Deconstructing the Family

Narrative Short

Director: Kyle Hasday & Matt Stewart

RT: 23:00mins

Sunday September 30 7:30PM

Website: www.hazartfilms.com

Synopsis:

The Harris's are the typical upper-middle class family. Neil Harris is a successful doctor, his wife Kathryn is a loving mother, and his two sons Todd and Bryan are intelligent young teenagers. Set within the backdrop of the safe and glamorous lifestyle of suburbia, the Harris's seemed to have it all until one quiet night, when a stranger came and stripped away their serene and happy façade. Waking up in the middle of the night, Dr. Harris is violently confronted with a grief stricken husband who blames him for his pregnant wife's death. With his murdered wife a few feet from him, and his children tied up, Dr. Harris is forced to make a horrifying decision; to shoot one of his two sons. Desperate for control, Dr. Harris reasons for a way to escape. Calm and eerily playful, the stranger is keenly determined to translate his loss-a wife and a child- into Dr. Harris. Sympathy, anger, reason, and aggression all fail to deliver Dr. Harris from the twisted task in which this stranger has given to him. As Dr. Harris's mind races and his emotions become erratic, he begins recounting otherwise trivial moments in his past that soon reveal a dark secret within the family. With a gun in his hands, his wife murdered and his children held hostage, Dr. Harris must decide who lives and who dies.

Filmmaker Bio:

Kyle Hasday has loved movies since his eyes first fell upon the silver screen. With a natural sense of story, a keen eye for talent, both in front and behind the camera, Kyle has set his sights on making films and has never looked back. As an ambitious teenager, Kyle found work in the busy streets of New York by working with editors, composers, and eventually a major Hollywood film set. In the summer of 2001 Kyle found himself working as a production assistant on the Adrian Lyne film, Unfaithful. Making quick impressions, Kyle soon found himself directing background action and personally working with child actor Erik Per Sullivan. In 2002 Kyle was accepted into Chapman University ’s School of Film and Television. He and fellow partner, Matt Stewart, collaborated to make their first 35mm film A Cure for Writer’s Block which was completed in the spring of 2004. The pair has also finished a music video entitled MADRAS: Great Wide Spinout during 2005. Currently the directors have finished work on their thesis film, Deconstructing the Family, as well as four spec commercials.

Matt Stewart’s journey towards film started with television production. At his high school, Matt was a three year veteran of the school’s daily news show. This student produced show allowed Matt to showcase and explore his interest in filmmaking. In 2002 Matt chose Chapman University ’s School of Film and Television to expand on his writing and directing interests. For Matt, storytelling allowed him to explore the boundless landscape of film narrative. With a passion for film, a unique vision of character and story, Matt was able to find an outlet in which his creative desires could be fulfilled. Matt soon met up with writer/director Kyle Hasday and together they created and wrote A Cure for Writer’s Block. In 2005 the duo filmed and completed their second project, a music video, MADRAS : Great Wide Spinout. To date, the filmmakers have concluded work on their thesis film, Deconstructing the Family, and have recently written and directed four spec commercials.