Filmmaker Hollis Sherman-Pepe on Craft, Creativity, and Her Feature Debut

Article and Interview by Portia Leigh for Medium

Though she has become known for dreaming up fantastical worlds and elaborate stories through her work as a filmmaker, Hollis Sherman-Pepe insists she’s not a dreamer, she is a doer. And after looking at all that she has accomplished over the course of her more than two-decade career in the industry, it is a statement one can only agree with… [CLICK LINK TO READ MORE]

SAMPLE FROM THE INTERVIEW:

Although “Tenants of Carver Hill” includes supernatural elements, it feels rooted in history, place, and character. What inspired the story, and what were you most interested in exploring beneath the mystery?

I grew up in a haunted house, so I think it was perhaps my destiny to make a cinematic ghost story. This film became my opportunity to share some of my real-life haunting experiences as well as honor my appreciation for the past.

Tenants of Carver Hill was written specifically for our filming location. Setting the story on a property dating back to the 1700s allowed me to intertwine the real-life history of the house and the Pennsylvania Dutch culture into my story. These early American settlers had their own language, faith, and traditions, and their simple farming lifestyle helped lay the groundwork for the Mennonite communities that followed. I loved the idea that one house could carry all of those eras, lives, and people’s stories vibrating within the walls.

I am fascinated by the idea of destiny versus free will. As modern Americans, we are constantly driven toward success. Our culture is always evolving toward better, bigger, newer, and more efficient. We celebrate the idea that we are free to command our own destiny, but what if we aren’t? What if our position in life was actually predetermined? Like, what if we are part of a much older cycle, a cog in a never-ending wheel, destined to repeat the history of those who came before us?

Our culture prizes youth and beauty. I wanted to play with these roles and expectations, so I set my hopeful heroes in a world that forces them to experience the past, confront duty and preservation. I gave them this challenge but funneled it through a supernatural lens, letting it be enchanting and simultaneously unsettling. [CLICK LINK TO READ MORE]