Purgatory House

Purgatory House

Release poster
Directed by Cindy Baer
Produced by Cindy Baer
Written by Celeste Davis
Starring Celeste Davis
Jim Hanks
Johnny Pacar
Devin Witt
Music by John Swihart
Cinematography Christopher Nibley
Edited by K.J. Gruca
Distributed by Image Entertainment
Release dates
  • April 17, 2004 (Agen American
    Indie Film Festival)
Running time
 97 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Purgatory House is an independent feature film written by 14-year-old Celeste Davis and directed by Cindy Baer, who were paired in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program when Davis was 11 years old. It deals with the topics of teen suicide and drug addiction from a teen's perspective. Shot in Los Angeles in the summer of 2001, Purgatory House screened at 25 festivals, won 12 festival awards, appeared on 5 critics lists for "best films of the year" and was distributed by Image Entertainment.

Cast

Back Story

Director Cindy Baer and teen writer Celeste Davis met when they were paired in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, when Davis was 11 years old. By the age of 13 Davis had lost interest in school, and felt disconnected from most of the relationships in her life. Longing to connect with something, she began to write Purgatory House: a heartfelt screenplay portraying her real life challenges to fit in, cope with peer pressure, deal with the teen drug culture surrounding her, and find meaning for her existence. When Davis turned 14 and landed herself in a teen shelter, Baer decided to give her a positive focus by producing Purgatory House as a movie that Davis would star in. Now it appears that Davis may be the youngest sole-credited screenwriter to have a feature produced.

Themes

Purgatory House centers around a lonely teen who feels disconnected from the world around her. When she can no longer fill her void and numb the pain with drugs, she ends her life with the hope of finding an unconditionally loving God. Instead she encounters an eternal stage of limbo (not unlike the world she tried to leave behind) where she must finally deal with the problems she tried to avoid while alive.

Purgatory House demonstrates the base human need to connect with a higher power, or a power outside ourselves. It is a film which advocates spirituality, but not a particular organized religion.

While many films dramatize the symptoms of addiction, depression and suicide, Purgatory House focuses on the root causes. What is the spiritual state of today’s American teen? This film asks us to look at how today's teenagers are relating to their spirit, to other people, to the world around them, and to a higher power.

Purgatory House depicts a world focused on the media. God is depicted as the TV game-show host of "Who Wants to Go To Heaven", a cosmic time-out, where Silver's ultimate fate will be determined. Silver is also made to watch the life she left behind continue without her on "Earth TV" daily. Even in her dream, we see "Dream TV".

Purgatory House poses the question: Are we losing touch with each other and with our children? As more and more parents are absent (literally or figuratively), the media has become the babysitter, role model and higher power. Kids are left to television, movies, video games, and the Internet for companionship and character development.

With the advancement of digital technologies, filmmaking has finally become an accessible medium of expression for anyone with a vision. Written by a high school freshman, shot on miniDV in 2001, and created with digital cameras and home-based computers, Purgatory House marked the true beginning of the digital revolution. From what it reveals about the pressures and struggles that plague our troubled youth, to the cutting-edge technologies that helped create it, Purgatory House is uniquely a sign of our times.

Awards

Style

Music

Movie Soundtrack includes the songs:

External links