ARE YOU AWAKE?

Santa Barbara Film Festival 2023

Gabriel Caste’s latest short film Are You Awake hadits world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Interview with Director: Gabriel Caste by Emmanuel Itier and Roxanna Bina - Santa Barbara 2023

Where does this film comes from and what were your intention with it?

Gabriel: Well for context, Are You Awake? is a psychological thriller film following a woman who’s job is to wake people up in the morning. 

I wrote Are You Awake? in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. Like everyone else, I was at a low point. It got so bad that I was having a hard time getting myself out of bed. My wife was waking me up every morning for a few weeks before I pulled myself out of it. 

I started writing Are You Awake? because of that experience. I wanted to examine how people help (or don’t help) others and themselves. My intention was to write something. Anything. I had been in such a slump, and this film was really my way of breaking out of it. 

What challenges did you face making it?

Gabriel: The biggest challenge with this film was the actual physical production. I wrote a script that required 7 unique bedrooms and 2 unique kitchens and living rooms. 

This was a lot to cram into 2 days of filming, but my wife Lauren, who was a producer and production designed the film, was a total boss. One of the locations we rented was a completely empty house. And we decorated and re-decorated that house to make our days.

What are the themes of importance in your film?

Gabriel: The film is a statement on mental health. It normalizes human sadness, examines grief and loss, and shows how you can lose yourself during dark times. Sometimes you look in the mirror and you don’t even recognize yourself. The film aims to highlight that sense of dread.

What is the take away? what impact do you hope this film has with the audience?

Gabriel: Well, I don’t want to spoil anything, but the takeaway is - life is hard. Even when things are going right, sometimes it’s still a struggle to get a grip. This is a fresh telling on a feeling every human has dealt with. And it ends on a note of positivity and hope.

If you are alive, you’ve struggled. And it’s taboo to feel down. When someone asks you HOW ARE YOU? You’re supposed to say GOOD AND YOU?  I want the audience to take a beat and actually think about how life’s been treating them. The highs and lows, and give themselves a pat on the back. Someone’s gotta treat you well, it might as well be yourself.

Being in Santa Barbara film festival, what does this mean? expectations?

Gabriel: I am so thankful we get to premiere Are You Awake? at Santa Barbara. It’s the first time I’ve personally been to this festival, but they have so many exciting speakers and incredible film premieres this year. I’m looking forward to spending a week celebrating movies. And obviously I’m glad Are You Awake? is kicking off it’s festival run. As I mentioned, this film has been with me since 2020. Getting it out into the world feels like the beginning of a new chapter. 

In this psychological thriller, Dale (Ellyn Jameson) is a detached woman who earns a living by waking strangers up in the morning. She spends her day making house calls, after agreeing to stand-in for a colleague. Dale enters a patient's house, and is unsettled by the mess she finds. Bradley (Paul Archer) explains he’s been plagued by nightmares, and refuses to get out of bed. Though Dale feels obligated to convince him otherwise, she can’t help but form a pitiful kinship with the man paralyzed by his own dreams.

Director/Writer/Producer/Editor: Gabriel Caste

Producer/Color: Alex Exline

Producer/Production Design: Lauren Caste

Director of Photography: Ian Coad

1st AC: Joe McNairy

2nd AC: Ly Tran

Gaffer: Giovanni Palacino

Key Grip: Nestor Valenzuela & Christopher Grajales

Hair & Makeup: Diahann McCrary & Kimberly Werner

Production Sound: Ethan Carling

Original Score: Paul Sim Post

Sound Mixer: Cody Peterson

VFX: James Poirier

BTS: Tyler Costill

Starring: Ellyn Jameson, Paul Arche,r Begine White-Klein, John Wilcox, Kelley Poling, Charles Noland, Tien Vu, Sydney Kilroy, Martin Lino, Tevin Harris