END OF THE LINE CAST & CREW, AUGUST 2017 - QUIXOTE STUDIOS
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT - JESSICA SANDERS
I have always loved Aimee Bender’s surreal and unusual stories. Her twisted tale about power, END OF THE LINE from her short story collection WILLFUL CREATURES has stayed with me since I read it in 2005. The story of a man who goes to the pet store to purchase a tiny man in a cage explores social class, desire and power. It’s dark, funny, sad, scary and exhilarating. As a director, I love playing with touches of surrealism from my first short film, the award-winning LOS ANGELS about a girl born with a birthmark in the likeness of the Great Wall of China on her stomach. END OF THE LINE explores themes I’ve longtime been interested in, power and it’s abuse, but explored in a highly unusual and creative way.
I enjoy films that explore the surrealism grounded in the natural world from ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, BEING JOHN MALKOVITCH to the giant vagina scene in Pedro Almodovar’s TALK TO HER. As a director I was excited to make a film that would challenge myself visually, with large art builds (we built a 25ft cage and a 30 ft penis) and Visual Effects.
I collaborated with the most incredible creative team of artists, working closely with production designer Justin Trask (Apple), Visual Effects Supervisor Eva Floodstrom (Star Wars, Star Trek), Cinematographer Brett Pawlak (Glass Castle, Short Term 12), Costume Designer Shirley Kurata (Rodarte), Editors Claudia Castello (Creed, Fruitvale Station) and Stephen Berger (I’m Here), Screenwriter Joanne Giger (Mes Copines) and producer Louise Shore (Unlovable). Actors Simon Helberg (Big Bang Theory, Florence Foster Jenkins) and Brett Gelman (Stranger Things, Lemon) brought so much humanity and emotion to Little Man and Big Man.
The film could not have been made without the support of Refinery29 and TNT’s Shatterbox film series to support female filmmakers. Making this film has been a creative dream come true.
REFINERY29 & TNT'S SHATTERBOX ANTHOLOGY FILM SERIES
END OF THE LINE is part of Refinery29 & TNT's Award-winning Shatterbox Anthology, a short film series dedicated to supporting the voices of female filmmakers. The series has become known for providing female filmmakers the opportunity to bring their directorial visions to life. Both new and veteran filmmakers are providing audiences with creative storytelling that tackles gender, sexuality and power, all under the umbrella of the female experience in this world.