A teenager tries to escape her tormented reality in the short film THROUGH THE STARS

Here is a sci-fi drama short film to watch titled Through the stars. Under the cover of darkness, a teenager attempts to escape her tormented reality, determined to find her missing father with the help of her best friend and a mysterious device.

The film is said to be both a standalone “poem” and a proof of concept for a mini series.

The film comes from the writer and producer Ryan Martha and I’ve included an interview with him which you can read below.

This short film is shared in collaboration with the FilmQuest Film Festival, where we are looking to showcase some of the radical independent genre films and shorts that filmmakers are creating.

What was the inspiration for your film? How did the idea come to you?

I am a film and television composer who has created original scores for award-winning television series, feature films, documentaries, and more with my work playing in theaters, television networks, and streaming services such as Hulu, Netflix, Disney Plus, and National Geographic.

I’ve been fortunate enough to help tell so many wonderful and compelling stories using music, but this time I really wanted to challenge myself and tell a personal story using the written word. I believe the best art is honest art.

Through The Stars is an honest look at many parts of my childhood that I find compelling. I know what it’s like to be a prisoner in your own home, to feel lost and deeply alone at a young age with no one to save you – and to be at the mercy of a new violent and highly problematic father figure.

My hope is that Through The Stars will be nuanced, beautiful, emotional, disturbing, thought-provoking, and compelling for everyone who watches it, too. Perhaps we could all realize how much more intertwined, connected, and similar we are to each other than we can immediately perceive.

Tell us about yourself. What is your background? How long have you been a director?

I started out skateboarding and playing/performing/writing/recording in punk rock and hardcore bands. After that, I started creating soundtracks for award-winning television shows, shorts, feature films, documentaries and everything in between.

What inspires you to work in genre cinema and tell these types of stories?

The transmission of stories is one of the most distinctive traits of human beings. It connects us, allows us to understand and empathize with each other, as well as understand ourselves on a deeper level than we could alone. For me, cinema is the pinnacle of all this and why I am so attracted and fascinated by it.

What was your favorite part of the filmmaking process for this project?

We spent a lot of time in pre-production on this film. That was the best part for me because we really came together as a team to try to figure out the best way to tell a very complicated story in a 15-minute short film. I found it really fulfilling to collaborate with so many wonderful, talented people to overcome a million obstacles and get a finished film.

What are you most proud of about this film?

I’m very proud of the team we put together, from the actors to the sound assistants. It was extremely humbling to be a part of.

What is a favorite story or moment from the making of the film that you would like to share?

After spending so much time struggling, crawling, and straining to get to the point of making it to our first day of shooting, it was incredibly overwhelming to see the first image appear on the screen in the video village as we shot our first scene. I’ll never forget it.

What was the most challenging moment or experience you had while making your film?

Every film that is completed is an absolute miracle. The entire process is full of landmines just waiting to blow up production before it even begins.

There was no shortage of challenging experiences, but the most notable might have been having to cancel all filming since we were scheduled to shoot in Washington state, then getting the crew together and shooting in upstate New York.

Having to start almost from scratch over the course of a month or so was incredibly challenging and I’m so proud that we were able to pivot and make it happen.

If so, how did your film change or differ from the original concept during pre-production, production, and/or post-production? How has it changed the way you approach future projects?

The script is the one that has changed the most. The first version of the story had a much darker ending and some completely different flashback sequences (flash sideways?)

I think all the changes better reflected a more honest look at how our protagonist, Casey, would react to her adversity. Getting feedback on how different characters might react to situations is very helpful, especially if that character is very different from you as a writer.

Who were some of your collaborators and actors in the film? How did you start working together?

Ariel Danziger, our director, Waleed Sokkar, our director of photography, Lisa Carr, our co-executive producer, Alex Knapp and Max Gardner, our producers, and Paul La Calandra, our editor, have all been collaborators on movie and we all came together to make it work tangentially with each other in some form in the past.

Our lead actors, Mya Hudson (Casey) and Jack Welshons (Max), have come on board after extensive casting and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have them. They brought these characters to life in a wonderful and heartfelt way.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received as a filmmaker and what would you like to say to new filmmakers?

The best advice I’ve received is that the best art is honest art. I would tell new directors to be as brave and vulnerable as possible with their film. Be unflinchingly and brutally honest with your film. You’ll be surprised at how far it takes you.

What are your plans for your career and what do you hope this film does for that? What kinds of stories would you like to tell moving forward?

I hope to continue to grow my career as a composer and film producer. My hope is that we can take Through The Stars and turn it into a miniseries. There is so much about this story that hasn’t been told yet and so much more about the characters that I would love the chance to show.

What’s your next project and when can we expect to see it?

I can’t talk about it yet, but follow my social channels and I’ll be able to reveal everything soon. I’m very excited and can’t wait for everyone to see it in the coming months.

Where can we find more of your work and where can interested people contact you? Do you have a website or YouTube/Vimeo channel? Social media handles?

you can go to bio.site/RyanMarth to see all my links, but I’m most active on Instagram at @ryanmarthmusic