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Freedom State
56 minutes | Teen | 2006 | 
United States of America
Action & Adventure / Comedies / IndieFlix Official Selections
Where Freedom is a State of Mind.
SynopsisA crackpot comedy about sanity, a quest, and crazy love. When eight mental health home patients wake up to discover that the Nurse is absent, the T.V. is out, and find a glass eye made in Rapture, Indiana. . .they come to the only possible conclusion: the apocalypse has happened. Each takes on a new role in society and finds a sense of purpose through imagination. Led by their president--a disenfranchised housewife who has decided normal is crazy--they commandeer a short bus and head out on a mission to save the world's survivors, on their journey to find the edge of the world.
Director's StatementDescribe your style for FREEDOM STATE:
Cullen Hoback (Director): I wanted the film to play with the idea of working within a frame. Film is two-dimensional. The Camera can move through three, but when you’re looking at a screen, it’s two. I wanted to play around with that flatness and the motion within that and make it a moving picture, quite literally. I wanted to put a frame around it. It was designed to look like a painting, very color-saturated and fantasylike.
In this one scene, they literally rip a painting out of the frame, and Krystal marches each of them and they establish a new world order. They each take a picture of each of them behind the frame. You get a literal frame, within the frame. And each of them takes pictures of themselves. Hopefully it’s a clear giveaway.
I blend improv into well-rehearsed scenes, and collect what I see while out on a set and find a place for it in the film. My DP calls them “happy accidents”. For me that’s life. I’m process based, and a collector. I’ll come in with a meticulous plan, and then build on that as I discover new things. These are my favorite moments in the film.
I also don’t like for things to be all that apparent. I’m trying to structure it in a way that keeps the audience asking questions. When I’m editing, I think to myself, what questions might the audience be asking now? Rather than just giving away the exposition, I believe in making them have to surmise it.
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Directed by
Cullen Hoback -
Written by
Cullen Hoback -
Produced by
David Morrison Douglas
Aaron Kirk Douglas - Freedom State Website
Written by: Cullen Hoback
Produced by: David Morrison Douglas
Aaron Kirk Douglas
Cast
Krystal: Megan MurphyDex: Harry Lessinger
Bosco: Richard Garfield
Chuck: Jim Craig
Denise: Nine DeJanvier
Nurse Garrit: Suzanne Duval
Midge: Dax Jordan
Ted: Payam Karamooz
Cloud: Matt Ludwick
Frederick: Ry Sherrell
Velvet: Hunter Rose Teal
Bernie: Agrippa Williams
Eloise: Katie Bailey
Diver: N. Michael Acker
Crew
Editor: Cullen HobackProduction Manager: Aaron Kirk Douglas
Post-Production Supervisor: Tim Scotten
First Assistant Director: Martin Oliver Edward Wright
First Assistant Director: Second Unit: Lynn Reynolds
Second Assistant Director: Shane Baker
Second Second Assistant Director: Aaron Gordon
Property Master: Jenelle Giordano
Assistant Art Director: Michael Lindberg
Assistant Art Director: Timothy Oakley
Carpenter: Second Unit: Jon Putnam
: Matt Donaldson
Music: Greg Ives
Sound Designer: John Northcraft
Second Boom Operator: Erik Ring
Production Sound: Creed Spencer
First Assistant Camera: Matt Barbee
Grip Assistant: Joshua Burson
Electrician: Second Unit: Tyson Carpenter
First Assistant Camera: Second Unit: Kyril Cvetkov
Grip: Jim Dunn
Grip: Second Unit: Jeff Ettlin
Jib Arm Operator: Brian Fleskes
Grip: Brian Neubauer
Chief Lighting Technician: John Nichols
Grip: Robert Platt
Electrician: Sean Strauss
Electrician: Second Unit: Steve Waters
Key Grip: James Wilderhancock
Costume Design Assistant: Alice Clemans
Consulting Editor: Greg Day
Second Editor: James Eubank
High Definition Mastering : Tim Scotten
Cinematographer: Shawn Sundby
Set Medic: Joshua Burson
Web Developer: Greg Fredette
Craft Services: Rachel Lipsey
Legal Affairs: Jeff Miholer
Script Supervisor: Second Unit: Ben Oh
Script Supervisor: Corinne Theodoru
Posters and Publicity Designer : Rob Ottley
Production Assistant: Aaron Ward
Production Designer: Travis Zariwny
Music Department: 3 Leg Torso
Moondance International Film Festival
Santa Fe Film Festival
Annapolis Film Festival
Rome International Film Festival
Sonscreen Film & Video Festival
What are you trying to get across with FREEDOM STATE?
Cullen Hoback (Director): It’s largely about space, how we fit into it. The film restructures how we think about our roles in the world. Each of the characters in the film has their own view of reality and the whole film is removed from society. That’s one of the key elements. They create their own reality and get completely caught up in it. It’s a reality that’s equally valid to our daily lives. Through what we perceive is fantasy, they find life. They find meaning. There’s also some subtle political and social commentary. I like to structure films with layers, and context, down to the numbers of the bus, so even an 8-year-old can enjoy it.
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Director
Cullen Hoback
