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Starry Night

  • Paxton Farrar
    Director
  • Paxton Farrar
    Writer
  • Paige Hiskey
    Key Cast
  • Brian Combs
    Key Cast
  • Shondale Seymour
    Key Cast
  • Frank Lawler
    Key Cast
  • Maria Rusche
    Director of Photography
  • John Reiter
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    19 minutes 58 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 13, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    35,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Production Grant

    $30,000 Production Grant
  • Columbia Gorge International Film Festival
    Big Bear Lake, CA
    United States
    September 25, 2016
    Audience Award
  • Seattle Shorts Film Festival
    Seattle
    United States
    November 13, 2016
    Audience Award
  • RAW Science Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Student Short > 10 Minutes
Director Biography - Paxton Farrar

Paxton Farrar was born in Seattle, Washington. He began writing stories at the age of four, and attended Roosevelt High School where he wrote and directed in its renowned music and drama programs. His original one act play, “Making Babies”, was published by Samuel French. During his senior year he wrote and produced the first act of an original musical and founded the Ten Man Brass Band, which remains one of the major bands in the Seattle brass scene. Paxton is a recent graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts for Film and Television, where he pursued his passion for creating story. At NYU, Paxton was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation production grant to produce his short screenplay, “STARRY NIGHT”.

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Director Statement

The ideas and motifs that compose Starry Night have been swirling around my life for a long time. I developed a deep passion for cosmology and science at a very early age, and it has come to serve as my philosophy for understanding the universe both practically and spiritually. During the summers, my family would drive through eastern Washington State. With its endless scablands, rolling wheat fields, and scenic vistas atop basalt columns, it is the polar opposite of what one expects to find in the Evergreen State. I was struck by the vastness of the landscapes, and fascinated by the melancholic romance that permeates the land. The dusty, lonely feel was palpable, especially in small towns. The night was full of stars, with the Milky Way ambling lazily across the sky.

Starry Night came about in my sophomore year script writing class at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. It combines love of the cosmos with the beautiful landscapes and small town Americana of Eastern Washington, tying these themes together in a character: a young woman, trying to escape the small town to pursue her passion.