WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A group of alumni from South Florida, including a core of Dreyfoos School of the Arts graduates, has collaborated on the short film "Jackrabbit Homestead."
As writer, producer and director Kimberlea Kressal said, she found inspiration for a personal story she'd been longing to tell when she got lost in the desert.
"It's a film about a woman who is seeking forgiveness in the unforgiving desert," Kressal said. "It's a story about kind of grief and forgiveness, and is really kind of based in some kind of personal sad moments of my own life."
The film follows a woman grieving the loss of her wife when she inherits a homestead in the California desert.
"In the 40s and 50s this area was settled and the only stipulation was that if you received one of these 5 acres, you had to build a structure on it," Kressal explained. "So, the cheapest way for most people to do it was these little jackrabbit homesteads, these tiny little cabins."
With more than two decades of experience directing theater, and developing television over the last seven years, this psychological thriller will mark Kressal's debut as a film director. She assembled a team of people with Florida roots who she'd known individually most of her life. Many members of the team are graduates of Dreyfoos School of the Arts.
"It's really hard to find words about how kind of profound the experience was to work with artists who you share a language and a history with," Kressal explained. "I've known Randy Berry since I was 3 years old."
The group has remained close as they developed their craft as professionals, returning to teach and guide younger generations of students at Dreyfoos.
Kressal met actress Randi Berry when they were just 3 years old, and both were accepted into the inaugural class of Dreyfoos School of the Arts, then called Palm Beach County School of the Arts.
Actor Brandon Morris was also at Dreyfoos, and with Berry, went on to train at the New World School of the Arts with future co-stars Dechelle Damien and Yara Martinez, now known for roles in numerous productions.
"We shared a kind of ... shared vocabulary in terms of actor training, so it was very easy to work with the actors in the shorthand," Kressal said. "But also we shared a language just in terms of what it means to be an artist who shows up with a full heart, and a willingness to kind of do anything."
Kressal said they raised funds privately and through the website Indiegogo . Now that the film is shot, it needs additional funding to pay for post-production before it is completed. You can make a donation through her website or make a tax-deductible contribution through Wreckio.
"I want the South Florida community to know that the investment they have made in us, and hopefully continue to make in us, and future artists, it really matters," Kressal said. "We see you, and we're grateful for you."
