"This project takes its shape from a conversation recorded between Rachelle and Toby, a real couple, living in Brooklyn," says director Ariel Danziger. "I wanted to approach this short film very differently than the ways I have worked in the past. As we set off to shoot, we had conversations on how we would like to spend our last day on Earth. This stemmed from a place of 'what ifs'; hypothetical scenarios that elicited existential questions about life and death, mixed with stripped-down sincerity and candid talk that made it playful, poetic and optimistic.
"The idea for Rachelle and Toby was for them to go into a room in private and record their conversation. Without me or anyone else knowing what they had discussed. I wanted to shoot what I thought their conversation felt like, not what it was about. I wanted to examine visually and viscerally what a conversation looked like between two people. How does thought unravel and where does it take you emotionally or existentially?
This experiment led us down a two-day shoot out in Montauk, NY also known as The End. Although it has now become a hip summer destination it used to be a quiet fisherman and surfer town, but I knew in the offseason it would be the perfect location to capture our story, as it makes for a desolate and cinematic backdrop in the dead of winter.
"Once we wrapped and began driving back to the city I decided to play their conversation. When I heard it for the first time I knew we had something that was so truthful and transparent. It was incredibly beautiful to hear the point of view of youth and young love with such honesty."