Directed / Shot by Jamie Grefe
Director Statement: Sleepaway Camp: Silence was digitally composed in Malibu, California in July 2019. I wanted to capture a “Malibu out of time” mixed with a Peter Hutton-esque attention to landscape and duration. For this shoot, I had no actors. But the lack of human participation should not stop one’s imagination from following one’s will to create. If one’s will is to shoot and edit a short piece of work, then let the art happen. The title is meant to re-contextualize the footage away from its original grounding and expand it into the realm of fantasy by way of an exploitation film that doesn’t (yet) exist. A kind of lost companion to an old series.
A friend of mine recently watched some of my short work and commented on the “horror” tonality that it radiates, even though I never considered the other short works as horror. However, I can’t control (nor do I want to control) the viewers’ emotional experience or reaction to a work. I can only focus on my own sense of ambiance and narrative unfolding. If he felt horror in the work, then perhaps that speaks of how these meditative “silent” and/or “slow” pieces could work off the individual’s interpretation, and give them a myriad of lives apart from my intent as opposed to any kind of rigidity. I’m certainly not against that. I don’t think I can control that.
Thank you for watching.
