Afterschool (2008)

Director:

Antonio Campos

Writer:

Antonio Campos (writer)

Release Date:

1 October 2008 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Plot:

An Internet-addicted prep-school student captures on video camera the drug overdose of two girls.

Plot Keywords:

Student | Overdose | Drug Overdose | Video Camera | Roommate

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Ezra Miller	...	Robert
Jeremy Allen White	...	Dave
Emory Cohen	...	Trevor
Michael Stuhlbarg	...	Mr. Burke
Addison Timlin	...	Amy
David Costabile	...	Mr. Anderson (as David Costable)
Rosemarie DeWitt	...	Ms. Vogel
Dariusz M. Uczkowski	...	Peter (as Dariusz Michal Uczkowski)
Gary Wilmes	...	Mr. Virgil
Lee Wilkof	...	Mr. Wiseman
Paul Sparks	...	Detective Eclisse
Bill Raymond	...	Mr. Williams
Alexandra Neil	...	Gloria Talbert
Mark Zeisler	...	Tom Talbert
Christopher McCann	...	Mr. Ullman
Byrdie Bell	...	Cherry Dee
Mary Michelson	...	Talbert Twin
Carly Michelson	...	Talbert Twin
Rebecca Boughton	...	Broken Glass Girl 1
Anna Maliere	...	Broken Glass Girl 2
Dani Baum	...	Broken Glass Girl 3
Julian Branciforte	...	Freshman Student
Marta Miller	...	Robert's Mom (voice)
Annette Foisy	...	Nurse
Paige Billings	...	AV Class Girl
Tony Costagliola	...	Senior Druggie
Cameron Ward	...	Boys Dorm Head
Richard White	...	Dave's Dad in Car
Christopher Brisson	...	Security Guard
Mackenzie Deary	...	Chapel Student
Will Childs	...	Chapel Teacher
Javier Alvarez	...	Math Teacher
Effrem J. Adams	...	Screaming Senior (as Effrem Adams)
Robert Malitsky	...	Screaming Senior
Robert M. Saunders	...	Screaming Senior (as Robert Saunders)
Andrew Corkin	...	Screaming Senior
Laura Boucher	...	Robert's Memorial Video
Rosamund Dunn	...	Robert's Memorial Video
Timothy Dreary	...	Robert's Memorial Video
Mike Thomas	...	Robert's Memorial Video
Emily Potrezeba	...	Robert's Memorial Video
Paul Kramarz	...	Robert's Memorial Video
Jacob Allard	...	School Memorial Video
Amber Allard	...	School Memorial Video
Kristiana Sumera	...	School Memorial Video
Brittney Roy	...	School Memorial Video
Chloe Bates	...	School Memorial Video
Allyse Rosen	...	School Memorial Video
John Basnight	...	Student
Catie Botting	...	Student
Beckam Cela	...	Student
Alex Labeef	...	Student
Harrison Lees	...	Student
Colin Sebastian	...	Student
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Daniel Trinh	...	Student
Saddam Hussein	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Antonio Campos

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Antonio Campos		writer

Produced by
Victor Aaron	....	producer
Andrew Corkin	....	associate producer
Steven Corkin	....	co-executive producer
Sean Durkin	....	producer
Rose Ganguzza	....	executive producer
Josh Mond	....	producer
Jesse Ozeri	....	co-producer
Andrew Renzi	....	executive producer (as Andrew F. Renzi)
Susan Shopmaker	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Jody Lee Lipes

Film Editing by
Antonio Campos

Casting by
Randi Glass
Susan Shopmaker

Production Design by
Kris Moran

Art Direction by
William Logan

Set Decoration by
Gina Freedman

Costume Design by
Katie Akana		(as Catherine Akana)

Makeup Department
Susie Sobol	....	hair stylist
Susie Sobol	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Steve Makowski	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alex Cripe	....	second second assistant director
Michael Rabinovitz	....	second assistant director (as Michael 'Raibi' Rabinovitz)
Zachary Stuart-Pontier	....	first assistant director (as Zac Stuart-Pontier)

Art Department
Joanna Tillman	....	art assistant
Josh Rovner	....	art intern: fight sequences (uncredited)

Sound Department
Micah Bloomberg	....	sound
Brian Kenney	....	boom operator
T. Terressa Tate	....	sound designer (as TTT)
T. Terressa Tate	....	sound mixer (as TTT)
Cory Melious	....	additional sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Jessica Elvin	....	fire artist

