Sacrament
PRE-PRODUCTION
I wrote "Sacrament" in August of 2022. My DP told me they were moving to New York on September 1st, and I wanted to shoot something before they left. After a long day of writing on one of my feature films, I cranked out the first draft of "Sacrament". I showed my producer & 1st AD, worked their notes into the next draft, put our shoot dates on the calendar and started to build the rest of the team.
My best actor friend Abel was on board to help however they could. As a gay latino Mormon, they related to the subject matter and wanted the story to be told. They were excited to play one of the two main characters, and with no budget, minimal resources, and guidance from our production designer, we spent the week before the shoot searching all of our local antique shops and thrift stores for wardrobe, props and set design that would help build the world of the film. Two days before production began, we still needed our other lead role. We had posted on local casting sites, Facebook pages, and spread the word to friends, but nobody seemed to be the right fit. Finally, we received a casting tape from a young model named Carter who had never acted before, but in that 30 second tape, we saw their potential. With my little experience in working with actors, and Carter's lack of any experience, Abel spent the next two days teaching us how to communicate with eachother and become the characters I had created, and forever shaped my understanding of what it means to be a director. We were ready to make our film.
PRODUCTION
On the last weekend of August 2022, equipped with a heavily discounted Sony Venice and vintage cinema primes, we drove 2 hours south to a small Mormon town with a church that was willing to let us film there. We loaded in the loaded out, then drove up to Provo Canyon, hoping that no one was at the campsite we had scouted. We arrived, and after a violent wind/ Hail storm, we built our fictional world and captured the scenes from the script. After one more long day, we were wrapped- my first script had been successfully produced and shot.
POST-PRODUCTION
At this point in my life, I had directed 3 short documentaries, and edited them all myself. For this project, I recruited a friend to help me edit. I know how long it takes to edit a good film, and as it goes with no budget, there is only so much that gets done in a few weeks. As we were getting close to finishing the first rough cut, while I was scouting an abandoned church for another shoot, I got a terrible phone call. My dear friend Abel had taken his own life. I was shocked. Devastated. We had so many plans together, this film was just the first step of ours. We were going to use the power of film to bring the world closer together, to tell stories that shed light on underrepresented groups of people. What? They can't be gone. They can't be… I mourned with our friends, with Carter, with our crew turned family. I forgot about the edit. I cried and cried. I tried to understand why. Months later, I looked at the project again. In those bins, on that timeline, in that screen was Abel. As painful as it is to accept the truth, seeing their smile and hearing their voice inspires me to keep going. It reminds me of what an amazing person they are, and the dreams we had of telling queer stories. The film was written as a hyperbole, as an almost facetious way of showing how religion can make queer people feel. With Abel's story, the film has a whole new meaning for me, and it's my honor and duty to share it with the world.