Actors stepping out from in front of the camera to work behind it is a fairly common occurrence, and ends in varying degrees of success. Rose McGowan, star of cult film Jawbreaker, has recently stated she is done with acting and will now be devoting her time to directing. Her first effort is the short film Dawn, and she describes it as such:
Dear viewer,
Dawn is a cautionary tale. We hurt girls with casual negligence. We change the course of lives with a stereotypical view shared thoughtlessly. We shape the minds of the innocent. Let’s think different and be better.
My inspirations were varied – I wanted the color palette of The Parent Trap (1961) the loneliness of an Edward Hopper painting, the driving tension of Night of the Hunter mixed with Hemingway’s unsparing style of editing. These greats are my teachers.
I layered a lot into Dawn and feel it’s best watched twice. Please enjoy for free and pass it on. THOUGHT+ART = FREEDOM
Peace,
Rose McGowan
Dark and stylistically beautiful, this film is a triumph for McGowan, showing her keen eye for drawing on the work of masters, for evoking a time and place, and leaving the viewer with a strong sense of atmosphere. You can watch the full film below.