Release Date:
December 20th, 2021

Starring:
Nazira Bah-Traore • Ahneim Chillis

Directed by:
Steve Sanchez Rosales

2021

Where the River Starts:
Working multiple jobs strained my head and I could feel my brain pounding against my skull from stress. Making my time worse was the COVID-19 pandemic, which was still spreading and it seemed like it wouldn't end anytime soon. There were few reliefs, one of which was to go to the park before or after work and take in the cool air.

One of the jobs I was working had me testing people for COVID-19. Everyday I was confronted with potential disease and I was testing from a pop-up van in the hot beaming sun. I felt this was a unique job and that years from now it wouldn't be remembered. There weren't many films about the COVID-19 pandemic, let alone from the perspective of a worker.

As a director I wanted to work with actors and create scenes with character interactions and dialogue. This was the the logical next step after the ambient and silent productions I've worked on before. All of these things were running through my head constantly, and I got to work on producing a film that could satisfy these thoughts.

March - October, 2021

Dives:
During this time in New York City there were workers handing out masks, sanitizer, and information about the virus. I would see them while I was testing people and I spoke to them about their work. After some conversations I decided the characters would be working this job in the film because of its connection to the pandemic and because it was an easy job to replicate on set.

I wrote about these two co-workers who became friends over the course of their day. So far I was fulfilling the goals I set out for myself however the script took many months to write. I was still learning how to write stories and the script stumped me. I resorted to what I knew, I removed the friendship plot and wrote a story about a character who's mind wanders off and leads them to go on a walk. This left behind a co-worker character that didn't do much in the script. I kept them in because I still wanted to direct two actors even if it was a small interaction.

The script is available here!

October 27th, 2021 Final Screenplay

July, 2021

When You Jump Into the Water and It's Freezing Cold so It Takes a While to Get Used To:
I choose to use the Maria Hernandez Park in Brooklyn because it was the largest park in my area. I intended on shooting in the summer so I experimented with a look that would make the heat feel blinding. I tried increasing the whites of the image which reminded me of winters so severe, the cold felt like it was burning your skin.

I also tried black and white photography but I wasn't able to shoot in the summer due to the script delays; the cold look was discarded.

October - November, 2021

An Autumn Afternoon:
With a new script came a new aesthetic. I spent time at the park taking in the autumn air the colored the leaves so warm. I choose what corner of the park we would film in and how to use the sun's light to illuminate the film.

Testing the Waters:
I needed a climactic location for the script, after some ideas I decided to use the East River as the magical moment of the film. The river is beautiful and it has many New York City landmarks in its path.

I chose the Marsha P. Johnson Park for the film because of how close one could get to the water without any fencing or rails. It's a little beach with a great view of the skyline.

Before the Storm:
Nazira and Ahneim were cast and had no time to rehearse with each other because I didn't think that would be necessary due to how short the lines were. In retrospect I would've liked to have done so, just so they could meet before the shoot and be more familiar with one another and myself.

I planned for a one day shoot because I thought I could pull it off. The plan was to film Ahneim's scenes first, then the two actors together, and finally Nazira and I would travel to the river and shoot the climax.

This was a massive project at the time and I felt the nerves electrocuting my insides. I was about to meet two strangers and shoot a whole production. The water felt cold and the only thing I could do was take a dive right in.

November 21st, 2021

The Melodious Sounds of the Park:
Ahneim and I arrived at the park and I handed her the orange vest that the workers I observed for so long would wear. Ahneim got into character and pretended to hand out masks to people walking by.

Everything was going smoothly until Nazira showed up and I realized we were behind schedule. I needed more time to finish Ahneim's solo scenes so I told Nazira to stand by until we were done. This was the start of the delays we would face during production.

I'm Busting out my Brains for the Words:
The script had a scene where the two workers would exchange and listen to music. I somehow overlooked this part and was not prepared to shoot this scene. We came up with new lines on the spot to have some interaction with the two characters, and because of the new lines I had to figure out a new way to shoot the scene.

It took many takes with different lines and camera set ups. At one point we were inturrupted by a church group preaching outloud with a heavy speaker. It was situations like these where I was unprepared that led to make quick decisions. I would also freeze sometimes and needed time to think, so I made the actors do more takes while I came up with a plan in my head.

Given the circumstance, we did finish the scenes comprehensively. The actors did a great job with the direction they were given; we were doing take after take trying to get the scenes finished in time. There wasn't much time to do anything creative or emotional. After a long morning, Nazira and I parted ways with Ahneim and travelled to the river.

Water at Last:
Time was of the essence as we had an hour to film before it got dark. Nazira and I got to talk on the way there which helped with our actor-director relationship. Upon getting to the river the sun was setting and we rushed to get the footage we needed.

Scenes of characters walking and taking in their environment are my specialty, and I was in my zone with this scene. The sky was beautiful, which reflected on the water and made it beautiful too.

The Long and Winding River:
After principal photography wrapped, I ventured out and shot footage for the river sequence. The shores took time to get to, most were out of reach of the train or bus, so it took multiple days to complete.

I would like to think of this time as relaxing, I got to see the sun set on the water everyday for a week.

November - December, 2021

Editing:
Not much was cut, only the extra b-roll footage of the park or river. I didn't have much of the main character reacting to the river, I wish we had more but I worked with what I had.

Water Under the Bridge:
The film released with mixed reception, it wasn't abstract enough like Subterranean or Sunshine to evoke pure emotion, and the short interaction between the characters didn't add to the story. I felt I didn't push myself to make something new. My favorite part was the river scene, which could've been its own short film without the job plot.

Today, it can feel a little weird watching a film about the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeing the characters masked up and distant can bring back negative feelings of 2021. Only time will tell how the film's setting will reflect in the future. Maybe my idea of preserving this point in time will pay off.

I wasn't happy with the film when it released, but today I see that it was an important step in learning to be a director. If I was going to work more with actors I needed to produce better, more fulfilling projects. My writing, direction, and planing had to improve or else I'd be stuck remaking the same film over and over again.

Swimming might've not met my expectations, but it was necessary. Above all, Nazira and Ahneim were great to work with and we got to create some unique moments.