Céline Roustan
Brett and Jacob are having a ski day. As they get on a gondola, they sit across from a family. The ride quickly gets tense as Brett starts making unbecoming remarks. With /HAAW/, writer/director Joey Scoma cleverly uses genre elements to craft an engaging narrative that is simultaneously entertaining, while having an unexpected depth.
“Genre films are at their best when they contain subversive social commentary”
Scoma shared candidly that the film was written “in response to the grotesque rise of bigotry and xenophobia”. To translate this to the screen, he chose an approach that mixes humor and genre, finding the perfect balance in which each enhances the other. The core of the narrative is indeed heavy and, sadly, topical. Through the genre lens, Scoma pens a story that uses an effective metaphor while pushing the horror of the situation in a ground, realistic way. “Genre films are at their best when they contain subversive social commentary”, he explained.
The family in /HAAW/ has a carefully crafted look, from the costumes to the make-up. It makes them look different, but not threatening… at first. From the audience’s seat, we’re not exactly sure what’s going on; this floating awkwardness, confined within the gondola, is at first the source of film’s humor. Insidiously, a tension starts to grow, and the audience slowly slips into Jacob’s perspective – played by Scoma himself.
“I wanted the audience to laugh at first, then settle into the horror as the situation gradually escalates” – Scoma explains
Being stuck in this gondola, suspended high in the air, creates the perfect narrative pressure cooker. Scoma uses all the filmmaking tools at his disposal – from the cinematography, with DP (and producer) Jon Salmon’s framing and camera movement enhancing this trapped feeling, to Scoma’s own editing, which moves the tension from awkward to threatening. Combined with the sound and music composed by Maxton Waller, the film takes us by surprise when it turns dark and leaves us on the edge of our seat.
The depth of the narrative is not conveyed in a very obvious manner; it sneaks up on us as we begin to grasp what is actually at play in that tiny space. This is where the screenplay reveals how clever it is, and where Scoma demonstrates his ability to create a nuanced film. Enthralling and poignant, the film leaves us in the same state that Scoma’s character – confused and scared, praying for the gondola to arrive at the top of the slope.
/HAAW/ made its way around the festival circuit during the 2024/2025 season with notable stops at SFFILM, Tribeca and the Palm Springs ShortFest, ahead of its online release as a Vimeo Staff Pick. Scoma also edits feature docs, such as 2024 Sundance documentary DEVO, directed by Chris Smith, with whom he is working again on an upcoming Gene Wilder documentary.