Filmmaker Statement

Counterweight started when I stopped recognizing myself in the mirror. After spending most of my early 20’s aspiring to look like young Harrison Ford, I found myself at 25 about as far as one could be from Indiana Jones or John Book: out of shape, balding, with a double chin that wouldn’t quit. It was bewildering to look in the mirror and not see any part of the boy who came before it. Where did this person even come from? How had I fallen so short of my ideal? This script was developed with the belief that something this personal can become universal. We have all compared ourselves to others, felt insecure in our bodies, or felt afraid to be seen. This baggage can very easily stand in the way of our attempts to connect with others. I wanted to tell a story about a character who is forced to reckon with these feelings, and in the search for that story, I stumbled upon the most basic of all predicaments: Locking yourself out. It was another example of an experience everyone goes through