Snapshot Written, Directed & Edited By Josiah Miles Pitchforth                                                            Nick Hawthorne......................Josiah Pitchforth                                                            The Voice of “Naqua”.............Josiah Pitchforth
Flower Girl
Written, Directed & Edited By Josiah Miles Pitchforth Harold............................................ Dave Coleman Jennifer................................... Heather Guglielmo
I n the Autumn of 2013, I embarked on what has been, to date, my most technically ambitious project. With assistance of a few friends and family, I attempted to shoot what   I   would   later   deem   to   be   an   “abstract   horror”   picture.   More   so   than   my previous   work,   SnapShot   went   through   several   drafts   and   rewrites.   I   know   I   was exploring   fertile   thematic   ground   but   making   the   decision   as   to   what   themes   I   would allow   to   arise   and   what   themes   I   would   deem   unworthy   became   a   task   in   and   of itself. Also,   around   this   time,   my   cinematic   philosophy   began   to   grow   in   noticeable ways,   at   least   to   myself,   the   way   I   talked   about   film   and   the   way   I   thought   about film began to change from simply a narrative instrument to a more
artistic   method.   I   began   to   think   much   more   visually   and   what   I   wanted   most from   the   project   was   the   opportunity   to   exercise   a   sense   of   subversive   tactics. The    challenge    I    set    forth    to    myself    was    to    establish    a    kind    of    symbolic grammar   in   which   I   could   tell   two   stories   at   the   same   time.   Encouraged   by these   early   efforts,   I   look   back   on   my   endeavors   with   this   project   as   a   crucial step   in   my   own   cinematic   development.   Aside   from   the   material,   what   also proved   challenging   was   the   fact   that   this   was   the   first   time   I   ever   really   acted. Sure,   a   few   shorts   here   and   there   but   to   be   able   to   carry   a   feature   on   my   own, which   is   essentially   the   role   here,   and   to   direct   made   it   exceptionally   unique   in the   editing   process.   The   movie   wrapped   principle   production   in   2013   and   the post-production I conducted on it was not complete until nearly three years
later   in   2016.   SNAPSHOT   tells   the   story   of   Nick   Hawthorne,   a   photographer   who specializes   in   capturing   urban   decay.   The   movie   opens   with   Nick   experiencing   a kind   of   epiphany   of   sorts,   a   kind   of   possession,   a   summoning,   to   go   out   and   use   his camera    to    photograph    the    great    outdoors    in    contrast    to    his    usual    work.   While exploring   the   woods,   Nick   steps   on   an   abandoned   Bear   Trap.   Once   freed,   Nick’s concerns   for   survival   turn   grim   when   it   is   discovered   that   the   Bear   Trap   is   actually alive   as   a   Native American   Spirit   named   Naqua.   What   follows   is   a   kind   of   back   and forth   between   Nick   and   Naqua   that   seeks   to   explore   the   very   thin   veneer   between man and nature.
While    I    will    never    regret    my    extensive    and    rather    rewarding    career    in broadcasting,   there   was,   among   a   few,   downsides.   The   biggest   of   which   was   the fact   that   during   the   annual   48   Hour   Film   Festival   (a   national   phenomena   in   which participants   in   regional   chapters   set   out   to   write   direct   and   edit   short   films   in   just under   48   hours)   I   was   usually   working.   Which   meant   I   missed   a   lot   of   them   and, more   so,   missed   out   on   being   a   part   of   the   filmmaking   community.   In   the   winter of    2011,    I    had    written    a    play    to    be    work-shopped    by   Acorn    Productions    in Westbrook   Maine.   This   was   a   play   written   in   three   acts   and   took   place   primarily in   just   on   location.   Now,   I   have   always   heard   that   classic   Hollywood   legend   of how   notorious   B-Movie   Producer   once   shot   a   movie   in   under   48   hours.   That movie   was   the   comedy   Little   Shop   of   Horrors   and   it   starred   a   very   young   Jack Nicholson.   The   movie   became   such   a   staple   of   schlock   cinema   that   it   was   later reimagined as a campy musical of the same name before
the   legendary   Frank   Oz   brought   it   to   the   big   screen.   Anyways,   it   got   me thinking   “would   it   be   possible   to   shoot   my   little   play   as   a   film?”   in   under 48   hours.   This   would   be   optimal   because,   at   the   time,   I   was   still   working full-and-sometimes-over-time   directing   live   broadcasting   for   Scarborough Downs,   a   popular   Harness   Racing   Track   located   in   Scarborough,   Maine.   I knew   if   I   was   to   pull   this   off,   then   it   would   have   to   be   with   a   two   camera set-up.   So,   with   the   usual   assistance   from   the   very   supportive   local   cable access   station   SPC-TV,   I   loaded   myself   up   with   equipment   and   went   to down   and   low   and   behold,   wouldn’t   you   know,   we   actually   pulled   it   off! FLOWER   GIRL   tells   the   story   of   a   married   couple   whose   wedding   was marred   by   the   tragic   death   of   the   ceremony’s   flower   girl...   and   because   this is   something   that   goes   undiscussed   between   them,   they   each   develop   very different   mythologies   to   suppress   their   grief   and   guilt.   This   was   my   first foray   outside   of   genre   pictures   though   it   still   attempts   to   explore   the   psyche in mystic ways.
