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2019 Online Film Festival Interview: ROOTED

There is no escape for the protagonist in this Sci-Fi eco-thriller Rooted, screening at the 2019 Online New England Film Festival.

22 Sep , 2019  

Written by Gloria Han | Posted by:

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Rooted is a short horror about a young man trying to hide from a nature-based monster.

A mix of horror, sci-fi, and thriller, Rooted encompasses many genres while also being an easy to follow but well-executed film. As the title suggests, there is no escape for the protagonist; the visuals and sound mimic his trapped state, as the mysterious monster closes in on him.

Rooted is now streaming through October 15 as part of the 2019 Online New England Film Festival. We caught up with Filmmaker Jared DuBois about how he skillfully managed to produce the movie with limited resources and his path and origins as a young filmmaker, who is beginning to impress audiences. 

NewEnglandFilm: When did you know you wanted to become a filmmaker?

Jared DuBois: When i was around 10 years old. I had finally gotten my first laptop and it had a (terrible) webcam attached to it. I figured I could point the webcam at whatever I wanted and make movies with it. So I did and I just kept doing that for years until I am where I am now. I did go to film school and it is why this film exists. However, I still did the majority of my work before film school.

NewEnglandFilm: What inspired you to make your film?

DuBois: While it was a project for school my main inspiration was a video game by the name of DarkWood. Its story is about an ever expanding forest that is impossible to escape from. Causing madness and monsters within. I absolutely love this story and the visuals of a dark forest that reaches out to attack you so I figured I’d try to make something where the forest is personified by a monster itself.

NewEnglandFilm: How did you find your cast and crew for this film?

DuBois: All of the crew work was done by me and the cast was my dad and my friend Kyle who I found by asking them nicely to help. When you work mostly on your own, you need to be able to multitask.

NewEnglandFilm: Any advice on making films you want to share?

DuBois: Something I have learned is that when you are on a budget of basically nothing and you cannot afford good actors, the secret to get a performance out of them is to make them not talk. What I have learned is that for a non actor, speaking is probably the hardest thing to convincingly sell. So if you can, have them speak as little as humanly possible and leave the storytelling to the cinematography. Also always send it to festivals even if you don’t personally think it’s good, who knows maybe somebody else does and will be willing to watch it with you.

NewEnglandFilm: What has been most exciting about this process?

DuBois: This is my first time ever having my work showcased at a film festival and I am extremely excited about it. I never in a million years thought that my video would even be good enough to grab the attention of a festival and have them invite me. This film was made in a massive rush because most of the people who said they would show up, did not show up and so I had to hastily rewrite the entire thing and throw it together as quickly as possible. This meant a few sleepless nights and a lot of frustration but in the end, I got it done as best I could.

Watch Rooted now through October 14 as part of the 2019 Online new England Film Festival.