Filmmaker Statement

In adapting Step Into The Light from stage to film, I wanted to live among a tension that had become so apparent. The softness and timidity of their young voices belying their hardened, brash presentation. I reined in some of the more obvious performance elements that played to a static audience perspective, instead allowing the camera to wander and immerse the viewer into the world we had created–not just to see but to feel. Shooting in 35mm we were able to capture these details as authentically as possible. STEP INTO THE LIGHT is at times loud, frantic–even aggressive–but my favorite moments in the piece continue to be small and organic: a vulnerable glint in the eye of featured dancer Brianna Keingatti, a slight billow in the fabric ushering in a colorful new world, a confident and controlled leap as we track the herd of performers. I hope others watching can find their own connections and, in a time of need, their own light.