While   FLOWER   GIRL   never   actually   found   a   home   with   a   distributor,   it   still remains   my   first   official   credit   on   IMDB   for   directing. And   of   course,   there   are   a few   screeners   kicking   around   here   or   there,   if   you’re   so   inclined   and   you   ask   me nicely...   More   important   than   all   of   that   is   the   fact   that   I   really   see   this   flick   as   my first   real   step   towards   becoming   a   director   with   a   vision...   even   though   it   is technically   my   third   feature. The   experience   taught   me   a   lot   and   for   the   first   time, I   was   willing   to   learn.   Of   course,   if   I   had   to   do   it   all   over   again   I   would   not attempt   to   shoot   the   picture   in   such   a   short   period   of   time   but   I’m   glad   I   did   it, just   to   prove   that   it   could,   in   fact,   be   done...   however,   the   post   production   process was   quite   grueling   to   the   hurried   nature   in   which   the   shoot   took   place.   There needs    to    be    a    fine    line    between    staying    on    schedule    and    running    off    the reservation, as it were.
Gallows & Bloom A Flower Duet
Written, Directed & Edited By Josiah Miles Pitchforth                            Sophia Bloom……………..Crickett Cote                            Deidre Gallows……………Amanda Flowers                            Professor Allman…………..Patrick Bonstandt                            Detective Bentley………….David J. Wallace                                                           
In   the   Spring   months   of   2016,   the   premise   of   this   feature   occurred   to   me while   in   talks   direct   a   feature   centering   around   the   historic   and   marcarbe iconography   of   Lizzie   Borden   (a   famous   New   England   axe   murderer from    the    late    19th    century).    Unfortunately,    or    perhaps    by    way    of happenstance    some    rather    ugrent    and    pressing    matters    caused    me    to abandon   this   project,   still   very   much   in   its   infancy   with   little   more   than   a rough draft of a script, and to move out of state.
While   away,   I   was   able   to   finish   a   satisfying   cut   of   my   previous   work   and so   when   I   did,   in   fact,   return   to   Maine   I   was   invigorated   to   march   forth into   a   new   endeavor.   It’s   funny,   I   often   times   know   not   why   I   pursue   the filmmaking   craft   because   of   the   many   hardships   it   can   entail   but,   sure enough,   I   remain   ever   vigilant   and   spilling   over   the   brim   with   optimism   at the   start   of   something   new.   I   am,   perhaps,   constantly   turning   the   soil   just to watch something grow. And grow this project. It is, undoubtedly, one of
my   more   ambitious   projects,   returning   to   a   larger   cast   and   crew,   which   I have    not    done    since    my    first    filmmaking    attempt:    Tell    The    Tale    of Googley   Knox.   This   gambit,   I   believe,   paid   off   as   the   finished   product will   be   yet   another   step   closer   to   the   summit   of   my   ambitions,   as   both   a craftsman   and   an   artist.   The   story   of   this   movie   is   very   esoteric   in   its nature   and   so   it   is   my   hope   that   its   boldness   will   pave   the   way   for   future projects   which,   while   perhaps   being   slightly   more   edible   to   mainstream audiences,   will   establish   my   interest   in   presenting   the   compelling   and   the bizarre.