All major roles and positions are held by women. 85% of the crew and 50% of the cast are women. Our team consists of people of different ages, race, and sexuality. This is a story told through diverse female lenses and our team reflects those voices.

STORY

Wolves Inside is the second short film written, directed and produced by Samantha Ireland.

This story explores the conscious choices people face while fighting with their animalistic compulsions in a brutal and unforgiving world told through the eyes of women from different walks of life.

The central idea of this film was inspired by the Native American parable: The Tale of Two Wolves

WRITER'S STATEMENT

Growing up and watching Westerns, of all kinds, I always gravitated towards the central male figures and anti-heroes of the stories- The lone wolf who's come to town to serve justice, the unknown drifter struggling with their inner demons, the silent gunslinger paying back a debt. Their undeniable strength and vulnerability seething beneath the surface captivated me as an audience. Unfortunately, I rarely connected with the female characters in these films. The women, until recent, have been oftentimes portrayed as tropes in this genre-"Miss Kitty" of the local saloon, the mournful damaged widow, the objectified damsel in distress. I never saw myself or women I knew in these stories.

I think it is vital to see flawed characters with exceptional power, fighting a great battle of sorts within a story... and these characters must also be women. Women should be able to recognize themselves and connect to characters and their struggles onscreen. There isn't enough out there for us yet and we still have a long way to go.

That's why I wrote this film. I want to atone for my younger self. I want to make stories that are told through the eyes of compelling women in a time period idolized by many.

I want us to be more than just a trope.

FEMALE CREW

We wanted to create a community of women in front of and behind the camera telling a female-led story. Women hold all major positions in this production. Women are severely underrepresented in this industry both in front of and behind the camera, and we hope that changes one day. We want to do our part with accruing a group of women in our area to showcase their talent for this story and we hope this encouragement continues in future productions.

Pictures of Morgan Honaker our Sound Mixer and Ivy Chiu our Cinematographer

ON LOCATION

When I was a teenager we would travel out to Big Bend National Park and the surrounding towns for our family vacations and I have always cherished those memories. West Texas is an underutilized area of our state when it comes to filming. It has the picturesque outline of the Chisos mountains, colorful open skies, and beautiful desert landscape that encompasses a particular time of life. I knew it would be the inspiration for many stories I would tell as an adult.

We plan to shoot on location in the ghost town of Terlingua, Texas.

THE FUTURE

There is more to these characters than what will be portrayed in this short film. We would like to use this short film as a jumping off point for something much larger. The stories that have been drawn from these characters, outside of this film, are not only thrilling but are also a journey of the human spirit in a time where life wasn't simple. We want to indulge in these stories in a longer narrative format and we believe this film will establish a path in that direction.