"If Not Now When" Director's Statement

"If Not Now When" was my thesis film at Cal Arts. After I finished my 2008 student film, "The Pearl Necklace" (a Film Noir Satire), I asked myself, 'What can I do that is the complete opposite of my last project?'. The answer was a bizarre mytho-poetic journey through a surreal world where nothing quite makes sense. I wanted to develop this new idea strictly with visuals. I saw this world as a melting pot where all time periods and cultures had fused together. I did a charcoal drawing of a Grandfather Clock, doubling as a telephone pole, with wires stretching over the Tower of Babel. This image started to shape what the film would depict.

The project became an attempt to create a new mythology; the mythology of the clock. The abstract narrative evolved, but the concept of 7 transformations in 7 minutes survived. I didn't want any dialog in the film to avoid language barriers. I discovered an Australian artist by the name of Tjupurru. His music was tribal yet electronic, which was the exact mood I was going for.

With a dual background of Animation and Live Action, I wanted to find new ways to combine the mediums. I decided Stop Motion was the best kind of Animation to accomplish this. My original vision for the piece was just the imagery and the music. I screened that cut a few times then decided the film needed sound effects. Now that the film is completed, all my expectations have been surpassed. I worked with an amazing group of artists who took my world then embellished it beyond belief.

The title of the film came from a quote by Heschel. The quote reads "If I am not for myself, then who am I? If I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?". The last part became a mantra I would use as a reminder to embrace the present. I chose it as the title before I even hit pre production. The film asks, 'When is the now?'. Sometimes just asking the question can be quite insightful.