navigating their exhaustion between long hospital days, waiting for calls from doctors, struggling to understand their place and significance in the home and life of the man they both love and are terrified of losing.

  • Evie Hammer
    Director
  • Evie Hammer
    Writer
  • Evie Hammer
    Producer
  • Jason Moskowitz
    Producer
  • Mathew Dunlop
    Key Cast
    "Jack"
    Curtain Down, Pester, Betting on Amanda
  • Evie Hammer
    Key Cast
    "Esme"
    Groupidity, Medium
  • Liz Wisan
    Key Cast
    "Officer Miriam"
    The Assistant, Elementary
  • Cailin Yatsko
    Director of Photography
    Short History of the Long Road, The Assistant, Iris, Days of Gray
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, LGBTQ
  • Runtime:
    22 minutes
  • Production Budget:
    25,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Evie Hammer

Evie Hammer (Garden DayZe)
Writer | Director | Producer | Actor - “Esme”

Evie Hammer is a NYC based actress, writer and director, Smith College graduate with a background in classical ballet. Bringing truth and personal perspective to her writing and performances is a guiding priority. She wrote and produced Garden DayZe over the Summer of 2017 initially raising funds for principal photography through the NYC based Fractured Atlas fiscal sponsorship program, then raising post-production funds via a public campaign on Seed & Spark.

As an actress, she has originated several theatrical roles in both NYC and Los Angeles, notably pieces by Sheila Callaghan of Showtime’s Shameless and award-winning playwright EM Lewis, and was the series lead on the web-series Groupidity created by America Young, Co-President & Founder of The Chimaera Project. Evie has trained with Austin Pendleton and currently works with Gregory Berger-Sobeck, of Berg Studios and Yale School of Drama.

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Director Statement

With Garden DayZe, I was curious about examining the rather universal experience of longing for approval - wanting to be the “apple” of a parent’s eye - in a unique landscape, and under the stress of trauma that can reduce even the best of us to our most childlike and arrested selves.

Growing up between divorced parents and two daddies, and losing my other father to AIDS, vulnerable questions of inclusivity and visibility in terms of our family’s loss have come up for me now and then, as has jealousy of beautiful men, and I wanted to start a conversation from that point of view and need.