Private Project

HIM/SELF

A boy’s father disappears. Rather than face the truth, the child imagines his dad on a noble quest. In the quiet spaces of loss and longing, he begins to see that what he’s searching for in his father is already inside him.

  • Ryan Hope Travis
    Director
    Cocoa in the Dark, Pupae
  • Ryan Hope Travis
    Writer
    Cocoa in the Dark, Pupae
  • Ryan Hope Travis
    Producer
    Cocoa in the Dark, Pupae
  • S. Sally Travis
    Producer
    Cocoa in the Dark
  • Ryan Hope Travis
    Key Cast
    Watchmen, Manhunt
  • Rezen Hope Travis
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 53 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 3, 2026
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Ryan Hope Travis

Ryan Hope Travis is a director, filmmaker, theatre-maker, writer and actor, and professor. His work as a multi-hyphenate filmmaker (i.e., writer/director/cinematographer) has received Best Narrative Feature, Debut Film Award, Best Indie Feature Film, the Bronze Award for Best Micro Movie, and a Grand Jury Prize, among other awards and recognition, with world premieres at film festivals throughout the US and UK. His debut feature film, Cocoa in the Dark, recently received distribution from Porter+Craig in Beverly Hills. Ryan guest-starred in HBO’s 11-time Emmy Award-winning series Watchmen, AppleTV+ series Manhunt, and numerous other theatre, film, and commercial projects. Ryan is the Founder and Lead Maker of Arcable, a film and theatre production company dedicated to producing works of art rooted in social commentary.

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Director Statement

Much of my art revolves around the relationship between a father and a son. I have a collection of one-man shows called The Father/Son Play Cycle. My debut feature film, while based on the criminal justice system, centers a father's neglect. Some of my work depicts the father as a redeemer, elevating him to the mythic. Even in material I didn’t write, this theme often finds its way into my artistic offerings.

Growing up in a single-parent home and watching my mom struggle to make ends meet left a significant imprint on me. Unable to tell me the truth about my father’s absence—that he preferred the bachelor life—my mom covered for him. She would wrap Christmas presents and say they were from him. This feeling of helplessness and diminished self-worth lingered into adulthood. I believe this is why my art explores fatherhood so deeply.

When it was my turn to be a dad, I understood the profound responsibility and the gift of being present. HIM/SELF explores the reasons a child invents for his father's absence. He imagines his dad on a sacred voyage, finding himself. The truth becomes irrelevant as long as the child believes his father's absence has nothing to do with him. In the end, the child’s journey to understand his father is a journey to understand himself.