This week on BEHIND THE LENS, we’re looking at two films that, at their hearts, are about fathers and daughters and a father and son - the wonderful family film SKETCH and the fugitive thriller SHE RIDES SHOT GUN. And joining me are two amazing filmmakers, NICK ROWLAND, director and co-writer of SHE RIDES SHOTGUN, and SETH WORLEY, the writer, director, and editor of SKETCH.

First, we take a look at SHE RIDES SHOTGUN, which is the story of “Nate” McClusky and his daughter, Polly, who are on an emotional, thrilling, terrifying road trip across New Mexico as Nate tries to escape his own past — or at least to protect his 11-year-old child from paying for his mistakes. Along the way, driving a series of stolen cars from seedy motel to seedy motel, they take shocking risks, survive daunting threats, and become profoundly close. Polly musters courage and insight well beyond her years, and Nate displays vulnerability and fortitude he didn’t know he had.

Based on the 2017 Edgar Award-winning novel of the same title by Jordan Harper, the film is at once an intimate two-hander drama and a fast-paced fugitive thriller. Still, it quickly turns heartrending and pulse-pounding, with a tonal and moral integrity that binds these characters together as they navigate a complex series of events.

Directed by NICK ROWLAND and co-written by author Jordan Harper along with Ben Collins & Luke Piotrowski, SHE RIDES SHOTGUN stars Ana Sophia Heger as Polly, Taron Egerton as Polly’s father Nick, along with Rob Young, David Lyons, Odessa Azion, Jamie Bernadette, and an out of the box, amazing performance by John Carroll Lynch in a role unlike anything you’ve seen him in before.

One of the things that most impresses me about SHE RIDES SHOTGUN is that the film stays firmly rooted in Polly’s perspective, from story to dialogue to eyeline, we see this story unfold through her eyes. As you’ll hear Nick discuss in this exclusive interview, the real highlight of the film is the emotional depth that young Ana Sophia Heger brings to her performance as Polly. You will be amazed watching her! Taron Egerton is commanding and vulnerable and fearful as Nate, but put him together with Ana and their father-daughter dynamic is off the charts. Similarly, there is nothing but praise for John Carroll Lynch and his off-camera gentle demeanor with Ana, which was crucial for some very intense scenes to work onscreen. Despite limited time and resources, Nick emphasized authenticity and flexibility in directing. The film's visual style, influenced by New Mexico's landscapes, is beautifully lensed by DP Wyatt Garfield. The icing on the cake is composer Benjamin John Power's score, which balances tenderness and brutality, enhancing the emotional narrative.

Switching gears to another father-daughter/father-son film, this one is for the whole family to enjoy - SKETCH. I love this film!!! SKETCH is a fabulously fantastic film. Creative, imaginative, vibrant, colorful, and filled with heart.

Making his feature directorial debut with SKETCH is SETH WORLEY, who not only directs the film, but is writer and editor, as well as working on some of the CG compositing.

SKETCH is the story of the Wyatt family - dad Taylor, daughter Amber, and son Jack - along with Tony’s sister Liz. Grieving the loss of their wife and mother, Amber is having a particularly difficult time coming to terms with her mom being gone. And Taylor and Jack are so worried about Amber that they forget about dealing with their own grief. Focusing her anger and grief into her art, which is very dark for an elementary school girl, the school psychologist encourages Amber to continue to draw; to have her own special notebook for her drawings, with the idea being it will channel her grief and help her come to terms with her mother’s passing.

But what happens when Amber’s drawing notebook falls into a strange pond and her drawings come to life with all of the unpredictability, chaos, and destructive mayhem that Amber drew on the page? As these monsters take over the town, Amber and Jack, together with their friend Bowman Lynch, must track down the creatures before they cause permanent damage. In the meantime, Taylor, together with his sister Liz, is racing to find them through the fallout and navigate through a town in crisis to reunite his family and stop the disaster they never meant to unleash.

In this exclusive interview, Seth discusses his film SKETCH, highlighting the exceptional casting of Bianca Belle, Kue Lawrence, and Kalon Cox as Amber, Jack, and Bowman, respectively, as each brought authenticity and believability to their roles. They are kids being kids. We see the sibling dynamic and the friends dynamic, and then the parent-child relationships, most notably between Amber and her dad. Interestingly, the story was inspired by a childhood memory of a drawing by Seth’s sister. Tony Hale, cast as dad Taylor, and a producer on the film for the past 6-7 years of development, brought emotional honesty to the role as a dad looking out for his kids while ignoring his own emotional distress.

The monster designs and visuals are gobsmackingly delightful and meticulously crafted to look like the drawings in Amber’s notebook. Color is king in this wonderful world, as the vibrant colors, together with the film’s visual grammar courtesy of DP Megan Stacey, were carefully designed to enhance the storytelling. You’ll hear Seth go into detail on the visuals and the visual grammar, as well as bringing the monsters to life with textures that are like those in the drawings - crayon, Sharpie markers, chalk, colored pencils. The result is stunning. And when it came to editing, it was a “smooth process” thanks to a well-honed script. You’ll also hear Seth talk about the emotional truth and honesty within SKETCH, production challenges and considerations when working with children, and Seth’s own lessons learned with this debut feature directorial and the importance of preparation and collaboration, and more.