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Home
About
Official Members
The Archive
  • 1 .EXT: View
  • No. 1 Honey + No. 2 Awe
  • No. 3 Myth + No. 4 Agenda
  • No. 05: REvise
  • No. 6: Familiar + No. 7
  • No. 07: Prize
  • No. 08: Fortune
  • No. 09: Tangle
  • No. 10: REmix
  • No. 11: Fold
  • No. 12: Wave
  • No. 13: Echo
  • No. 14: Measure
  • No. 15: REcall
  • No. 16: String
  • No. 17: Shed
  • No. 18: Pinch
  • No. 19: Perspective
  • No. 20: REframe
  • No. 21: Beneath
  • No. 22 + 23 + 24
  • No. 25: REply
  • No. 26: Present
  • No. 27:Shield
  • No. 28: Dust
  • No. 29: Peer
  • No. 30 + 31
  • No. 32 + 33 + 34
  • No. 35: REfresh
  • No. 37: Wax + 36: Slice
  • No. 39: Deal & 38: Pour
  • No. 41 + No. 40
  • No. 44 + 43 + 42
  • No. 46 - 47 -48
  • No. 49, 50, 51, 52
More
  • Home
  • About
  • Official Members
  • The Archive
    • 1 .EXT: View
    • No. 1 Honey + No. 2 Awe
    • No. 3 Myth + No. 4 Agenda
    • No. 05: REvise
    • No. 6: Familiar + No. 7
    • No. 07: Prize
    • No. 08: Fortune
    • No. 09: Tangle
    • No. 10: REmix
    • No. 11: Fold
    • No. 12: Wave
    • No. 13: Echo
    • No. 14: Measure
    • No. 15: REcall
    • No. 16: String
    • No. 17: Shed
    • No. 18: Pinch
    • No. 19: Perspective
    • No. 20: REframe
    • No. 21: Beneath
    • No. 22 + 23 + 24
    • No. 25: REply
    • No. 26: Present
    • No. 27:Shield
    • No. 28: Dust
    • No. 29: Peer
    • No. 30 + 31
    • No. 32 + 33 + 34
    • No. 35: REfresh
    • No. 37: Wax + 36: Slice
    • No. 39: Deal & 38: Pour
    • No. 41 + No. 40
    • No. 44 + 43 + 42
    • No. 46 - 47 -48
    • No. 49, 50, 51, 52
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Origin Story

 In mid-March of 2020, I was one of thousands of performers in NYC who lost  gig after gig to COVID-19 closures. Quarantined in my Queens apartment, I  was nervous about my acting career, my collaborative relationships and my ability to keep growing as  an artist.  I watched my friends getting stir-crazy, especially those who are high risk for COVID-19, and I wanted to find a way everyone could  keep creating and growing, no matter their health or mobility  restrictions. 

I started The Sequestered: A Micro Short Online Film Festival with a few parameters: submissions must be 1-5 minutes long, be created  in quarantine in a week, and be shot on a phone. No experience or fee necessary - accessibility was key.

Within seven days, we had our very first screening with 10 original short films.  As of now, over 130 short films have been created with The Sequestered, and a handful have been recognized in competitive festivals.


My goal was to give people - myself included- a creative outlet. An excuse to keep hands and minds busy, if health allows it, and an opportunity to take control in an overwhelming time. Even if just for 1 to 5 minutes.


Yours in isolation,

Annie-Sage Whitehurst

www.annie-sage.com

New interview

The Work's "Actors Leveling Up" Interview Series - Annie-Sage Whitehurst talks to Timothy Huls about The Sequestered, motivation and creation in quarantine.

