MICROWAVE is a feature-length coming-of-age science-fiction film
written and directed by Aaron G. Abrams.
Logline
After a time-rift offers a glimpse exactly one minute into the future, four college-bound kids try to salvage their failing friendship as their perception of free will begins to fall apart.
Synopsis
Maggie, Daniel, Colin, and Hannah have been friends since elementary school. But now that they’ve graduated high school to embark upon the next chapter of their lives, they have their futures to worry about.
Hannah needs to ensure her microwave-themed web-series, “Let’s Nuke It!”, has enough content to fill the gap until next summer. Railroaded into a law career he’s convinced himself he wants, Daniel can't wait to leave everyone behind and start with a clean slate. Colin has been rejected from every college he’s applied to and has no clue what to do with himself. And Maggie has shunned college altogether, wishing for everything to stay the same.
On the night before they all part ways, a freak occurrence creates a time-slip allowing them to see one minute into the future, bringing about revelations of free will, destiny, and the potential for alternate universes…
Director’s Statement
“Will I stay friends with everyone after high school? What will I do with my life? Why don't colleges like me? What's the point of anything?”
If you were at all like me in high school, those questions raced through your mind constantly as the threat of adulthood loomed ever closer.
Of course, the big joke of growing up is looking back and realizing that all the things which seemed world-ending at the time were actually not a big deal. It boils down to a strong fear of the unknown, the worry that things won’t go well overpowering the equally likely possibility that they will.
This dichotomy is what the story of MICROWAVE explores, with its freshly-graduated characters being confronted by a literal view into a future they must discover how to control. Some see the time-slip as proof that nothing matters because there’s no escaping fate. Others rail against it, seeing themselves as masters of their own destiny who must have control at all costs. While the story is filled with high-concept sci-fi shenanigans like characters spawning dimensional rifts which weave in and out of each other, the core of their existential fears are as real and universal as ever.
At least, they were real to me. All the people I had known my whole life were suddenly going to be gone, making new friends was hard, I didn’t get into any of my dream colleges, and I had no clue how to pursue filmmaking as a legitimate career. That’s a lot for a lad to take in at once.
It’s easy to laugh off how high-strung “past me” was, but of course those feelings never went away; I simply got used to them. Writing this story has allowed me to go back and recall when it was all fresh, to be able to empathize with those fears while having a bit more life experience under my belt to navigate the characters through that change. That’s not to say I have much more figured out, but who does?
I hope you will be able to find a little of yourself in the plights of Maggie, Colin, Hannah, and Daniel as they attempt to make peace with their place in not only this universe, but all universes.
-Aaron G. Abrams
CAST BIOS
Felicia Stiles
(Hannah Vargas)
Felicia Stiles is a Bay Area actress and content creator whose credits include BUMBLEBEE (2018) and FRESHMAN YEAR (2019). Her lifestyle YouTube channel, The Feminine Fancy, has over 230,000 subscribers and more than 130 videos.
Violet Bryant
(Maggie Keller)
Violet Bryant trained in the Barrow Group Acting Approach at the Berkeley Repertory Theater before landing her first film role in MICROWAVE. She is set to graduate from California State University, Northridge in 2023 with a degree in screenwriting.
Nathan Payne
(Daniel Levin)
Nathan Payne is an actor with experience on both stage and screen. He is currently finishing his collegiate studies at the University of California, Berkeley and will be graduating with a degree in Theater and Performance Studies. MICROWAVE is Nathan’s feature film debut and he recently made his debut on UC Berkeley TDPS’ stage in Love and Information last fall.
Thang Derose
(Colin Yang)
Thang Derose is a Vietnamese actor born in Vietnam who moved to the quaint city of Sacramento, California. Originally going to school to become a lawyer, he could no longer quell the creative passion to pursue acting, performing in numerous short films and most recently the feature PUNK KIDS (2023). Besides acting, he is very involved with the fashion industry and helped co-create a few brands, ANTI Merch Co. and Tired and Emotional Co. being a few of them. His end goal in life is to make an impact on the representation of the Asian-American creative community.
CREW BIOS
Aaron G. Abrams
(writer/director/editor)
Aaron is a Bay Area filmmaker and assistant director who has written and directed over twenty short films in addition to promotional material for companies like Spring House Press and Alamo Drafthouse. His credits as an assistant director include the feature film LIVE OR DIE IN LA HONDA (2017) and the web-series PERSONAL SPACE (2018). He graduated summa cum laude from San Francisco State University in 2017, holding a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema.
Mister Masters
(producer)
Mister is a producer, writer, and director currently living in San Francisco. Holding a degree in Cinema from San Francisco State University, he has produced multiple short films that have played in film festivals coast-to-coast. While he has worked for large-scale productions, like 2018’s Venom, he prefers the tight-knit community and creativity provided by independent filmmaking.
Richard M. Petty
(producer/1st assistant director/sound design)
Richard has written and directed dozens of short films including his San Francisco State University film school thesis film, SHARKS (2018), which played in festivals in St. Louis and San Francisco. MICROWAVE is his first feature producing credit.
Ryan M.H. Moore
(director of photography/co-producer)
Ryan M.H. Moore is a Bay Area Native cinematographer with years of tech experience in both Camera and Lighting departments in the commercial and indie feature worlds. They have collaborated with Aaron Abrams before on the sci-fi short Paincube.exe. Ryan is excited to be working together again and to bring their practical set experience to the table to help make every dollar stretch as far as it can.
Camille Elaine Lund
(production designer/wardrobe/co-producer)
Camille is a freelance illustrator, animator, and occasional parade float decorator. Having graduated from SFSU's Cinema program in 2018, they have worked in various departments on several short films, and their short film POTTY HUMOR won the Jury Award at the 2016 SFSU Campus Movie Fest.
T.O.L.D.
(composer)
Los Angeles-based Daniel James Smith (aka T.O.L.D.) is a fearlessly creative writer/producer from England. Daniel got his start in the UK underground as a teenager pioneering the auto-tuned emo sound. He quickly got picked up by Red One and Island Records to work on chart hits. In 2014, he moved to LA to work on his meditative debut album which received critical acclaim by The New York Times, Noisey, & Apple Music.