Private Project

Pure Immersion

While recuperating from cosmetic surgery an actor (Willa Holland - Arrow, Gossip Girl etc) decides to stop in Ashcroft, a small town in the interior of British Columbia. The actress, whose face is mostly hidden by surgical bandages, decides the dry desert air, expansive sky, and fresh roadside fruit are ideal for her situation.

Once within the boundaries of this strange micro climate our bandaged actor starts to think perhaps none of the fruit is quite ripe enough to eat and it becomes clear that Ashcroft is not a place of passive rest, but rather an intoxicating playground for excavation and manipulation.

A meeting between the actor and a local hops farmer plants the seed of a fiction that stimulates a strange relationship between the two and shakes up the stability of the latter’s simple day to day life.

  • Dave Biddle
    Director
  • Dave Ehrenreich
    Director
  • Dave Biddle
    Writer
  • Dave Ehrenreich
    Writer
  • Julia Kidder
    Producer
  • Willa Holland
    Key Cast
    "Bandaged Woman"
    Arrow, Gossip Girl, The O.C.
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Mystery, Arthouse, surrealist, western
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes 19 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 26, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    9,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Dave Biddle, Dave Ehrenreich

Dave Biddle is an interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker. He teaches contemporary art at Simon Fraser University where he completed an MFA in 2017. Dave Ehrenreich is a Film Director and Cinematographer. They are both currently based in Vancouver, BC.

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Director Statement

Following the classic traditions of 'A Stranger Comes to Town' our film unfolds in the heart of Canada's only desert, when a bandaged actor selects it as the perfect post-op hideaway. Not only does her mere presence upheave the town's equilibrium, but the story begins to unfold within the terms she herself dictates. The film addresses conspiracy, climate change, and competing notions of reality, while spontaneously interweaving moments of documentary.