Other people talking about The Sequestered

Recently Featured on CityHeadshots Blog and Newsletter

Featured Weekly in Jenna Doolittle's popular "Actor Quarantine Newsletter"

Recently Featured on CityHeadshots Blog and Newsletter

Interview on DHAP Show Podcast with Dennis Holden

Featured Weekly in Jenna Doolittle's popular "Actor Quarantine Newsletter"

Recently Featured on CityHeadshots Blog and Newsletter

Featured Weekly in Jenna Doolittle's popular "Actor Quarantine Newsletter"

Featured Weekly in Jenna Doolittle's popular "Actor Quarantine Newsletter"

Featured Weekly in Jenna Doolittle's popular "Actor Quarantine Newsletter"

Why The Sequestered? From my recent cityheadshots post:

Try your hand behind the camera

Get out of your creative comfort zone

Try your hand behind the camera

 Unless you're quarantined with a full team of filmmakers (looking at you, Hoff Kilter), chances are  you will be in charge of writing your submission, filming, and editing  it yourself - not to mention, acting in it. If you haven't felt  challenged creatively so far in quarantine, this is it. Side benefit:  more empathy for the crew next time you're on set.  

Find your voice

Get out of your creative comfort zone

Try your hand behind the camera

 This is a strange time, and it can help to channel your energy to  something creative, if you're able. If you could write yourself any kind  of character, what would it be? 

Get out of your creative comfort zone

Get out of your creative comfort zone

Get out of your creative comfort zone

 It can be frustrating to start something new, especially if you have  high standards for yourself. I loved the idea of writing and filming a  short piece by myself, but my ego wouldn't let me start out as a  beginner. It felt like all eyes were on what I made, and of course,  since I would be trying something completely new, chances are it  wouldn't be that good. This festival is a place to explore your creative  impulses without judgment. Literally, there's no judgment for the  submissions. No prizes, no popularity contests, no losers.  

Structure

Keep track of time in quarantine

Get out of your creative comfort zone

 The idea of an endless amount of free time can be a relief to some, and  overwhelming to others. As actors have watched all of their bookings and  commitments get postponed and eventually cancelled during the lockdown,  The Sequestered's weekly deadline helps make some of this new time feel more manageable.  

More eyes on your Youtube/Vimeo

Keep track of time in quarantine

Keep track of time in quarantine

 Since the festival is online, there's no need to collect everyone's  submissions and control where they are hosted. Instead, they ask for  films to be uploaded to the filmmakers' own Youtube/Vimeo account, so  they get the traffic and view counts. This also means a higher chance  that if a viewer likes the submission, they'll check out what else is on  the channel. 

Keep track of time in quarantine

Keep track of time in quarantine

Keep track of time in quarantine

 If nothing else, the weekly prompt announcement will let you know it's Saturday. You made it! 

FAQ

What are the rules?

 Each week, a prompt announced 12pm ET on Saturdays. Filmmakers have  until 12pm ET the following Friday to create an original,  prompt-inspired short 1 minute to 5 minutes long, and can only film on  their phones and within quarantine/their shelter-in-place location. All  submissions that follow the rules are included in the weekly Facebook  screenings on Fridays, 8pm ET. Films are also shared in the weekly email  with the new prompt, and are available via the filmmaker's  Youtube/Vimeo link on our website, www.sequesteredfest.com.  

Is it expected to participate every week?

 Everyone's priorities are shifting right now. If this project adds  another 50 tons of stress to your life, it's okay. come back later.

No one will know that you signed up but didn't submit, and there will be another round next week. 

But  if you're like me and getting restless without structure or  assignments, are losing track of days, or need the pressure of a  deadline to fuel you, this is for you.

Let's come out on the other side with something we made.

Why phones?

 Not everyone has access to professional equipment, and this is open to anyone with an idea.
Sure,  some phones are better suited to filming, but no one should feel like  they can't participate because they don't have the right camera.
Later editions might have some flexibility on this, but not now.

Shelter-in-place isn't enforced where I live. Where can I film?

 On. Your. Property.

You can only use a location that is  part of your "shelter in place" / quarantine/home. This can include your  apartment's lobby, but not across the street. What stories can you  create within your own four walls? 

Can I submit a film created before this week?

 Nope, only submissions made in a week are accepted. The Sequestered is  more like a clubhouse than Cannes. The focus is on giving filmmakers a  concrete deadline to test themselves and make something new, to  celebrate creativity in a time of chaos. 

Can I keep working on my film after it's submitted?

Absolutely!  In fact, every fifth week is a "revision edition." where  submissions can include previously submitted work that's been refined or  a new piece inspired by a past prompt.  A handful of past submissions  have been selected for bigger film festivals, and I encourage filmmakers  to keep working on their shorts and see where they can lead.  

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