Outpost 9 is a short sci-fi film that was primarily written for the actors to showcase their action skill and offer the two lead females, over 35 years old, the opportunity to play a role that was something other than a romantic interest or a mother. It is a story about friendship, betrayal, those grey areas within our shadow self that many choose to ignore.
In all of my projects I want to challenge gender stereotypes, ageism and infuse my stories and characters with non-conformity. That being said, the process of making this film is an experiment in itself. To attempt to create equality amongst the actors and director by finding performers who are on a similar skill level and inserting the director as an actor too. Three performers had only participated in film extra work on large professional sets with very limited lead role experience, including the director, and one was in learning. I wanted to explore how having the director being a part of the cast would affect the performance of the group, and if having everyone with a similar skill set would make people feel more at ease with each other and less likely to feel inadequate or imposter syndrome.
The experiment was a success. The actors felt more at ease and all performed well and the atmosphere on set was relaxed, friendly, and ample fun was had due to the method of directing and the subject matter, not to mention blasters and blades made the action even more entertaining and the costumes improved the production value and the experience for all who assisted on this project.
Outpost 9 is a short sci-fi film about friendship, betrayal, those grey areas within our shadow self that many choose to ignore. It challenges gender roles, stereotypes and ageism with a blaster in the hand and a galaxy to explore.