ReelWorld Film Festival 2013: short film “Eneme”

ReelWorld Film Festival starts next week, on Wednesday April 10th. One of the films showcased at this year’s RWFF is the Canadian short drama Eneme (director Chris Abell), which will be screened at Famous Players Theater at Canada Square in Toronto on Friday April 12th. After the recent death of his son, Boyd (played by Edsson Morales) is deciding between his own life and death. Canadian Features Programmer Bobby Del Rio says: “Edsson Morales delivers a powerhouse performance in this well-crafted short film about one man’s pain”.

I have had the opportunity to chat with the filmmakers of the short drama Eneme – Chris Abell, director; Brendan Whelton and Chris Green, producers; Edsson Morales, lead actor.

When I asked the four of them to tell me about the making of the film, director Chris Abell told me that the lead actor Edsson Morales had come to him with an idea, they collaborated on the script, and then, over a couple of months, they brought over producers Chris Green and Brendan Whelton. After that, the idea just flew through Edsson’s style of acting and Chris’s style of directing. Chris Abell and Edsson Morales tried to create a very dark atmosphere inside the characters. The location was brought to them by the producers coming on board, and within 3 months the film was shot. The editing of the film took approximately another 3 months. This is the first festival the short film Eneme is showcased at.

Producers Brendan Whelton and Chris Green shared that for them the making of this film was a really great experience. Brendan was approached by actor Edsson Morales, and since the two producers have worked with Edsson on a feature film in the past, they were looking forward to working with him on a new film again, so they decided to come on board of Eneme. They had gone through 8-9 drafts of the script until it was locked. Once the script was decided upon, the shooting started and everything came together really quickly. As the film developed, Brendan says, the producers passed the ball to Chris Abell and Edsson Morales – they just needed to make sure that they stayed out of the director and lead actor’s way and let them get where they needed to go. Producers Brendan and Chris even joked that there was a very cold weekend when they shot the film, but it was an awesome experience for them.

Then I asked Edsson Morales to share about his experience with the film. He told me that from an actor’s point of view, it was an amazing project to work on, thanks to the team that the film had and thanks to Chris Abell, the director. “It was awesome to work with him [Chris Abell]. Whenever you needed someone to help you dig and get into that moment, or get into that character, Chris [Abell] was definitely there. Also, our producers Brendan Whelton and Chris Green made it an easier environment to work in. It was really great how they pulled it together. For me as an actor, it was an awesome script to work with. Also, my co-star Leo – he’s 10 years old, he is a very talented young man, and it was awesome to work with him. And yes, it was definitely a very cold weather when we shot the film, but it was an amazing experience.” 

Director Chris Abell hopes this film to be a reflection. Eneme reflects the idea of a man who’s lost his son. How someone in this situation would feel, what would they be forced to go through, and what would they do about it? Taking it to the extremes? What Chris hopes for is that the audience will feel the heartache and the pain of the lead character and reflect on it.

Filmmakers of the short drama "Eneme" (left to right) -- director Chris Abell, producer Chris Green,  lead actor Edsson Morales, producer Brendan Whelton

Photo credit: Victoria West