On October 6^th, 2024, New York City filmmaker Evan Ari Kelman’s feature, BARRON’S COVE, debuted at the East Hampton UA2 theater for the Hamptons International Film Festival.

“Garrett Hedlund (MUDBOUND, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) stars as a grieving father with a violent past who is shattered by the tragic death of his young son. Consumed with the need for answers, he kidnaps the child (Christian Convery) he believes is responsible for his son’s death, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by the kidnapped boy’s powerful politician father (Hamisch Linklater). Writer/director Evan Ari Kelman’s twisty feature debut is a gripping thriller about a flawed father’s devotion to his son and complicated nature of revenge”

(HIFF Festival Program, 36).

I had the opportunity to speak with writer/director Kelman about his feature directorial debut. In the projects leading up to production of this film, Kelman’s work has previously focused on poignant stories that were confined to fifteen minutes or less. He credits these short films as the space where he experimented and practiced his craft of filmmaking. Kelman makes a very smooth transition to the difficult task of creating a gripping feature film with his directorial debut of BARRON’S COVE.

Kelman spoke to me about his relationship with his late father and attributes much of his self-belief to him, who encouraged and supported his son’s interest in the arts. Kelman’s scripts reflect his fascination with paternal and fraternal relationships, as he creates high stakes stories that test his characters on as large a canvas as possible– usually with some explosions or gunfire.  He explores “what happens when you put people who love each other in really complex situations,” allowing him to tell stories that are both thought-provoking and suspenseful. Though this is Kelman’s second feature length script, he explained that BARRON’S COVE was the project he felt he could get financed: “it was ready for its commercial moment.”

BARRON’S COVE was a project 6 years in the making. Kelman initially posted the first 15 pages of the script on a screenwriting subreddit, where it gained interest from those who had the opportunity to read it— and when you see the film, you will understand why. Over the next 6 years, Kelman finished the script and spent a few years working with Mandalay Pictures, the American independent film production company that produced this feature.

When asked about the development of his characters, Kelman explained that though none of his characters were written with a specific actor in mind, he sat with headshots and let the photographs help direct how he would manufacture a character. Once on set, Kelman explained that his talent from both the main and supporting cast offered additional ideas and questions that hadn’t yet been explored. Each actor on set treated their roles with the respect and intensity that the script called for and deserved; “Every department was operating at 150%.” The cast includes Garrett Hedlund, Hamish Linklater, Stephen Lang, and Brittany Snow.

Kelman spoke fondly about the 22 days spent on set. With weapons, child actors, and pyrotechnics, safety was paramount. Kelman humorously explained that the only moment one of his actors had to throw in the towel was when a scene called for Christian Convery, who plays Ethan, to scarf down a whole burger. He only had two takes in him.

BARRON’S COVE is a visually stunning film, an element consistent with Kelman’s work.  During the locations scouting for this film, there were eight states that could have supported Kelman’s set requirements, but only one that could properly accommodate the needs of an independent feature film. Kelman landed on rural Springfield, Massachusetts, as it supplied the basics of a small rural city, a lake house, train tracks, and woods.

BARRON’S COVE is a well written, deeply poignant, and intensely thrilling story about the lengths a father will go for his son. This story will likely make you cry, but Kelman wraps the film in a way that leaves the viewers’ pulled heart strings tied back in a bow.

More About Evan Ari Kelman:

Evan Ari Kelman is a New York City filmmaker with a passion for creating emotionally powerful experiences for audiences. His New York University thesis narrative, BANDITO, held its World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival in 2015 and was awarded with the 2015 Wasserman Award for Best Directing from NYU.

Kelman returned to Tribeca in 2016 with ONE GOOD PITCH, which he co-wrote and produced. In the summer of 2016, Kelman produced the narrative short, HOMING IN, which screened at the British Film Institute. Kelman’s first feature film script, WITH THESE EYES, was awarded a 2016 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Writing Award. His latest short film WHERE THERE’S SMOKE held its World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival 2017, marking a third consecutive return as a writer/producer, and second as a director. WHERE THERE’S SMOKE won the Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film (Live Action) at the Edmonton International Film Festival, and qualified for the 2019 Academy Awards. Kelman’s latest feature screenplay, BARRON’S COVE, was announced as a semi-finalist for the Academy’s prestigious Nicholl Fellowships for Screenwriting and also appeared on the 2021 Black List. BARRON’S COVE is currently [screening] with a world renowned cast including Garrett Hedlund, Brittany Snow, Stephen Lang and Hamish Linklater, with Mandalay Pictures producing.

As a freelancer, Kelman has directed content for a multitude of brands including Foot Locker, Converse, Uber, Chevrolet, Gillette, Marchon, Golden Nugget Casino, and Coppertone. His award winning commercial, “The Push” for Foot Locker, aired alongside the New York City Marathon. His multi-spot commercial campaign for Biotene won a 2020 Gold Telly Award. In 2022, Kelman was inducted into the 20th Annual SHOOT New Director’s Showcase.

Check out more from his website here: https://www.evanarikelman.com

~Emmy Sammons