Blog

Daniel Wahlen is a freelance filmmaker who loves to travel in search of the world's best stories. This is his blog, where he expresses ideas, shares his creative process, and invites further discussion about film.

The Director's Statement

As we enter the film festival circuit for The Hideout, one of the first things many require is a press kit, including posters, story summaries, and cast and crew portraits. One of these requirements is a "director's statement," which encapsulates the director's vision for the film. I had never written one before, so this was a learning experience for me.

After reading some impeccable director's statements from Nicolas Winding Refn, Ridley Scott, and Derek Cianfrance, I felt inspired enough to write my own for The Hideout. You can read it below:

The original concept for the The Hideout was to make a movie about two kids ditching school to play in the woods. However, as I was developing the story I became aware of some shocking news: my grandfather, my favorite relative, the man I couldn’t wait to visit every summer—well, he was a child molester. Not only that, but I found out that he had abused one of my very close childhood friends. Reeling from the news, I found writing to be the only way to process my feelings. It was therapeutic.

As I threw myself into the project I was astounded as more and more friends would approach me, opening up that they had somehow been personally affected by child sex abuse. I gathered stories, moments, and painful memories from these wonderful people and poured it into the script, resulting in a film that rang as emotionally true as I could.

I think The Hideout tells an important story because it is not a matter of "if" you know someone who has been affected by this issue; the odds are that you definitely DO know someone. A family member. A classmate. A brother or sister.

The film that came out of this experience is something that I hope is able to resonate deeply with survivors, their families, and compassionate hearts everywhere.

In addition, prior to filming, Matthew Disbro, producer of The Hideout, interviewed me on why I chose to tell this story. I found expressing myself and clarifying these motivations enabled me to have a clearer vision for the project. You can watch the interview at the bottom.

Now that I've explored the inspiration behind The Hideout, my next post will delve into the screenwriting process and possibly give you a look into the script itself. Thanks for reading!

The Hideout

Here I am with the stars of the film: Brogan Hall and Christa Beth Campbell.

For the last nine months I've been working on a short film called The Hideout. It's about a young girl whose life is thrown upside down when she is molested by her favorite teacher.

It's been a rather intense journey, but we finally finished! As the writer, director, and editor I feel like this project has certainly pushed me creatively.

When I find time between prepping film festival submissions, I'll write some blog posts about each stage of the process.

In the meantime, check out the trailer below and be sure to visit the website for more details. Or if you're more into Facebook, we've got a page for it there too.

www.thehideoutfilm.com

www.facebook.com/thehideoutfilm