I online-dated Rebecca  and then we made sweet movie magic together.

Sorta. 😉

Twitter is kind of a ridiculously great thing; about two years ago I ‘met’ Rebecca Pugh there, around the time she was going into pre-production on her film Crush. We hit it off and chatted all the time, and Crush went on to be very successful on the festival circuit – I even got to see it at Flyway Film Festival (where the film I directed, Revelation, also played).

Bill Schweikert, myself, Rebecca Pugh

But I still hadn’t met her.

Then last October, she pitched me an idea for a short film that I really liked – very atmospheric and tense. I immediately wanted to be part of the project.  A month or so later, there was a new version of the script, and it was even better than before. I loved it. Behind Me deals with dark themes of tragedy and isolation, experiences that felt right under my own skin.

I finally got to hug Rebecca in person on Friday, June 14. I’d just landed in Birmingham, Alabama. This film was happening!

The whirlwind weekend of filmmaking quickly became one of my all time favorite sets. I was deeply impressed with everyone’s professionalism, the clear vision, the obvious huge amount of pre-production that had gone before, and the enthusiasm and big hearts of every person I met.

Most poignantly, we filmed over Father’s Day weekend, and I flew out on June 17th, the one year anniversary of my Dad’s death – a life changing event I’ve written about. The personal nature of the film, my own raw emotional state, and the overlapping experiences of our writer-director, fellow castmember Michael Shelton, and myself, created an intimate exploration of life and death.

I truly feel this film was prescient for us all, and will be special to the world.

Thank you, Rebecca, for taking a chance on me. I’m honored and grateful.

Connect with Rebecca on Twitter and on her production blog
Connect with Behind Me for updates
Watch her short film, Crush, below!

Crush from Crush Film on Vimeo.