Short film Vulnerable follows a young woman played by Caroline McGee as she struggles to figure out how to cope with unsettling news. The plot unfolds through phone conversations, as friends and family talk McGee’s character through emotional turmoil.
The film was created by a local cast and crew, many of whom are College of Charleston alumni, including the film’s writer and producer, Clare Wolf Behringer.
Behringer said she initially wrote the script in a moment of artistic catharsis.
“Right before the pandemic, I had been struggling harder than I had ever struggled with my mental health. I was driving home one day from work, and this is really intense, but I was just casually thinking about terminating my life. Suddenly, I had this moment of realizing how bad it was, and it scared the crap out of me.
“I started writing this script because I wanted to heal,” she said. “And one of the ways that I heal the best is through writing.”
She wasn’t seriously thinking of taking Vulnerable to the big screen, until one day while working on a show called Earth Odyssey with Dylan Dreyer, Behringer connected with Los Angeles-based filmmaker David Navarro about the script.
“So we’re talking about it, and he’s like, ‘Send me that script,’” Behringer. “What I didn’t tell him was that I hadn’t written the entire thing. So after three or four days of writing, rewriting and editing, I sent it to him and he said, ‘Great, when are we filming it?’
“He’s an award-winning cinematographer,” she added. “So for him to say, ‘When are we doing this? I’ll bring my camera. I’ll come do this in Charleston.’ It was a great kindness. That’s the metamorphosis of how this became what it is.”
Behringer and Navarro developed the script, and Navarro came on as director and editor. Behringer scouted locations, began work on production and casted the film with the help of longtime friend Whittington, who studied theater at the College of Charleston. McGee, will graduate from the same program this May.
The film’s heavy subject matter proved difficult to shoot, especially in certain scenes, Behringer said, and so the team enlisted an on-set counselor.
Though the project started out as Behringer’s artistic representation of her own struggles, she said the entire cast and crew has input their stories and experiences with mental health into the film.
“The biggest inspiration was every single person who has put hands on this script, including our actors. Whether it’s through the way that they play a character, whether it’s through the way that they pass along edits …
“Collaboration is the most powerful tool of storytelling. Like, you can have all the talent in the world, but your perspective is nothing unless you’re open to others.”
Informed by personal experience
Just as the cast and crew brought their lived experiences into the film, so will the film’s viewers.
“I feel like everyone can relate to at least one piece of this film, whether you’re this character or that character,” Behringer said. “Almost everyone in the audience should be able to identify a piece of it that’s relatable.”
Behringer said the film’s message is two-fold.
“The first part is that you need to take accountability for where you’re at mentally. To seek help, to make sure that you’re fighting and to keep going, it’s hard, but you got this. I want to inspire people to keep fighting for their life and to make sure that they’re staying accountable for it.”
The other part of the film’s message, Behringer said, is directed to the trusted person on the other side of the phone, “that person that you call when you’re in a crisis.
“To the person who’s trying to talk someone off a ledge, or be the emotional support. This film is also to tell that friend, hey, you’re doing a great job and you’re also not responsible, no matter what that person does or decides to do with their mental health crisis.”
The film celebrated a local premiere at the Sottile Theatre on May 4, followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew moderated by Chynna Chan. Following the premiere, Vulnerable will be on the festival track. Find out where the film will screen next by following @vulnerable_shortfilm on Instagram.
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