Making the most personal film of my career and honestly it's terrifying
I've been on the filmmaking journey for awhile now. My last short is currently on the festival circuit. I know how to be on set, I know how to work with actors, I know the craft.
None of that has made this next one any easier to write.
My new short, BREATHE, is a drama about anxiety. Specifically the invisible, hard-to-articulate kind that doesn't look dramatic from the outside but is absolutely exhausting to live with. I know it well because I've lived with it my whole life.
I've never made something this close to home before. Every draft feels like I'm cracking something open that I usually keep pretty sealed. It's uncomfortable in a way that making films hasn't been for me in a long time, and I think that means I'm doing something right.
I'm curious if other filmmakers here have gone through this - making work that's directly autobiographical or deeply personal. How did you navigate the line between honest and self-indulgent? Between vulnerable and exploitative? Did the proximity to the material make it harder or did it actually make the work sharper?
Would genuinely love to hear how others have handled it.
(For context: we're in the fundraising stage right now if anyone's curious about the project - happy to share more in the comments.)