written and drirected by Kevin Haus

What if you knew that you are going to die?

“Life’s greatest gift is the freedom it leaves you to step out of it whenever you choose.” - André Breton, Anthology of Black Humor

A couple makes a drastic decision to escape from a world that forces them to choose between life and existence.

Synopsis

Director’s Statement I awoke one day haunted and confused by a dream: I escaped from a situation in which I had I felt trapped for years. I woke to the realization that I never escaped from anything and that the daily drudgery that caused my nausea was waiting…This waking was false as I would come to realize a few minutes later when the alarm went off. I woke, and for a few moments I didn’t know what was real. Had I escaped?

Writing The Wreck began with a few sentences that I repeated like a mantra until I could write them down. The film seemed to write itself over a very intense six-hour session but was left unresolved. I felt abandoned. Like remembering a dream, the images formed out of sequence and out of context. Certain pieces – the most important pieces - felt lost or hidden. To find them, I had to be willing to throw myself completely into the unknown. My characters had to plunge into the darkness to find the lives they wanted to live. Like the characters, I had to go into that darkness as well, thus the writer became confused with the written: He didn’t know whether he was dreaming he was a butterfly or if it was the butterfly dreaming it was him.

Throughout the process of writing and creating the film, I became convinced that it was important to maintain and endure the confusion seeded by the original idea. The story required lack of closure as part of the story. It is an essential part of the story that the end never resolves into certainty.

The story, like the dream, that haunts and confuses leaves you wanting to know, even when you know you will never know.

* Chuang Tzu, The Butterfly Dream

Director’s Bio I grew up in Syracuse, NY. Those vaguely familiar with it usually know about the immense snow totals each year. Less well known is the perpetual gray sky that hangs over the city. The best thing such a place can give to someone is the immense desire to leave it. Having left, it becomes necessary to determine where you are going.

Having made only a small body of work to this point, I am still finding things about myself and the nature of my work. I think it is difficult to say anything concrete about either. While I feel my work is very personal, I believe that somewhere in the filmmaking process the films take on their own lives and become something other. I have aspired to make work that has a cathartic effect in both the making and the viewing. I have felt strongly that some question should be asked that can be explored even if that question has no answer. If I have found anything about myself in filmmaking, it is that there is no such thing as a singular Self, and that its essence is change.

Toshiji Takeshima (Toshi) was born and raised in Tokyo. As a child he had two dreams: become an actor and work overseas. When he was 11 years old, his parents divorced and over time he lost contact with his mother. He imagines that his mother will one day unknowingly seeing him on the big screen which motivates him to keep acting. In 1998 Toshi was scouted by a talent agent in Japan and began his professional acting career. He appeared in numerous film, television, and stage productions. In 2005 he moved to New York City to study acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio. Though he is primarily interested in film he moved to New York because he also loves theatre. In 2011, Toshi became a permanent US resident with strong support from well known people in the entertainment industry. He has worked with great directors includes Spike Jonze, Ang Lee, Austin Pendleton, and Robert Kalfin. He now resides, acts, and surfs in Los Angeles.

Mari Yamamoto is a Japanese actress and violinist based in New York City. She grew up in Tokyo and London, studied at The Royal Academy of Music and The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film. She has appeared in numerous productions in NYC. Recent credits include award nominated MAGIC BULLETS at Incubator Arts Project, RESTORATION COMEDY and JOB at The Flea Theatre where she is a member of the Bats. She also premiered her original musical storytelling piece UNTITLED TALE in NYC and LA last fall. She can currently be seen in an Adobe campaign as one of the featured musicians and a feature film ALLURE by Vladan Nikolic will premiere in theaters this fall. For more information visit www.mariyamamoto.com

Toshiji Takeshima

Mari Yamamoto

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit New York City - approximately a month after we completed principle photography. The beach scenes in The Wreck were filmed at Rockaway Beach which was severely damaged as a result of the storm. The background photo shows what remained of the boardwalk and some of the erosion to the beach. Houses in the neighborhoods behind the boardwalk ranged from damaged, to uninhabitable and condemned, to completely destroyed. Nearly two years later Rockaway continues to rebuild - lifeguard stations and concessions have been newly built or repaired and fortified, sand has been brought from offshore to repair the erosion and build up dunes, though the boardwalk remains mostly incomplete. As I write this, I’m struggling to connect why I feel so strongly that something about this storm should be said in connection with this film. Of course I have some personal history with the beach, though I’ve never lived there. I think it has more to do with something about resiliance and about weathering the forces of nature that we can never quite be fully prepared for...

thewreckfilm.com

KEVIN HAUSwritten and directed by

executiveproducersTARYN LOONEY ELIOT COLE

castingbyWAYNE CHANGLOU ROGAImusic

bycolorALAN GORDON

productionsoundMATT KING sound editor+

mixerALEXA ZIMMERMANcostume

designANNIE SIMONproductiondesignNESLIHAN ARSLAN

FRANK LONGHITANOdirector of photography

assistantproducerCHRISTINE LO

TOSHIJI TAKESHIMAandMARI YAMAMOTOstarringa productionHAUS+LONGHITANO

a short film