The writer/director shoots a new feature film called Lebanon.
Director and writer Ben Hickernell '00 wrapped up shooting this week in the Philadelphia area for his new film Lebanon.
Hickernell says the comic drama, about a 35-year-old advertising executive who returns to his hometown to bury his father and ends up befriending his pregnant teen-age cousin, was inspired by the divisiveness of the 2004 presidential elections. Watching that contest, he says, and listening to so many pundits "telling us how divided the country is in a very simplistic, cable news way” drove the creation of the story.
Hickernell, who spent a year writing the script, also created Lebanon as a contrast to his last film, cellar, a dark thriller about two former friends trapped in a basement with a gun. While cellar was developed with film festivals in mind, with Lebanon the filmmaker is aiming to tell as solid a story as possible and find a wider audience.“Film festivals are fun, but they don't sell your film,” says Hickernell, whose production company Reconstruction Pictures is based in Philadelphia.
Lebanon also features a few name actors: Josh Hopkins (Swingtown), Samantha Mathis (Lost), and Mary Beth Hurt (The World According to Garp). Hickernell attributes much of the film's success thus far to Mathis's dedication.“When she read the script she loved it, and she and her agent became a cheerleader for it and helped us find actors,” he says.
For Hickernell, every single step toward making Lebanon, which he began work on three years ago, has been much tougher than he originally anticipated. For starters, Lebanon has cost more than $300,000. By comparison, cellar cost a mere $30,000. Money has certainly been Hickernell's biggest obstacle. Without funding, it was hard to find actors, but without actors it was also hard to get funding. The entire process has been anything but linear. Says Hickernell,“Things kind of come in waves when they're least expected.”
