LOGLINE
A group of friends tripping acid in a cabin in the woods can’t decide what to do when one of them detects a menacing figure observing them through the window.
SYNOPSIS
Will and Frankie decide that an acid trip at Daniel’s family home in the woods will help him overcome his grief after his father’s death. When Daniel spots a menacing figure trying to break into the house, the group can’t decide how to handle the threat, and whether or not it’s real.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
After producing almost two dozen short films, I will finally be trying my hand at writing and directing. FRANKIE FOREVER seeks to address a number of different themes: the difficulty of grief, and the power of psychedelic experiences to help process them; the fickle nature of friendship and our expectations of our friends; and finally, our trust in our own sanity and perception. Films with unreliable narrators such as Take Shelter and Birdman are big inspirations for this film, for their generous yet nuanced treatment of narrators whose own perceptions of the world and their sanity are at odds with the characters around them. My own experience using psychedelics to overcome the grief and subsequent loss of consequence that came from the closely timed losses of my grandmother and my mentor. Finally, the love and frustration I have often felt while trying to help my friends through tough times, a frustration I know my family and friends have experience trying to support me, has been a huge inspiration for this film. This film is a horror/comedy with some dramatic and romantic elements. While the film leans into certain tropes of the horror genre, it also seeks to subvert viewer expectations, surprising them with it’s outcome and empathy for its characters.
KEY CREW
Anton Vicente Kliot - Writer + Director
Anton Vicente Kliot is a producer born and raised in New York City by two independent filmmakers. He received his BA in History from Amherst College, where he conducted archival research as a Mellon Fellow and co-authored a paper, “To Labour with a Greater Sense of Safety” published in the Journal of Social History. After college, Anton moved to the Bay Area , working with Apple’s corporate events teams, where he developed an eye for detail and passion for great experiences. During the pandemic, Anton helped lead safety and security measures for Apple’s return to work efforts, and produced video content for Apple’s virtual events and keynotes.
Anton has produced and co-produced over a dozen short films including “Look at Me” (2020) by Nika Fehmiu, “Daly City” (2024) by Nick Hartanto, and “Howl” (2024) by Sara Crow. His films have premiered in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Sarajevo Film Festival, and the Woodstock Film Festival among others. Anton works on a range of genres and styles, from dark and absurd comedies, to tender family and coming of age stories. He is a current MBA/MFA candidate in the producing program at NYU, a joint venture between the Tisch School of the Arts and Stern School of Business.
Sara Crow - Producer & 1st AD
Sara Crow is a Brooklyn-based writer/director whose stories center subcultures and misfits. She is a 2024 Sundance Screenwriters Lab and Directors Lab fellow and the co-recipient of the Sloan Sundance Fellowship and $100,000 NYU/Sloan Feature Film Prize with “Satoshi.” Her debut narrative short film “Bluebird” won “Best Short Film” at the Montana International Film Festival and the New Jersey Film Festival and the Black Family Film Prize at NYU’s Graduate Film program, where she is a Martin Scorsese Scholar. Her thesis film “Why I Am an Anarchist” received NYU’s AnnaRose King Award for Comedic Storytelling. Sara loves world-building and diving into secret and little known histories.
Cole Johnson - Cinematographer
Cole Johnson is a writer/director born and raised in North Alabama. After graduating with a B.F.A in Cinematic Arts and Theatre from the University of North Alabama, he moved to New York where he is currently pursuing his M.F.A in Film Production at New York University. Cole has won numerous festival awards for his short films, including: Best Student Film at the George Lindsey Film Festival, Asylum Horror Film Festival, and Southern Film Festival; Audience Choice Award at Sioux City International Film Festival and the Rising Tide Film Festival. In addition, his two most recent films, “Bless the Child” and “When Things Ended,” have been official selections of Orlando Film Festival, New York Shorts International Film Festival, and Sidewalk Film Festival. Cole strives to tell southern stories and bring unique characters to life that may otherwise never be seen.
ACCOLADES
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