Stunts
George B. Colucci Jr.	....	stunt coordinator (as George Colucci)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ethan Anderson	....	grip
Joe Anderson	....	first assistant camera
Nick Bentgen	....	electrician
Alexander Engel	....	key grip
Andrew Engert	....	best boy electric
Anna Farrell	....	grip
Drew Innis	....	still photographer
David Jacobson	....	additional assistant camera
Jack Lam	....	electrician
Harrison Lees	....	grip
Nadine Martinez	....	second assistant camera
Ian McAlpin	....	second assistant camera
Carole McClintock	....	electrician
Tyler Shoemaker	....	aerial photography
Michelle Sun	....	second assistant camera
G.T. Womack	....	second assistant camera (as Geoffrey Womak)
Paul Yee	....	gaffer

Casting Department
Meghan Sinclair	....	casting intern
Emma Wiseman	....	casting intern

Editorial Department
Dana Bloder	....	digital intermediate producer
Don Ciana	....	lab timer
Mark Doyle	....	digital intermediate account executive
Drew Innis	....	assistant editor
Barbara Jean Kearney	....	digital intermediate executive producer
Jack Rizzo	....	film recording: titles
Joseph Ryals	....	scanning and imaging
Zachary Stuart-Pontier	....	additional editor (as Zac Stuart-Pontier)
Patricia Sztaba	....	negative matcher
Stan Sztaba	....	negative matcher
Kevin Vale	....	scanning and imaging
Sam Daley	....	colorist: high definition mastering (uncredited)

Music Department
Gael Rakotondrabe	....	music by

Other crew
Jennifer Basnyat	....	title designer: end titles
Audra Duval	....	production assistant
Ben Foley	....	production assistant
Yvette Granata	....	production coordinator
Shawnee Kennedy	....	production assistant
Alex Labeef	....	production assistant
Mike Labeef	....	production assistant
R.J. Labeef	....	production assistant
Alexandra Leary	....	script supervisor (as Alex Leary)
Collin Mapp	....	key production assistant (as Colin Mapp)
Jared Martin	....	production assistant
Ray McNaught	....	web designer: clipus
Dave Parks	....	production assistant
Charlaine Perron	....	production assistant
Jeremy Salons	....	production assistant
Suyin So	....	legal counsel: Pryor Cashman
Alex Treaster	....	production assistant
W. Wilder Knight II	....	legal counsel
Kristyn DiPane	....	mastering project manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• BorderLine Films
• Hidden St. Productions

Distributors

• CTV International (2009) (France) (theatrical)
• IFC Films (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alliance Media & Entertainment (2009) (India) (all media)
• Cinematografica Macondo (2009) (Mexico) (all media)
• Eureka (2009) (South Korea) (all media)
• Gryphon Entertainment (2012) (Australia) (DVD)
• Media Suits (2009) (Japan) (all media)
• Midas Filmes (2009) (Portugal) (all media)
• Network (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Seven Films (2009) (Greece) (all media)
• Silenzio Films (2009) (Spain) (all media)

Special Effects

• Technicolor Digital Intermediates (opticals)

Other Companies

• England Insurance Brokerage  insurance provided by
• Final Cut USA  sound mix and sound design done at
• Magno Sound  optical sound negative
• Mega Playground  video dailies
• Metropolis  titles film recording
• Pryor Cashman  legal counsel provided by
• Technicolor Digital Intermediates  digital intermediate (as Technicolor Digital Intermediates NY)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

107 min | USA:120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | UK:18 | Singapore:R21 | France:-12 | Portugal:M/16 | Italy:VM14 | Australia:MA15+ (2012) | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Pomfret, Connecticut, USA

Company:

BorderLine Films

Trivia:

In one of the early scenes in Rob's dorm room, a poster on the wall near the door says "DO YOU FEEL - new album." This poster is for an album by the popular alternative one-man music project headed by pop-rocker Bryce Avary known as The Rocket Summer. "Do You Feel" was The Rocket Summer's third full-length album and was released in 2007.

Quotes:

Mr. Wiseman:Rob, what's going on back there? Come on, Rob, what's going on?
Amy:Um... Rob wants to use the video to make a porn.
[Students snicker]
Mr. Wiseman:Well, that's a... that's a very nice idea, but there will be no fluids permitted around the camera, bodily or any other sort.

