Teaser trailer
As a couple searches a remote corner of Pennsylvania for their missing daughter, family secrets spill out into the open, fracturing everyone’s sense of reality.
Director’s Statement
Every writer’s process differs in approach, but everyone who has ever attempted to take pen to paper has likely faced unfathomable fits of frustration: the crumpling and tossing of loose leaf, the hours upon hours of staring at a blank laptop screen. We can all relate to this seemingly indomitable struggle. For the first time in my life, I did not come face to face with this battle. This script poured out of me in what amounted to a few hours, and with the exception of some minor tweaks, the final film is a representation of the story I put to paper last fall on a dreary Sunday in the Catskills.
Although loosely based on a real incident, this film is more broadly a call to action. A metaphorical warning flare fired into the night. The coda accompanying the end credits reveals a statistic that may surprise most, but numbers don’t move people. The realization that without a doubt, someone that you know and love was most likely sexually abused as a child, I hope will. If we don’t continue to speak truth to power, these horrific numbers will remain constant, and the predation that infects our society will continue into the next generation.
'Doorstep' is the result of finally being able to achieve something I’ve strived towards for quite some time. Realism and cinema are always in a constant battle with each other. Melodrama is inherent to the medium, and as a filmmaker, I have always struggled with whether to fully embrace that fact or to abandon it completely in search of my own vision of vérité. With 'Doorstep', I decided to have my cake and eat it too. This film is melodramatic, yes, but it is also raw, bleak and filled with the kind of direct, character driven storytelling that define my cinematic beliefs.
As a storyteller, I have always been more interested in character over plot. People will constantly tell you that a film needs a good “hook,” but I believe that if you create thoughtful, well-rounded characters, and drop them into a fully realized situation, plot becomes secondary to what we truly connect with; empathy for our shared human experience.
cast
Susan Lea Gallagher is an American actress and producer. Susan has a passion for strong female driven films, which attracted her to playing the role of Margie in Doorstep.
Susan's work takes her all over the U.S., but most notably NYC for her series regular role of Val, a bisexual Mom coming out to her lesbian daughter in Queering. Other recurring roles are Safe Harbor, Treme, and The Inbetweeners, but her favorite role is that of Lynn, the Homeless woman, in the Karate Kid's new hit series Cobra Kai. Some other notable credits include Strange Weather opposite Holly Hunter, Bloodline opposite Kyle Chandler, and Susan just wrapped on Lifetime's The Christmas Contract opposite Hilarie Burton and Cheryl Ladd, due out in 2018. check out all of susan’s work here.
Jon Shaver is An actor of theater, TV, and film. Jon lives in NYC with his wife and two kids. He's been fortunate to work in NYC and throughout the regions and considers himself one of the luckiest guys around.
Some of his credits include Off-Broadway: who killed woody allen? Regional: sweat - Dallas Theater Center, clever little lies - Florida Studio Theater, all the way - Rep of St. Louis, a man for all seasons - Fulton Theater, the nerd and the importance of being earnest - Arrow Rock Lyceum.
TV: Tales of the City, House of Cards, Bull, Gotham, Madame Secretary, Elementary, Orange is the New Black, HappyISH, The Good Wife, 30 Rock, Law & Order.
Film: Men in Black III, The Family, Pentimento, and Doorstep. check out all of john’s work here.
john patrick hayden is an actor and filmmaker who can currently be seen in his recurring role on Netflix’s hit series Daredevil. check out all of john’s work here.
“It was honor to work with Mike on this film. His vision and sensitivity to the material translated Doorstep into a piercing film that sheds light and prompts discussion on a subject that needs our attention and action. “
- John Patrick Hayden
