“POSTPARTUM” by Diane Michelle
A mother is haunted by a lurking nightmare in the shadows after she gives birth.
FROM THE DIRECTOR
“I first wrote “Postpartum” when I was three weeks postpartum with my second child. I was experiencing intense anxiety and had extreme worries about her safety. I was obsessively checking our baby monitor every night to make sure she was breathing and still alive.
One night my husband said, “It’s okay. You don’t have to look at the monitor. She’ll be okay.“ And that’s when I realized my level of fear, worry and anxiety about her was always going to be different than my husband’s experience. I began to wonder how many other women were living with the same suffocating anxiety.
What started off as a story about anxiety during the postpartum period soon turned into an exploration of the darkest thoughts I’ve had during postpartum.
Four years later, I gave birth to my third child and I felt called to be a voice for women. Instead of shying away from those thoughts, I wanted to put them on full display and show other mothers that they aren’t alone in their darkness. Ultimately, I set out to explore the intense duality of motherhood.
Our primary goal as mothers is to keep our children safe and protected, but what happens when we are the ones that we have to protect our children from? I think this human experience, that is unfortunately still so taboo and misunderstood in today’s society, becomes much more approachable and equally as scary when you can play in the medium of genre. My hope is that viewers will use their fears to ignite conversations about how we care for mothers during postpartum. If this film scares you, imagine how it feels to the mother.”
-Diane Michelle
CREDITS:
Starring// Vanessa Cuccia/ @vanessa_cuccia and Hemingway
Production Company// Octagon Haus/ @octagon.haus
Director// Diane Michelle/ @dianemichellephotog
Producer// Luke Jaden/ @lukejaden9
EP// Scott Saslow/ @scottsaslow
Editorial// Optimus/ @optimuspost
Post Producer// Tracy Spera/ @tracyspera
Post Producer// Joanna Woods/ @joannawoods
Asst. Post Producer// Helen Diep
Editor// Colin Loughlin/ @colinloughlin
Asst. Editor// Lauryn Smith/ @mlauryn
Asst. Editor// Caralyn Moore/ @carqlny
DP// Jackson Clark/ @Jackson.c.clark
Second Unit DP// Nicholas Pham/ @nickpham18
Drone Facility// Aerial Imagery Works/ @aerialimageryworks
Drone Op// Dave Ketelhut/ @dave_ketelhut
G&E// Advanced Multimedia
Gaffer// Fred Gomez/ @freemangomez
Key Grip// Quinn Mclaren/ @Quinn.mclaren
Sound Mixer// Adam Pressley/ @adampressleysound
Music Composer// Casey Wescott/ @caseywescott
Title Designer// Luke Shelley/ @lukeshelley.design
VFX// Optimus
VFX Lead// Ryan Wood/ @loganxw
VFX/Finish Assistant// Christian Allan/ @imchristianallan
Digital Intermediate// Picture Shop/ @pictureshop
Colorist// Tim Saipan/ @tim_stipan
DI Producer// Zac Becker/ @azacbeckerfilm
DI Production Coordinator// Joseph Kirwan
Dir. of Sales Strategy// Kevin Spillyards/ @Kevin_spillyards
Sound Design Facility// Optimus
Sound Designer// Marina Killion/ @marinadelrage
Asst. Sound Designer// Harrison Gill
Film Lab// Kodak NY/ @kodak_shootfilm
Scanning & Processing// Tony Landano
Camera Equipment Provided by Panavision/ @panavisionofficial and Stratton Camera/ @stratton.camera
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