Filmmaker Statement

Uncle Ivan is our fifth film in a string of action thriller collaborations with actor and stunt choreographer Diezie Sahn. This time stepping from cinematographer to director and choosing to tell the story unapologetically in visual style. Uncle Ivan tells the story of Zhevi, whom after losing her family to a hit by the mob, must learn to fend for herself and abandon her innocence to survive. Innocence was really the key theme when bringing this story from script to screen. We all want to live a comfortable life but as shown throughout history and still true today, life is full of hardships and requires thick skin. In abandoning innocence, at what point do you become the monster yourself? How long can you remain pure? We are at a point in our careers where we have become very comfortable with who we are artistically and what our influences are. The film is told as a dark rhythmic fever dream, with surrealistic presentation and cinéma vérité inspired camera work. Other collaborators include Director of Photography Shani Varner whose brought in a rich background in neon noir photography and Liberian filmmaker Diezie Sahn who founded the Uncle Ivan project, bringing to the project his obsession with acting and fight choreography that feels both classical and innovative in nature. The result is our planned final short film before moving on to feature films and other formats. Uncle Ivan is our proudest work to date and will set the tone for all that comes after.