Filmmaker Statement

With Mia, I wanted to explore the notion of closure and whether it is what we all need in a situation of loss. I also wanted to see whether we can ever understand people that commit monstrous acts, and does the universe really balance out the good and the evil. I've done this through a compact, chamber narrative of our protagonist "Claire" who's father went missing more than a decade ago with no answers. She's spent most of her life wondering what happened, thinking that when she finds out the details everything will be better, yet when that day actually comes, the experience is highly traumatic. She is a victim, yet also a confessional at the same time, as the person who destroyed her life has, in the process, destroyed themselves and the only one that can understand is their victim. The film is shot in a rainy, noir way, with strong shadows and silhouettes, taking it's time and slowly unfolding the events that happened, while also keeping Claire in the light, a deer in the headlights, almost blinded and lost, and the mysterious man in the dark, until he confesses and enters the light for a moment, before disappearing into the dark again. The camera work for Claire is unsteady and even out of focus at times to help show that her whole world is falling apart. Opposite to that, the mysterious man is controlling and calm, a real sociopath, which we show through more static camera work and slow push ins.