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The Forest Princess

In a world, where the unknown is feared and misunderstood, one girl begins the journey within… searching the path for direction, finding the beauty that connects us and uncovering what conquers fear. She emerges with a simple, yet powerful understanding…

  • Gretchen Bayer
    Director
  • Gretchen Bayer
    Writer
  • Kendra Bayer-Foreman
    Writer
  • Gretchen Bayer
    Producer
  • Jake Segraves
    Producer
  • Lumen Aerie Foreman
    Key Cast
  • Kendra Bayer-Foreman
    Key Cast
  • Gretchen Bayer
    Key Cast
  • Jake Segraves
    Director of Photography
  • Gretchen Bayer
    Art Direction & Wardrobe
  • Jake Segraves
    Editor
  • Josh Rasmussen
    Original Score
  • Alicia Rasmussen
    Original Song
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    family, fantasy, fairy tale, film de femme
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 53 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 17, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    digital, sony a7Sii. slog-2
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Gretchen Bayer

Raised by a couple of art teachers / artists, it’s no wonder Gretchen started developing her creative eye at a very early age.
She tried her hand at painting, pottery and drawing, but at 9 years old, fell in love with her dad’s Pentax K1000. She loved capturing “in between” moments…the subtle action that happened inside the bigger, intended picture.

She left small town Indiana and moved west to Los Angeles to attend university. There, she decided to take a more lucrative path and study business, but she never let go of her love of photography and nearly always had her camera with her.
Dwelling in the City of Angels, she became drawn to cinema and discovered the incredible eye of Alfred Hitchcock, Wim Wenders, Krzysztof Kieślowski and others. She absorbed how the filmmaker used the camera to orchestrate a scene, evoke a feeling and tell a story.

She met her husband in 2008. He had been in film production and editing for most of his life and they began teaching each other their crafts. He taught her how to tell a story with moving pictures and she taught him to rein in the motion of the camera and let the moments play out in the frame.

The Forest Princess is Gretchen’s directorial debut.

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Director Statement

Over the years I have embraced the philosophy of wabi-sabi...

a state of acceptance of the imperfections in life and appreciating them as beautiful, accepting peacefully the natural cycle of growth and decay.

I find that this philosophy transcends to art and allows freedom to make mistakes, grow from or transform the mistake into something beautiful.