Hunter Nickless: MY HERO Film Festival Winner

Hunter NicklessDawn Nickless, with permission

Hunter Nickless, 15, first became interested in filmmaking when he was just eight years old and began working as a child actor. By the time he was ten, Nickless was a passionate photographer and had begun taking private lessons in video editing. Two years later he completed his debut film, a horror short titled Haunted for Life. Now, Nickless studies Film Production at the Governor’s School for the Arts in Virginia, whilst continuing to pursue freelance work in both photography and cinematography as well as his acting work.

GONE, Nickless’ latest film, is the first place winner of the High School Narrative category at the MY HERO 20^th Annual International Film Festival. The short narrative film tells the story of a teenage boy called Luca, who appears to be struggling to navigate his new life after his family move to a new city. He is finding it hard to make new friends and spends most of his time on video calls with his two best friends from his old hometown. It later transpires, however, that the video calls are actually old recordings of their conversations and that his two friends were killed by a drunk driver.

Dawn Nickless, with permissionGONE

It was during an acting class that Nickless came up with the idea for GONE. As the class took place via Zoom, the students were challenged with creating a short film using the video communication platform. Nickless decided to flesh out his initial idea and incorporate Zoom into the film’s story. To write the screenplay, Nickless worked closely with his two friends and fellow classmates Ali Ghasemi and Lindsey Stein, who also acted in the film alongside him. They wanted to make emotional trauma the film’s central theme, whilst also exploring the idea that we are never truly aware of quite what is happening in other people’s lives. Nickless explained to MY HERO:

I understand the pain of being judged for not being sure in who you are. […] The importance [of this film] is to help people understand that you may not always know what someone is going through, and you should reach out.

Dawn Nickless, with permissionLindsey Stein (left) and Ali Ghasemi (right) worked on and acted in GONE, alongside Nickless.

Nickless further explained that the lack of insight we have into others’ experiences can lead to misunderstanding about who that person is. He described how, whilst challenging, being misunderstood can help you grow as a person and, ultimately, make you stronger. The film not only explores emotional trauma and the ways in which people cope in its aftermath, but the effects that drinking and driving can have, especially on those left behind. As the film ends, Nickless encourages his audience to donate to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), a non-profit organization seeking to prevent tragedies caused by drugged and drunk driving.

Though the writing process was collaborative, the directing, producing, and editing were all done by Nickless, with a little help from his mother who stepped in behind the camera for a few of the shots. “It was hard to direct my mom to hold and pan the camera in the correct positions,” Nickless told MY HERO, adding, “I would set up the shots, but she is not used to the camera.” Scheduling throughout filming was also a challenge. As Ali and Lindsey both live in LA, and Nickless in Virginia, finding the time to film the Zoom scenes together often proved difficult. Nickless faced another challenge in trying to fit in the filming of the scenes in school; he had to shoot them during his breaks as the project wasn’t for school, but he was on a tight deadline – only two weeks to complete the project!

However, challenges like this are easier with a little support. Nickless’ parents have been extremely supportive in his journey to building his dream career so far. They were the ones who arranged his first lessons in video editing and made sure that he had everything he needed throughout the process of creating GONE. Nickless also credits his mentors for their support on his journey:

My mentor is Darrien Murphy who is a good friend of my mom’s. He got me started in learning editing and taught me in a way where he would explain how to do something that I wanted to make but made me do the work. This method helped me learn and now, I am good at figuring out new techniques on my own.  I would also say my acting teacher John D’Aquino has been a strong mentor. He has been with me on this journey since I was 11, teaching me acting, and he is a strong supporter of my filmmaking.

GONE is Nickless’ fourth film. He created his second film at just fourteen years old, a science-fiction short film called Beyond the Gate, which Nickless created to challenge himself to make use of newly learned skills in special effects. His third film was another horror short and a sequel to Haunted for Life called Haunted for Life: Encounter. So far, his films have received more than seventy wins and one hundred official selections in various film festivals. Nickless recently pitched a feature length version of GONE, which he hopes may be in progress very soon. When asked if he has any advice for his fellow young creators and artists, Nickless said:

Keep creating. The more you create the more you learn. It’s good to be a perfectionist, but don’t put too much pressure on yourself because no one is ever perfect. One last thing, always take risks and get out of your comfort zone and explore!

On being an official selection at the MY HERO 20^th International Film Festival, Nickless said:

I am honored to be an Official Selection in the MY HERO 20^th International Film Festival because I am excited for the chance for my short film to be shared with many students so they can partake in a heartfelt and dramatic story which shows the importance of looking out for others and being there for one another and the effects drinking and driving can have.

You can watch GONE here.

Learn more about Hunter Nickless here, and check out his photography portfolio here. You can find his social media at @hunterpnickless and @hunternickless_photography.

About Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was founded in 1980 by Candy Lightner, after her thirteen-year-old daughter Cari was killed by a driver under the influence of alcohol. The perpetrator had already been arrested for driving under the influence four times before he killed Cari. Candy Lightner decided to utilize her pain and dedicate her life to traffic safety activism.[1] Since then, MADD has developed into a multifaceted organization with a simple goal: to end drugged and drunk driving.