You are listening to The Next Best Picture podcast, and this is Daniel Howitz interview with the director and writer for The After, Misan Haramon, and the film star David O'iolello.

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Well, Misan and David, thank you so much for taking time to talk with me about your short film, The After.

I appreciate your time.

Pleasure.

So, Misan, let's start with you.

This is a tragic story about grief and loss and the journey to heal.

Where did this idea start for you?

Yeah, I think it's the tapestry of, you know, personal experiences and

reflections, but really the crescendo of it all was lockdown, you know, and George Floyd,

you know, 2020 being that year where we couldn't pretend anymore that we were okay.

And I think this film was born out of a big part of the experience all of us went through

in the summer of 2020.

And why did you feel that this story was best suited for a short film?

Well, you know, I think as a new filmmaker, the medium of short films is a great way to not just learn the ropes, but to really not be overwhelmed into the storytelling process.

And I felt the narrative arc for Dior, if we did our job correctly,

could be put into that 18 minute viewing time.

So, you know, I think history will let us know if we did our job correctly,

but I felt we could pack it in.

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