Origin

A young child, obsessed with heroes, deals with a life of abuse and an attentive bartender strategically inserts himself in a place that breeds it.

  • Jaryd Massaro
    Director
    Tone Deaf: The Musical
  • Jaryd Massaro
    Writer
    Tone Deaf: The Musical
  • Chris K. Daniels
    Executive Producer
    Squeeze Toy
  • Ben Grant
    Director of Photography
    Outlaw
  • Jenny Whipple
    Production Designer
    When Mentioned
  • Jacob Denny
    Composer
    The Phoenix
  • Anna Daniels
    Unit Production Manager
    See Me
  • Kate Shaughnessey
    1st Assistant Director
    Where Were You
  • Aaron James (A.J.) Jastrab
    Key Cast
    "Child"
    Mysteries at the Museum
  • Sean Ian
    Key Cast
    "Dezka (Bartender)"
    Curvy Girls Rock
  • Dennis Hunda
    Key Cast
    "Harvey"
    Paragods
  • Jordan Sartor-Francis
    Key Cast
    "Police Officer Lamont"
  • Christine Nordstrom
    Key Cast
    "Penny"
    Fireflies
  • Ryan G. Beard
    Key Cast
    "Drunk Patron"
    Saturday Mail
  • Fred Robbins
    Key Cast
    "Man"
    Remnant
  • Tonya Caswell
    Key Cast
    "Arguing Mother (Voice)"
    Hearth
  • Keagan Marcella
    Key Cast
    "Arguing Father (Voice)"
    Hearth
  • Matt Sylvester
    1st Assistant Camera
    Where Were You
  • Carley Byers
    2nd Assistant Camera
  • Emma Whisler
    Gaffer
  • Joshua Flannery
    Grip
  • Kyle Cardoza
    Grip
    Not Even a Gravestone
  • Ashley Curcuru
    Grip
  • B. Raad
    Costume Designer/Key Hair Stylist
  • Samuel Caswell
    Script Supervisor/Stunt Coordinator
    Hearth
  • Jake Svagdis
    Audio Recordist
  • Devon Mikaniewicz
    Set Photographer
    Bay State
  • Joey Kolbe
    Creative Consultant
  • Nancy Salzer
    Script Editor
  • Katie Furgalack
    Transportation Captain
  • Jacob Christie
    Production Assistant
  • Jocelyn Jastrab
    Special Thanks
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 31 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 15, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital (Arri Alexa Mini)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Rome Independent Prisma Awards
    Rome
    Italy
    August 27, 2019
    Italy Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Flatland Film Festival
    Lubbock, TX
    United States
    September 19, 2019
    Texas Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Short to the Point International Film Festival
    Bucharest
    Romania
    November 30, 2019
    Romania Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Jaryd Massaro

Jaryd Massaro is a triplet born in Washington, Massachusetts. His sister, Marisa, attended the same art school as him. Jaryd’s path as a filmmaker began when he was young, using early iPod Touches to record his initial attempts often acting as writer, director, cameraman, editor, and actor. Marisa and his other sister, Alex, would sometimes also assist in camera operation when they were able.

Gradually, the crews Jaryd worked on became larger and more intricate with each crew member able to wear less hats. He utilized the equipment available to him at his college and made many shorts, largely narrative pieces, that helped realize his full creative potential.

Today, Jaryd continues to make his own work and other’s, employing either his readily available equipment or nearby rental houses to work on the project at hand in accordance to its budget.

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Director Statement

Many people suffer from tragedy. Not necessarily abuse, but tragedy nonetheless. We all look to
be something more in these times. And we can be. This story looks at what may be the very worst of situations and attempts to realize how it can pervert the mind of a child who wants nothing more than to be a hero himself. This boy exemplifies the classic origin of a hero. And often with heroism comes this great tragedy; the death of the parents, the brooding persona, the lure of villainy - this film explores what could lie beyond the cape.

I’m personally a huge fan of superheroes and especially superhero movies. I grew up with all of these big budget comic book movies getting popularized and I’ve always been in love with them. Maybe the biggest trope in all of these movies is the origin story. It’s generally considered to be the necessary but boring part of the movie or series. While I agree that this is sometimes the case I do not believe it has to be the rule. People are sick of the origin story they’ve seen a hundred times before and of it being delivered to them with such ease that it’s off-putting to accept it as their true motivation for being who they are. If you can make the audience work for the truth they will appreciate it more having discovered it themselves. This is why my work has multiple interpretations – it depicts multiple origin stories simultaneously, never committing to one completely but never negating the other. It is a meticulously crafted story that aims to challenge the viewer to bring about appreciation for such a story – for origins.