THE FAMILY WILLIAMS
Logline: After a massive fight in this dysfunctional family drama, a mother tries to reconnect with her queer son.
Director’s Statement
"Each family has their own story."
That's the starting point of this film. Most of my work focuses on family. I have produced a documentary, “MY HOME,” about different people’s definitions of home.
Why home? The first thing that comes to my mind is people: without people, there are no stories. When I first wrote the script, I decided to cast two Asian characters as the mom and the son because that’s where I come from, and I am most familiar with that. After talking with a few artists from different cultural backgrounds and attending a few film conferences, I realized this family dynamic is a universal thing, no matter what race or country you are in. Some people are invisible in their lives–they exist physically, but no one listens to them or cares about their feelings. But everyone matters, and their stories should be told.
TALK WITH THE FAMILY
BEHIND THE SCENE DOCUMENTARY-THE FAMILY WILLIAMS
DIRECTOR STEVEN ZHU
PRODUCER HAO SUN
CINEMATOGRAPHER/ SOUND MIXER HAO SUN
INTERVIEWEES STEVEN ZHU, BEN NADLER, MARGARET McCABE JANICKI & JEFF LUKESKI
EDITOR STEVEN ZHU
COMPOSER MULANG ZHU
(CLICK THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE WHOLE WORK))
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Played Elizabeth Williams
Margaret McCabe Janicki (she/ her) was thrilled to play the complex and challenging role of Elizabeth in The Family Williams. Based in the Baltimore-Washington DC area, Margaret has appeared in several short films and multiple virtual theatre productions (virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic). Her favorite virtual theatre roles have included Elder Reuven in The Chosen, Provost in Measure for Measure and Sir Lucius O’Trigger in The Rivals.
Fluent in German and Irish, Margaret enjoyed using her favorite Irish accent for the role of Sir Lucius. Other accents include Northern Irish and American Southern. When she isn’t acting, Margaret enjoys singing, drawing and photography. She currently studies voice and acting under Jane Margulies Kalbfeld.
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Played Olly Williams
A Pittsburgh native, Ben Nadler (he/ him) is an actor, singer, & writer/director. Recently, he has moved into film performance, playing leading roles in two Point Park University films and one of the MICA MFA Filmmaking class of 2023 films, all slated for release in 2023.
Upcoming work will be with a new Bokeh Pictures and Huntingdon Studios short set for 2023. Recent theater credits include Frederic in "Pirates of Penzance" (Pittsburgh Savoyards), and a "lively and tuneful" Cyril in "Princess Ida" (Pittsburgh Savoyards). He made his theater directorial debut with "Winnie The Pooh Kids" at South Park Children's Theatre in summer 2022, the same season that cycled back to his original children's play "The White Cat" (first produced in 2016). Ben graduated Emerson College in 2020 with a degree in Media Arts Production, and he currently studies voice as a tenor-baritone with Thespina Christulides.
Website: www.bennadlerfilm.com
Instagram: @benjamininadler
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Played Roger Williams
Jeff Lukeski was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up a few miles outside of the city. After writing his first screenplay in 1988, he directed his first movie in 1989 at the age of 9. From there, his admiration for the visual arts medium continued through college where he wrote his first feature-length script. But it wasn't until he reached 41 that he produced his first work to be viewed publicly. It was the world's first prequel in the Blair Witch Universe entitled, "Legends of Burkittsville: 3 Days Before Heather Left".
In 2022, he was able to win awards for directing and acting from multiple film festivals. Now, Jeff resides in Baltimore city and runs a small movie production house, "Jay Jinx Films", which specializes in creating content with twist endings.
