Catching Smoke
Synopsis
Atlas is a young adult struggling with the death of his friend Casey. After grief counseling fails, he gets together with his friends who offer a joint of marajuana to distract him. When the ghost of Casey appears as he gets high, Atlas must confront his grief and learn to move on.
Themes and Tone
Catching Smoke was created by the strange thought of, "What if when getting high, you saw loved ones return from the grave?" It was such and intriguing concept to me and I thought of how this could help tell a story of grief and healing, especially if written from the point of view of someone who was young and inexperienced with such heavy subject matter. Thus, Atlas was created to help make that story come to life.
​
Set in the 90’s it has a youthful and nostalgic feel to it. Think of films like Stand By Me, My Girl and Bridge to Terabithia. Aesthetically, the visuals range from real world nostalgia to more dream like sequences.
As someone who is familiar with loss and the process of grief, I hope this story speaks to everyone in some way, whether or not they are dealing with the same things as Atlas.
