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The Slabs
TYPE: Narrative Short
GENRE: Drama
STATUS: Pre-Production
LOGLINE
Two homeless brothers brave the summer heat in their newfound home of Slab City and confront their painful past.
SYNOPSIS
Two homeless brothers brave the summer heat in their newfound home of Slab City. As temperatures rise in the desert hobo camp, Owen grows restless as Wylder's addiction spirals out of control, forcing them to confront their painful past and chose between family or freedom.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
In the desert, the hot dry days beat you into the ground, but the cool nights seduce you back into the mystery of the darkness. The tone of the film will be slow, soft, and character driven. Something is off between our main characters, Owen and Wylder. We slowly learn what has gotten between these two brothers and why their resentment for each other is so strong. Nomadland and American Honey capture a struggling Americana rarely seen on screen. Using a similar approach, we hope to strike a balance between the simple meditative nature of those pictures while exploring the bond of fractured brotherhood. Similar in style and tone to Fish Tank and McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Slabs will follow our reckless hero as the growing volatility escalates to it’s reckless finale. Using a cinema-vérité approach, we’ll capture authentic, naturalistic moments that will resonate emotionally. A handheld camera will follow our actors around giving them ultimate freedom in the space and allowing their motivated movements to be unrestrained by the camera. The natural beauty of the desert and mountains combined with the lawlessness of Slab City, will create the perfect backdrop for this modern day western while intimate portraits will draw the audience into the drama. Hair and makeup are immensely important to capturing the look of the Slabs. Clothing, accessories, matted hair, and natural makeup, denote strong individual personalities. Wylder’s long hair is matted and his patchy beard hasn’t been shaved in months. His tattoos and piercings hide behind months of dirt and his puffy eyes conceal the scared boy inside. We will develop the “look” of each hobo character with the individual performers, as they discover things they naturally gravitate toward in Slab City. The styling should be dirty and unpolished and still retain the charm and look of each of unique character. For the wandering restless soul of Kat, her natural made-down look is topped off by natural brown and bleached white dreadlocks pulled back behind a dirty white bandana. The locals we capture and integrate into the fabric of the film will elevate the authenticity of the storyline. Their organic, natural, and textured look lend legitimacy to our themes and that’s why it’s important our three actors makeup and hair styling be done to a level that can match the locals.
KEY CREW
Ezra Gentle - Writer/Director
Ezra began in the documentary space, creating authentic branded spots for Red Bull, African conservation films, and a feature length documentary about three generations of Oklahoma Panhandle ranchers fighting to keep their land. Narrative fiction storytelling remains Ezra’s passion and in the past five years he’s written and directed four short films, which played film festivals and one that placed him on the waitlist for the American Film Institute Conservatory. As a commercial editor, Ezra Gentle worked with T-Mobile, Red Bull, Nike, Michael Kors, Shure, and TBS.
Adam F. Goldberg - Executive Producer
Adam Goldberg created the TV shows The Goldbergs and Schooled for ABC. As an Executive Producer, he'll provide feedback on our rough cuts and help the film find a good home once completed.
Emily Calhoun - Producer
Emily has produced two independent features, Home With a View of the Monster (Amazon), and All Eyes (unreleased). She’s worked as a marketing executive at Sony Pictures for the past year and is excited about producing another film.
Ian Finneran - Cinematographer
Ian has been DP on many short films and pilots that have had success on the festival circuit. He’s worked as First Assistant Camera on nearly thirty productions.
Victoria Lim - Editor
Vicky graduated from NYU Tisch Film and TV production in 2016 and has since worked in Los Angeles as an editor for brands such as HBO, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central.
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