| Purgatory House | |
| Director: | Cindy Baer |
| Producer: | Cindy Baer |
| Starring: | Celeste Davis Jim Hanks Johnny Pacar Devin Witt |
| Music: | John Swihart |
| Cinematography: | Christopher Nibley |
| Editing: | K.J. Gruca |
| Distributor: | Image Entertainment |
| Runtime: | 97 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Purgatory House is an independent film written by 14-year-old Celeste Davis and directed by Cindy Baer, who were paired in the Big Sisters of America program when Davis was 11 years old.[1] 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,[2] this movie marked the beginning of the Democratization of Film. A critical darling, it screened at 25 festivals, won 12 festival awards, 2 PRISM Award Nominations, appeared on 5 critics lists for "Best Films of the Year"[3] and was then distributed by Image Entertainment.
Purgatory House follows the after-life journey of Silver Strand (Celeste Marie Davis), a lonely teenage girl who abandoned her life of addiction with boyfriend Sam (Johnny Pacar) only to find herself caught somewhere between Heaven and Hell. Here Silver will decide if she'll accept her drab existence, or finally discover the power within herself to change. Her guides along the path to self-enlightenment include a wry Saint Jim Hanks, a motley group of fellow teen souls condemned also to the Purgatory House, and God herself also Jim Hanks. Written by and starring 14-year-old Davis, this semi-autobiographical fantasy is a snapshot of how it feels to be as a teenager in today's society. A wake up call, Purgatory Houses are here on earth. Can we help our kids find the way out?
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.[4] In 2001, Davis became the youngest sole-credited screenwriter to have a feature film produced.[5]
Purgatory House centers on 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.[6]
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, film-making had become an accessible medium of expression for anyone with a vision: Written by a high school freshman, shot on miniDV, and created with digital cameras and home-based computers, Purgatory House marked the true beginning of the digital revolution in 2001.[2] From what it revealed about the pressures and struggles that plague our troubled youth, to the cutting-edge technologies that helped create it, Purgatory House is and continues to be uniquely a sign of our times.
Movie Soundtrack includes the songs: