A nervous fetus asks her giddy future self and asks if it’s worth being born. Problem is, her future self doesn’t recommend it.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Film Fest Knox 2024 Official Selection
CREDITS:
Film by: Kai D. Wingo
Cast: Miyuki Funato
Music by: Neel Gaddipati
STORYTIME:
I moved to Tennessee for a job after college. I was alone, lost, and far away from my dreams. After I visited my girlfriend in Los Angeles, I had this huge urge to create a film. I needed to make something. The quality didn’t matter. I may have strayed away from my dreams, but moving to Tennessee helped me realize what I really wanted to do. The bell for round 2 rang in me.
The goal for this film was to create a film starring only Miyuki. The idea really started off with the juxtaposition between a content person who seems sad, and a depressed person who seems happy. That imagery was there, but it didn’t have much “story” to it.
While scrolling through YouTube shorts, the algorithm gave me a podcast clip. The host was explaining to these attractive influencers that birth is the most traumatic experience because of the drastic change in environment; from the womb to the world. That’s why babies cry and we forget about it as we get older. “Woahhh, that’s some deep stuff,” I thought as I channeled my inner stoner. I had been reading Breast and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami, and had been thinking about birth a lot. The fetus and the child were the two juxtaposing characters I decided to portray
The unhappy future child (Noon)
The content baby fetus (Midnight)
I was a one man crew with zero technical knowledge in filmmaking. I’m nothing but grateful for Miyuki, my girlfriend, for portraying two odd ball characters and Neel for capturing the emotion of the film. We made the film off of my first draft, and the quality really shows. I was quickly humbled. There’s a reason why cinematic masterpieces take years to make and have never ending credits. I’m proud nonetheless for completing this film.
This film was fortunate to be selected in the 2nd Annual Film Fest Knox. I didn’t expect the competition to be such high quality, and I still wonder how we got in. I would like to formally thank and apologize to Film Fest Knox…
There were three core moments I remember from our screening. The first was the initial interaction between Fetus and the Child. The audience exploded with laughter when the Child told the Fetus it’s not worth being born. There was comfort in that laughter, that the audience expressed emotion to my film. Then there was the rest of the film. I admit, the film was confusing and not fleshed out. People were confused and lost interest. The second moment was when the credits rolled: the sporadic clapping. Within the same film, I had grabbed and lost the audience all at once. It was humbling. I tucked myself in the seat, trying to sink into the crack. “What have I done?” By the time people left the theater, people had already forgotten my piece for the other great works. Nobody cared for my film. Then, one lady came up to me. She told me she loved my film, that she felt like God, the spirit, and whatnot. I was too embarrassed at the time to properly receive the compliment, but I appreciated that. That was the third core moment. At least one person was moved by my film.
Overall, this short film will always have a special place in my heart, and I will only look back at it fondly.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED:
- Time in the market > Timing the market. Just start!
- Always take extra time to flesh out the film. It will show in the final product.
- Be grateful for the members who participated in the film.
- I love to make movies! I want to make more!!