Left Hand Free

A butcher decides to cut his own arm off to fulfill an order.

A STUDIED CHARACTER

Let’s mix Whiplash with Wes Anderson in a Pixar wrapper. Let’s tell the story of an artist, of a pioneer in the field, but blur the lines between self-sacrifice and self-harm to fuel his way on the road to success. The Butcher, then, becomes a superhero who expends himself to save the day. As with most of my stories, the idea was originally conceived around the gross irony of a man using himself as material.

I pitched it as a comedy. I was told otherwise.

SHOCK AND AWE AND DON’T LOOK AWAY

It’s an inviting trainwreck. We wanted to craft a downward spiral so compelling that the audience would not be able to turn it off. You have to see how it ends, how The Butcher completes the job. You root for him. You don’t want to. You want it to go back to normal. You know that isn’t possible. Once the credits roll, there will be two types of people: those who are relieved that The Butcher is outlandishly exaggerated and those who are concerned that he isn’t.

Handcrafted

FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

The script is written. The storyboards are drawn. The shot list is scheduled. The effects are planned. The scene is rehearsed. When the day comes to capture the moment, we have already lived the story. As the cameras roll, we are merely returning to a past life, caught in a time loop to realize a vision.

Otherworldly

ENCAPSULATING A DREAM

The surreal nature of the script required a visual aesthetic that transported audiences to an ethereal reality that felt both familiar and heightened. To bring The Cage, that The Butcher finds himself trapped in, to life, a set needed to be constructed in a way that felt instantly recognizable but also offputting. The dominating monochromatic blue design highlights the cold, isolation of The Butcher’s struggle to feel satisfied in his life’s work and passion.

Herculean

A CREW AS NUTS AS YOU ARE

This film would not have been possible to take flight let alone taxi away from the terminal had it not been for this incredible group. Whatever the ask, whatever the task, everyone brought their passion for storytelling to the table to create an engaging experience that the audience isn’t expecting.

STARRING Daniel Annone

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Winston Berger

1ST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Mitch McClellan

AUDIO MIXING Kyle Olson & Anthony Martin

MAKEUP DEPARTMENT Megan Mulligan & Kayla Kelley

PROPS Eric Leong, Will Zuidema & Brad Wilkins

PRODUCTION DESIGNER Joel McDonald

MUSIC BY David Deutsch

NARRATOR Amrit Sandhu

PHOTOGRAPHY Roger Guerrier

Finality

ONWARDS, OFFWARDS

Releasing August 30th, 2023, this film marks the end of a nearly 2 year-long journey. While the pursuit of storytelling never ends, there is a peculiar bittersweet nature to wrapping each project along the way. Cheers to the most challenging, most taxing, most inspiring and most rewarding one yet.