Movie Connections:

References Hatchet (2006)

Coming of age in the YouTube generation

The 24-year-old Campos has been winning prizes for his short films for the past eight years; started film-making at thirteen and completed his first short film at seventeen; has been a Presidential Scholar; and wrote the script for this film at the Cannes Residence in Paris in fall 2006. It premiered at the 2008 Cannes Un Certain Regard series. Campos, who was a scholarship student at an exclusive international school himself and then went to study film at NYU, has been rejected from many festivals, but Cannes has led him to the NYFF. He has a group of friends and associates from NYU, and has founded Borderline Films. (See the interview "Filmstock: Antonio Campos 'After School'" on PlumTV.)

'Afterschool,' which speaks of a boy and girl in a fancy East Coas prep school video club, of the boy's roommate, and the death of twin Alpha Girl classmates, is a film of and about the YouTube generation. It begins with Rob (Ezra Miller) watching an online porn site called "Nasty Cum Holes" (or something like that) in which a man, unseen, is talking dirty to a young prostitute. Rob is in his dorm room, which he shares with Dave (Jeremy Allen White), who deals drugs. The video club links him with Amy (Addison Timlin), with whom he loses his virginity. While ostensibly making a sort of promotional video for the school he is shooting a hallway and stairway and all of a sudden two twin girls, the most admired in the school as it happens, appear overdosing. Robert rushes down the hall to them and the camera continues to watch as he sits on the floor with them as they die. Links between all this and Michael Haneke's 'Caché' and Van Sant's 'Elephant' are almost too obvious to mention.

In what follows there is a lot that shows the hypocrisy and confusion of the teachers, the headmaster, and the kids. Rob is so full of emotion throughout the entire film that he finds himself almost completely shut down. Mr. Wiseman the therapist or counselor (Lee Wilkof) succeeds in getting him to open up a tiny bit by trading obscene insults with him. (Campos' admiration for Frederick Wiseman's 'High School' led him to pay homage with the character's name.) A lot of 'Afterschool' is seen either as a video camera (or even a cell phone camera) see it, or as Rob sees it. When his lit teacher is talking about 'Hamlet,' he is watching her crotch, legs, and cleavage and that's what the camera sees. At other times the camera is fixed and one speaker is cut out of the picture, or you see only the edge of his head. Campos is not of the shaky, hand-held school of realism. His evocation of the sensibility of his young characters goes deeper than that. When kids today see something like a girlfight (or a boyfight) at school, somebody films it, and when it's filmed it's going to wind up on the Internet. There's a girlfight Rob and his roommate watch on the Web and then they're in a boyfight with each other in which Rob lets out his sudden pent up anger. Maybe his roommate is guilty in the twin girls' death. But as the school headmaster somewhat facilely says, maybe they all are. A wave of repression follows the incident--perhaps evoking the aftermath of 9/11, which Campos interchanged with the girls' death to get kids' reaction shots.

Campos likes moments that make us and himself uncomfortable, starting with the opening porn video, but continuing with Rob's experience and the world seen through his eyes. (Campos made a short film in which a young girl sells her virginity on eBay and loses it for real on camera to an older man.) Rob's safety is continually compromised and his emotions are uncertain. He doesn't know who he is, and neither does the filmmaker. Rob is a cleancut, even beautiful, boy, but he is almost clinically shut down--not an unusual state for a male teenager, maybe even more likely in a privileged setting like a New England prep school.

Rob and Amy are assigned the task of making a 'memorial film' about the dead twins. However the film he makes is too abstract, existential, ironic and just plain crude to be acceptable. When his supervisor sees it he thinks it's meant to be a mean joke. Later a more sweetened up and conventional version of the film is shown to the whole school, which we also see. Altering and re-editing reality is a continual theme of 'Afterschool.' As Deborah Young of 'Hollywood Reporter' writes, 'Afterschool' "is a sophisticated stylistic exercise too rarefied for wide audiences, but earmarked for critical kudos." It may seem in the watching more crude than it is. The cobbled-together vernacular images are clumsy, but the filmmaker is supple, deft, and sophisticated technically and bold intellectually--still-beyond his years. He has also captured a world he himself knows personally with rather stunning accuracy.

(Note: I am not sure of all the characters' names and may have got some identifications wrong here.)