RUNNER

Haas is an 18-year-old girl who was raised by her father in the rural Midwest. When her father suddenly dies, she must carry out his wish to be buried in the town where he was born. There, she meets a young man named Will, a lonely, creative soul who is working to support his family back home. The two of them form a friendship that challenges both of their understandings of love and loss.

“Runner is my first feature and it is also the story of first love. It follows two young people, both in times of great trial, who find and reinforce one another. I am drawn to the vast and often neglected scenes of the American Midwest. I want to narratively ask the question, “how can you be close, when you are so far apart?” and visualize it. My aim in Runner is to put large emotional and physical gaps between char- acters and for those gaps to eventually close with the basic will of a young person to connect. I come from a Fine Arts background where a single, static image is meant to engage the viewer. Like a painting or a still, I try to see each frame as an opportunity or an idea. With the technical advances today we are capable of great things, but I believe visuals can be equally captivating when used with restraint. My visual strategy for this film is to present frames as portraiture where each character dictates the emotional landscape of the image. Throughout the story, there is a constant push and pull between dark and light, death and life. I am looking to use joy as a means of investigating sorrow and vice versa, and for love to grow somewhere in between.”

DIRECTOR, SCREENPLAY: Marian Mathias. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jomo Fray. FILM EDITING: Marian Mathias. MUSIC: Para One. SOUND: Dana Mroczek. CAST: Hannah Schiller, Darren Houle, Jonathan Eisley, Gene Jones. PRODUCTION: Killjoy Films, Easy Riders Films.