The inspiration and message behind the film.
By Kayla Miranda, Student Intern & Ambassador for ShelterBox USA, Long Beach State University
Interview with Kerrilee Gore Kerrilee Gore, writer and director of Stand By Mother, talks about Stand By Mother ahead of its screening at the Alcazar Theatre.
Kerrilee Gore, writer and director of “Stand by Mother,” reached out to ShelterBox USA as she saw a natural alliance between her environmentally aware children’s movie and our disaster relief agency’s quest to be as sustainable as possible. Cut to the Alcazar Theatre in Carpinteria, where Gore, a staunch supporter of ShelterBox, will show the film this Friday, leading up to Earth Day next week.
What began as a personal live stage project with her daughters has since evolved, been reimagined into a cinematic experience. “Stand By Mother” follows Felix, who discovers a mysterious book that sends him on a journey exploring the environmental challenges facing the world today. Beyond its emphasis on environmental issues, the film also focuses on compassion including being a good human, having empathy, and not judging people.
The film features a cast of young children portraying fascinating and insightful characters. From Lola the Love Bug, one of the first characters to be introduced, brings a warm and magnetic energy through her ethereal dance, offering a glimpse of the talent to be shown throughout the film. To Viggo the Virtual Warrior, whose insightful performance explores the dangers of becoming too immersed in technology. And then to Oola, who brings a dominating presence to the screen with her enthralling energy and compelling dance performance. Overall, each character in this film delivers captivating and engaging performances, and what’s more impressive is that most of the cast had little to no acting experience prior.
When “Stand by Mother” debuted as a play, it had three successful runs with proceeds going toward local charities.
“It got such a great response from parents, grandparents, and teachers,” said Gore. “It was very moving. People in the audience were singing the songs and they wanted to be part of it. I felt like there was something to this. People want this, they need this right now. Although it touches upon some very heavy, serious subject matter, it also presents it in a hopeful, optimistic way.”
With the favorable reaction from audiences, Gore began to wonder: ‘what if we turned “Stand By Mother” into a cinematic experience?’ Prior to “Stand By Mother”, she directed a short movie “The Memory Experiment.” That valuable filmmaking experience gave her the confidence to adapt “Stand By Mother” into a film. Her crew was made up of Santa Barbara locals, many from UC Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College film schools. The cast consisted primarily of young children, most of whom had no prior acting experience.
“It’s really interesting that none of these kids, and two of them are actually my own kids, have never acted a day in their life,” Gore explained. “The exception is the (the oldest character) Dakota, who’s not a child, who is an established actor, who’s amazing. The lead boy had only done background work once. The rest of the kids had never done anything.”
The film was shot in just five days. Having not gone to film school, there were aspects of filmmaking Gore wasn’t familiar with such as certain technical terminology on set. That’s where she leaned on her “amazing young crew” for support. She described how easy and incredible they all were, and how fun the experience was for all of them.
“They loved being on set and seeing how a professional film set runs, with the markers and time codes,” Gore recalled. “With the video village in the back where they would all sit and watch their friends as they were shooting.”
“Stand By Mother” takes a unique approach to environmental storytelling, exploring important and vital issues through an artistic, emotional lens and memorable characters. With this creative style, Gore aimed to create something that resonantes, while still keeping the artistic integrity of what she envisioned.
“I love dark and dreamy and haunting and beautiful, imaginative things,” Gore said. “And I love unique things. I don’t typically like following the masses.”
She hopes to reach a wide and diverse audience, across many generations. Gore envisions this film to not only be an engaging cinematic experience, but also as an educational tool that can be shared in schools to help spark conversations among young audiences.
You will have a chance to see “Stand By Mother” as Gore and ShelterBox USA are hosting a free private screening on Friday, April 17, at the Alcazar Theatre. The event begins at 7:00 PM with doors opening at 6:30 PM. A brief Q&A will follow the screening.
