I made Far From the Tree at a pivotal moment in my career. After years directing branding campaigns, network launches, and main title sequences, I wanted to create something that fully reflected my dramatic storytelling sensibility—something emotionally grounded, visually ambitious, and undeniably cinematic.
I was drawn to the material by the emotional complexity at its center: a mother forced to confront unresolved trauma as her teenage son begins to resemble the man who assaulted her years earlier. The story demanded restraint, psychological honesty, and performances capable of carrying enormous emotional weight beneath the surface.
Throughout the film, I focused heavily on physical staging and visual symbolism. The central confrontation, originally conceived in a living room, was completely reimagined as a progression from the bottom of a muddy creek bed up into open pasture and light. As buried emotions rise to the surface, the characters physically climb out of darkness and confinement into exposure and truth. I wanted movement, landscape, and blocking to carry the emotional progression as much as the dialogue itself.
The production was also an opportunity to collaborate with exceptional talent. The film starred Gabriel Rush (Moonrise Kingdom) and featured cinematography by Oren Soffer, whose work has since gone on to major studio films including The Creator. The film also featured music from Moby’s personal library, which further shaped the emotional tone and atmosphere of the piece.
Far From the Tree screened at 27 festivals worldwide, earned multiple directing and audience awards, and became an important turning point professionally—helping open doors to my first episodic television opportunities and validating the direction I wanted my career to take.
More than anything, the film confirmed for me that dramatic storytelling was where I belonged.
"Few short films ever deliver on this scale.”
Chris Olsen - UK Film Review
FAR FROM THE TREE | BTS IMAGES
FAR FROM THE TREE | KEY ART
FAR FROM THE TREE | FILM STILLS
