Two years ago, Drake Potts revisited a 50-page script he wrote in high school and decided to make it tangible. After cutting the manuscript down to 15 pages, Potts created “Burleson,” a Western short film loosely based on his Texan family’s history.
“Burleson” premiered at the Round Top Film Festival on Saturday. Set in the West Texas desert, the 14-minute short film explores the complex relationship between James, a former teacher struggling to cope with his wife’s death, and his 13-year-old son Edward, who yearns to know the truth about his mother’s passing.
Though fictional, the inspiration for Edward came from Potts’ great, great, great uncle, Edward Burleson, who served as the third Vice President of the Republic of Texas. Jasper Jones, who plays Edward, said he resonated with the character because of his punk-like attitude.
“(He’s) a young man standing up for himself … and that can be really scary, especially if you’re doing it to somebody you love, or an authority figure,” Jones said. “That was cool (and I) thought that was important.”
Potts, a radio-television-film senior and “Burleson” director and writer said he wanted the film to highlight topics, such as the importance of listening to young people and how men struggle to show their vulnerability.
“I wanted to explore the traditional male perspective of being emotionally distant and cut off, especially when something is bothering them, which I was able to achieve in the dream sequence where (James) … sees his wife and he wakes up from (a) nightmare,” Potts said. “I showed that he is struggling with something, but he’s not saying anything about it.”
Ryan Willis, business senior and “Burleson” viewer, said he found the film’s exploration of family dynamics interesting and unexpected.
“The way the story is laid out, you initially expect for the father … to be protecting his son,” Willis said. “The son is actually the one saving his father in the end. It definitely left me thinking for a long time afterward.”
Willis said he liked that despite the film’s Western genre, the script and cinematography did not feel overdone and said the film’s style did not dilute its meaning.
“Sometimes with (Western) movies that are … being filmed in the modern day, it can be overdone with really strong accents or crazy clothing … that kind of detracts from the storyline,” Willis said. “I felt like it was much more straightforward and easy to watch.”
Potts said given the film’s short duration, he found it difficult to fit everything he wanted to say in the film but strived to incorporate certain themes.
“Whether the dream sequence spoke to them, (Edward) standing up to his father spoke to them or the intro sequence,” Potts said. “I wanted to make something that people could take away something from and feel something.”
