Alum Looks to The Shadows to Uncover Hidden World
July 10, 2015
Every student walks away from Dodge College with, not only the technical skills to pursue the careers they want, but with unspoken, more personal feelings.
“Dodge College instilled in me a sense of unbridled optimism, matched with what felt like limitless opportunity to create,” said Andrew M. Davis (BFA/Film Production ’07). “Since graduating, one of the greatest challenges has been to retain that optimism in an industry that seems set on pounding it to oblivion.”
Since winning an A.S.C. Heritage Award while attending Dodge, Davis has thrived as a cinematographer, shooting documentaries around the world, commercials for leading brands, and several features, including
Nightlight
, which was recently released by Lionsgate.
Davis at work behind the camera
It is with a renewed sense of optimism that Davis is embarking on a new phase of his filmmaking career. He is collaborating with filmmaking partner (and wife) Jennifer Montgomery, to make a short film,
The Shadows
, that introduces a hidden world of White Supremacists and Domestic Terrorism in the Pacific Northwest.
Davis explains, “My time as cinematographer has given me invaluable experience learning the art and craft of visual story telling, but my real passion lies in story telling as a whole, from concept to execution.”
On a sweltering summer afternoon, Davis returned to his hometown of Spokane, WA on a research trip for the film. He and his filmmaking partner Jennifer Montgomery headed directly to a vacant commercial lot. Cars flew past on a busy highway as the pair searched through the weeds.
Davis and Montgomery come across the former Shadows Motel
They were thrilled to discover the last remnants of the sign for the now infamous “Shadows Motel.” Closed for over a decade, the motel hosted a variety of dubious guests. Although never officially confirmed by the FBI, a former manager puts Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City Bomber, at the motel weeks before the bombing.
Set in the mid-90s at the Shadows Motel, the short film digs into the murky history of the now defunct motel. It centers on two brothers who lead a White Supremacist gang set on creating a new White Nation in the Pacific Northwest. It’s based in fact, but the names have been changed to prevent the real life criminals from benefiting from the notoriety. The shocking ending will leave you wondering what you really know about recent history.
Reassembling the sign was representative of what the filmmakers seek to do with the film.
“We want to connect the past with the present,” says Davis. “The film shines a light on the decades of hate lingering in the fringes. We want to start a conversation on how to address this problem.”
The campaign is well researched, thoughtfully presented, and has a terrifying amount of current relevance.
“The Shadows” is directly tied to a feature film set in the present day. It exists as a prologue and introduction to a much larger world.
To support the project, please
visit on Kickstarter.
