The remarkably tense “Lockdown” follows a teenage girl going to extreme measures to work out some mixed-up emotions. We asked directors Celine Held and Logan George how the project started, what the biggest challenge was, and what comes next for them…

1) Can you talk briefly about your backgrounds, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?

We both have degrees in drama from NYU, where we met 10 years ago. We naturally evolved into creating our own work after a handful of years being really dissatisfied with our careers post-college. We've found it much more exciting for us to be pursuing our own stories from scratch even if it takes longer for something to get made, and because we have such shared interests and aesthetics we were able to pool our resources.

2) What’s the backstory here - what was the initial idea and how did it evolve from there?

The story for LOCKDOWN came from a personal experience of Celine’s (with a pulled fire alarm and a middle school crush), mixed with this modern idea of what it is for a lockdown to be so normalized in American schools.

We saw this incredible photo by Alec Soth that wouldn’t leave our head for months. In the description Soth says: "They were fairly nonchalant about the whole routine." This routine lockdown drill became this strange, ripe context for exploring a more conventional unrequited love story.

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And generally what part of the creative process do you enjoy the most, and the least?

We had only two days to film at the school. LOCKDOWN definitely should have been a three day shoot, but the school would only give us the weekend when they had no activities, so we had to make it work. It was crazy. We were lucky to be working with two actresses who were so committed and gave us some incredible performances to work with in the edit.  

We love writing, when the possibilities are endless for your characters and your story. Set can be tough when things fall through. Sometimes it just doesn't work out like it did in your head - but then sometimes it does, and it's just the best feeling when you see it right there on the monitor, just like you imagined it. It's wild. Often our experience of post-production is very much determined by how well pre and production worked out. :)

4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?

We both loved Uncut Gems. Big fans of the Safdie's - their work has had a very strong influence on our own.

5) What’s next for you?

Our feature film TOPSIDE - we're almost finished with it! TOPSIDE tells the story of a 5-year-old girl who lives under the streets of New York City with her mother. After a police-mandated eviction, they are forced to flee and face the world above, threatening their future as mother and daughter. Hoping it will premiere at a festival this year … we’ll keep you posted.

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Website: http://www.elofilms.com

 Instagram: Celine Held: @celineheld_ | Logan George: @loganwgeorge