This week’s Staff Pick Premiere, “Uproot,” is a moving tale of two estranged siblings from writer-director, Julia Bales. Reunited on a hot summer day, Nina must convince her reclusive brother, Greg, to let go of their deceased father’s home and move on with his life.
Inspired by a prompt from her production designer, Madelyn Wilkime, Bales cleverly utilizes the home as Greg’s self-made shelter from the outside world and the center of the drama. Both an oasis and a claustrophobic trap, the house embodies the safe spaces we all cling to when facing overwhelming challenges. With strong and authentic performances from Joey Alley (herself a Staff Picked filmmaker) and Ptolemy Slocum, the film’s uncomfortable setup develops into a touching finale that reveals a powerful bond. Ahead of the release of the short, we reached out to Bales to learn how the film came to be.
On the inspiration for the film:
“Uproot has a really unique inspiration. Madelyn Wilkime, the production designer and EP of the short reached out to me last summer. She had been wanting to make something that allowed her to work in a more stylized world, specifically creating ‘a world where plants had taken over.'”
I’ve never really written a script based off of a prompt. It was a fun, unique challenge for me, and really cool to see how it all took shape. Madelyn and I worked through a couple of different ideas that were more sci-fi based at first, but none of them felt very right when we added a narrative.
I was feeling really stuck for a while, and was describing to my friend and fellow filmmaker, Sarah Mintz, that I felt “trapped,” and she responded that I should just write about that feeling. (Thank you, Sarah!) Eventually I pitched an idea of an agoraphobe being stuck inside a house where he had created his own ‘safe’ environment, and then what it would look like to have to be kicked out of that space.”
On her writing process:
“I tend to write a ‘vomit-draft’ of whatever I’m working on, that just gets a bunch of ideas out all at once in one document. Then I reread it, question my ability as a creative human, and then rewrite. Once I have a more cohesive draft, I like to read it out loud with my partner or a friend so that I can figure out what will actually sound good on camera vs. on the page. It’s usually after reading it aloud that a lot of the character’s backstories come out. I knew I wanted our main characters to be tied to one another, even though they are estranged. The sibling relationship felt like the right fit to me because it’s a strong, forever bond that also goes through a lot of strain throughout life.”
Madelyn Wilkime on the production design:
“I’ve always been mesmerized by spaces where nature takes over a man-made interior. Whether it’s an abandoned building where the plants have started to come up between the floorboards, or a greenhouse that has lovingly been crafted by humans to encase plants.
We chose the ‘sun time’ room very carefully as we knew a majority of the short would be filmed there. It needed to work for blocking and lighting, but also allow for me to create a claustrophobic, overgrown environment for Greg. Choosing the furniture was about what his father would have had, and a few remnants of his personal belongings. On top of that, anywhere there is a free space is his safety net, his plants taking over. Most plants, we chose by their aesthetic.
Some parts we didn’t end up getting to show on camera: between the kitchen and the sunroom I made a small planting station, where all the tools, soil and materials live on a long counter space. Opposite of Greg and Nina, in the sunroom, we also included a desk workspace that belonged to his father.”
On casting and working with actors:
“Process-wise, I’m fan of Ptolemy’s previous work and I knew he would be a great fit for balancing the comedy and sadness that Greg’s character needed. My EP, Tim Wilkime, and I reached out to him over email, and then Ptolemy and I met up to chat more about what the character Greg should be, and we were very much on the same page.
I’ve known Joey for a while as a fantastic director, but had recently seen the short film that she co-wrote, ‘Are You Still Singing,’ that she stars in, and knew she’d be a great fit. Joey literally finished directing and starring in her first feature the day before we shot ‘Uproot.’ We were very lucky that she was available.
Working with Joey and Ptolemy was so fun and easy for me as a director. They both were so incredibly thoughtful about their characters and truly helped to shape the entire short film. They brought authenticity and heartbreak that I wasn’t planning on having in the film, but am so grateful to have.”
On the film’s challenges:
“The biggest challenge was first coming up with the idea, the second was filming our exterior scenes. I really wanted the outside scenes of the short to have that uncomfortable, white-hot look to them so that the interior felt like the calmer location, to mimic how the character Greg is feeling. With that, we shot our exterior scenes in the middle of our day. Our two exterior shots are almost entirely single takes. They required a lot of rehearsal and adjusting as we shot, with only a finite amount of time. Eventually, we got the takes we needed, but it was a little hectic in the moment.“
Advice for aspiring filmmakers:
“You don’t have to be just one ‘thing’ as a filmmaker. I’ve done a lot of jobs in film, and was boxed into roles that weren’t considered ‘creative.’ For a long time that kept me from making anything of my own. Ignore those boxes, and make something. It doesn’t need to be big or flashy. You just need to be able to focus entirely on the piece and see it through to the end.”
On what’s next:
“What’s immediately next is a little up in the air due to current COVID life. I have some gear at our home, so I’m hoping to film some quarantine commercial spots, or a little sketch via Facebook video with my friend Dustin. I just wrote a new short film that I’m really excited to shoot someday, whenever I can bring a crew together, safely. Finally, I recently adapted a really fun YA adventure book into a feature that we’re looking to pitch as an animated feature now.”