submitted by Sahag Gureghian, Los Angeles, CA
With ‘The Birthday Gift,’ I tried to tell an important story while entertaining the audience. I wanted to bring awareness to the subject of child sexual abuse, without seeming like a PSA or propagandist about it. Weaving the story of Hilary Parker took a period of two years. Writing the initial draft took less than a week, and that became a starting board for my research about the subject, and figuring out how to tell the story in the best way possible. Once my second draft was ready, director Marie Tang and I worked very closely in shaping the script and getting it ready for shooting.
As a writer, all I can hope is that people find something good in the story, my writing, and of course, the film as a whole. A lot of people worked very hard to tell this story, and they did it in very little time. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the luxury of a four or five day shoot. With five separate locations, and only a 2 and a half day shooting schedule, we scrambled to get everything done and tell the story in an effective way. I can only hope we succeeded.
While I can’t speak for everyone involved, I can say I am very proud of this film, and what we’ve all accomplished with it.
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8 Comments to “The Birthday Gift”
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Ingrid Berzins Leuzy says:
What a powerful film.
Between your film, my book, and other works from people as dedicated to eradicating childhood sexual abuse, we may actually make progress.
Thank you for showing us what we, as a society, don’t want to see.
Sincerely,
Ingrid Berzins Leuzy
Author of Silent Women
Sahag Gureghian says:
Hi Ingrid, your words mean so much, thank you for watching!
I wanted to let everyone know that if they liked the film, and think it might be beneficial for someone to see, you can email me for a free copy or to set up a screening at any trauma center or non-profit organization. My email is Sgureghian1@yahoo.com
Sahag Gureghian
Writer/Producer
Sabrina Hawthorne says:
Sahag,
I am so very glad to see that there are short films out there. It’s a topic that causes so much pain and yet is still so socially taboo. I hope to see the day when it will be as free to come out with being a victim as one is to admit a parent was an alcoholic. I think we’re off to a start anyway.
Best,
Sabrina
Sahag Gureghian says:
Thank you Sabrina, for watching and commenting.
Vanessa Jubis says:
Sahag,
BRAVO!! You are a true writer and screenwriter my friend. This was a powerful and effective short film. It was full of real pain and the raw issue of child sexual abuse. Of course, being someone who was molested as a young child, my stomach was in knots but this is the exact effect that people need to experience when watching something as powerful as this. It was excellent in every way and I cannot believe how little time you had to shoot it all. I also feel the need to “Break the Silence” for all those innocent children and teenagers out there. Hats off to you!
Best,
Vanessa
Christy says:
I thought the film was well done. I am a social worker and would like a copy of your short film to share with others, if possible.
Thanks,
Christy Wheeler
Hats as Writing Inspiration « The Accidental Blogger says:
[...] the premiere collection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where I was representing my short film The Birthday Gift. The piece, Riviera Rose, was somewhat unfinished at the time, but still garnered this talented [...]
‘The Birthday Gift’ goes Canadian « The Accidental Blogger says:
[...] and its films. For those of you not in Canada, you can view The Birthday Gift online as part of the Break the Silence Project or Culture Unplugged online [...]