The Heart
2022
Fifteen-minute dramatic short film made over the course of 2022. Shot in the summer and finished in the winter, the short film took six months to complete and recruited the help of assistant director Jaden Fields, actors Ian McCann, Evelyn Linck, Davis Giordano, and prop manager and production assistant Max Giordano. Although the country-side scenes were shot in Marissa, Illinois, the film is a love letter to the open corn farms of Missouri and hard-working paper boys of the early 20th century. The film was presented in the Webster Groves High School film festival in April 2023.
Eugene Hunter is a Missourian newspaper boy in charge of distributing the papers around farmland nearby. Eugene is well-known and liked by those he distributes to, but while delivering, Eugene feels a burning sensation, a sign of being overworked. As Eugene gradually confesses his ailment, people around town refuse to believe him and build a grudge against him. Eugene is forced to continue working until his eventual end.
Photo stills from short film