Creating films has always been the easiest way for me to express myself. Growing up as an only child, I had to get lost in my own imagination in order to pass the time. When I started creating films, I found that for the first time, those images I always had in my head, I was able to actually create them. Starting in high school, I fell in love with the whole process of conceptualizing, creating, and editing films that tell a variety of stories. Throughout my years, I have gone through numerous style and genre changes of what I want to make. Even though I was not a fan of horror films, psychological horror stories were the first I tackled as a filmmaker with my films Breakdown and The Clown. I can thank my high school film festival, Fright Night, for that. That was the first time my work was shown in a public atmosphere. A truly magical experience.

 

As I went through my journey at Champlain College, I found myself telling the stories of people in heartbreak or unwilling struggle. My film from 2017, When to Say Goodbye, focuses on the pain a man goes through when the love of his life passes away and how to move on with his life after the heartbreak. For this film, I used my past of losing a close friend to a tragic accident and how I dealt with that loss as the basis for this main character. Even though the type of person we lost was different, my healing process of trying to put on a brave face for my other friends and family until I was alone laid the groundwork for the story. Putting myself in all of my films is something that I always try to do.

 

My most recent film, Second Time, took on a life that I did not expect. When I was conceptualizing this film, my original intent was to tell the story of an introverted shy college student and how he handles the daily conundrum of wanting to come out of his bubble, but his self doubt prevents him. While I was creating the character bio for the main character, Noah, I thought what would it be like if this character was gay. With that, I decided to call my cousin, Nick, and asked him about his experience of being a gay college student. From that moment, I knew that the story I wanted to tell was of an introverted gay college student.

When writing the screenplay, I wanted it to seem as realistic as possible. I did not want to dramatize this. Even if it meant creating an awkward or uncomfortable moment to watch, I used actual dialogue that was said to my cousin during his time in college. I took a step back and focussed on the small scale harassment that may seem minimal, but can leave a large impact. These small moments are what causes all the heartbreak for those in the LGBTQ community and their loved ones. A quick drunken comment at a party can have just as much of an impact as a public outing because of how often they happen. These small and seemingly meaningless comments routinely are passed around, and it takes a toll having to listen to them. In order to do my cousin justice, the story I wanted to tell was a small realistic story that does not create a whole public outing and event, but focuses on the relationships and personal struggle of not coming out on your own.