The Same Storm

Filmed using iPhones and laptops during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Same Storm is an intimate look into the lives of twenty-four characters as they journey through the spring and summer of 2020. With lockdowns, the Black Lives Matter movement and the looming 2020 elections as key backdrops, the film explores the necessity of human connection, family, love and the ability to find empathy during a fraught, untenable time. Featuring an all-star cast, including Sandra Oh, Mary-Louise Parker, Elaine May, Moses Ingram, Raul Castillo, Noma Dumezweni, and many more, writer/director Peter Hedges crafts a unique piece of hopeful filmmaking that demonstrates and celebrates the ability of art to connect us.

RAW AND REVEALING

Indiewire

POIGNANT, MOVING… PACKS A WALLOP

The Hollywood Reporter

AN INVALUABLE PIECE OF HISTORY

The Wrap

THE BEST OF THE "LOCKDOWN" DRAMEDIES

Movie Nation

THE SUM OF HEDGES' FILM IS GREATER THAN ANY OF ITS PARTS

indieWire

IF THE MOVIE WERE A PERSON, SHE WOULD BE A MENSCH

Variety

THE SAME STORM” BRIMS WITH… LOVE. IT… IS ENOUGH TO REMIND US THAT IT IS NOT JUST THE STORM THAT CONNECTS US, BUT THE ABILITY TO TELL OUR STORIES AND SEE OURSELVES REFLECTED IN THE STORIES WE SEE.

RogerEbert.com

How do we find intimacy and connection when the COVID-19 pandemic requires that we remain apart? And how do we, who make our work collaboratively and in groups, find a way to keep making? This fraught, challenging moment in our history tested each of us in unique and universal ways. And yet, even in our isolation, we are more connected and dependent on each other than we may realize. THE SAME STORM revolves around our ache to connect and the extraordinary lengths we go in order to. The title for our project was inspired by a timely quote by Damian Barr that went viral on Twitter in the spring of 2020: “We are not all in the same boat. But we are all in the same storm.”

Using Arthur Schnitzler’s 1897 play LA RONDE as a structural model, we have crafted a multi-protagonist story that explores how -- in spite of the pandemic and the havoc it has caused in a nation convulsing on multiple fronts -- we remain connected through various technologies and platforms that have quickly become a critical part of our daily lives. Using the cameras in our cell phones, laptops, PCs and iPads, we tell a story that propels the action and links people together from a broad spectrum of experiences only to find common ground within the human experience.

So it’s simple: In almost all instances, actors worked from home. I was connected with them remotely in order to direct. We teamed up with a small set of craftspeople (production designer, cinematographer, make-up/hair and costume designers) to find treasure and create the best manifestation of their characters right out of their own living spaces and closets. In some instances, props and set dressing were delivered.

Overall, the actors put forth Herculean efforts by doing their own hair, makeup, and serving as camera operators. We partnered with Straight Up Technologies to deliver the best possible picture quality, digital capture, and sound. Their groundbreaking technology made it possible for us to film remotely and safely with actors and the production team all working from home. During each take, the images were captured by the actors who used their own iPhone or iPad. As there was no traditional ‘coverage’ or multiple set-ups for each scene, actors were given enormous freedom to play off and respond to each other, in real time, making possible a very intimate kind of performance. Something real, raw, and ultimately human and hopeful.