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Teck joined Directors + Donuts event at GearSeven to deliver some encouragement and inspiration on what it looks like to “Own the Present” as a director. With an extremely ambitious spirit, Teck shared how she walks forward in confidence when seeking out gigs, exploring various roles, and dreaming big with her crews. Follow @gearseven for more updates!

Photos Credit: Ryan Green (@30mileswest)

DIRECTOR STATEMENT

I made this film for a little girl who never got to choose how she was being treated or raised. At the age of 8, she was brought to the States and quickly had to learn to survive in a dysfunctional restaurant business. While teens her age were knee-deep in middle school drama, she was running a restaurant. She was doing everything from wrapping egg rolls, employee management, customer service, to checks and balances all to gain a glimpse of affirmation from her mother. It wasn’t until the incredible people God placed in her life that gave her hope and a dream of a future for herself. 

In short, this film only existed with the grace of God. Some of the challenges were the limited resources being a university film and having an all first-time filmmaker crew. Not to mention trying to plan and shoot in the midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic. “Do we have toilet paper on set?” was an unimaginable pressing issue!

From working on countless sets prior to directing this piece, I had really high standards for production. Knowing that it was mostly everyone’s first time on set, the most valuable time was scheduling individual meetings with each member and listening to what they are passionate about. Placing them in areas they are most excited to learn and giving them resources to seek growth in their roles. I am beyond proud and impressed by everyone’s hard work and dedication to this project. A huge shout out to Gabriel King, AD who was by my side through this entire process. Making a film is hard… making one during a pandemic is something else. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?

We scouted the planet for our cast members and they truly all brought their A-Game. Sydney Veronica, who played Myra, was absolutely outstanding in her performance and did her due to diligence research and character development on her own time which provided great results on the screen. Mason Mecartea was an absolute joy to work with and immediately brought the character to life during our table read.  In the car scene, we had only 20 mins left on the camera battery and 14 mins left on the memory card. Instead of being upset with the lack of planning on the camera team, we powered everything down, set up the shot, and I gave both Sydney and Mason a brief direction. After everything was powered back up, we went on with only 3 takes and 1 coverage. This duo absolutely crushed it under pressure and till today is my favorite scene in “Break Free.” 

Nida Chioco, who played the antagonist Hinlee, is one of the nicest humans you will ever meet. It was her very first time acting and she had to portray a very cruel persona on screen. I connected her with an incredible acting coach Miranda Tamaska to bring her up to speed. On the day of the abuse scene, Nida absolutely brought it! Vanessa Sokic, a force to be reckoned with and her contribution to this film, holds more meaning than anything and there was no one else who can take her role as the sole person who believed in Myra (iykyk). As the director, I could not have been more satisfied with the cast’s performance and execution. Thank you all for bringing this film to life.

Most of the magic happens in post-production and I  like to highlight some incredible talents such as: Abraham Mast, VFX artist who is well beyond his years by animating the bird in the film. Drake Bailey, composer with all original music. Summer Sandhu, mixer who single-handedly, mixed the whole film. Taron Lexton, for the boundless support with Avid, wisdom, and color. Skylar Capri, performer, and Ben Lowrimore, Producer with the original song “I’m Free” which tied up the entire film so perfectly. 

BREAK FREE could not be possible without everyone who was involved and their unconditional support in this film and belief in me as a director. Looking back at the process, it has taught me so much and made me fall madly in love with directing and telling stories in this visual media. Looking further back at this little girl… I thank her for not giving up when she wanted to because her continual breath has allowed me to pursue my dreams today. She has always been such an overachiever.

All Glory to God,

TECK

 Break Free BTS by: Vitalii Garbulinskii