QUESTION#1: What excited you the most when making this film?: I’m often working in post-production as an editor and while I have directed before, this short is the first drama that I’ve written and directed. So it was a thrill stepping out like this and working with these amazing actors and my DP William Hellmuth who is a longtime friend and collaborator.

QUESTION#2: What was the most significant film you've seen AT THE THEATER in 2024, and how did it influence your filmmaking?: Alex Garland’s Civil War is the one that jumps out. It really knocked me out. I found the discourse around it frustratingly shallow and off track. It’s so ambitious in scale but narrowly focused in such a smart and emotional way. Very meditative. The use of sound, with haunting stretches of quiet stillness and loud shocks really made an impact on me. Definitely carrying some of that with me in designing future projects.

QUESTION#3: What's an obvious and not-so-obvious question someone might ask about your film?: Talking Western film inspirations is a little more obvious but some of the non-genre influences might be interesting to folks. Ingmar Bergman and Flannery O’Connor being the heavy hitters.

QUESTION#4: A magic movie genie is giving you an unlimited budget for your next production! However, you're only allowed to use it on either "above line" or "below line" resouces. Which do you choose and why?: All I care about in life is working out how we can all make films in a sustainable way. I just want everyone to be able to keep making stuff. When you’re an indie artist you just want to be able to pay your friends. So sprinkle it around equally, magic genie! Let it rip. (And please cover horses for my next Western.)

QUESTION#5: What is it about your current movie that will influence your next film?: I’m currently immersed in writing a feature Western and there are countless lessons I learned making this that are informing the next script. The lighting our crew was able to pull off definitely exceeded my expectations and is informing my future planning. Experimenting visually was very helpful as well. The short’s visual style is very stoic and static with almost no motion at all. Some of that is the natural way I like to craft and be intentional about imagery, but pushing the style so far in that direction has made me want to try out more camera movement on the next one. We’ll see!

Social media tags to share with our readers: https://www.instagram.com/anthonyparisifilm https://www.instagram.com/ambushfilm

5Q's w/: Anthony Parisi "Ambush at St. Mary's" Director, Writer, Producer