About

Monsters of My Youth is a short film based on the poem “The Monsters of My Youth Appear Different Now” by Portland author Coleman Stevenson.  It began as a small, personal collaboration between the poet and Director, Monica Graves, but it soon grew into an extended piece of cinematography showcasing some of Oregon’s most iconic locations, with scenes filmed at the beautiful Cape Lookout, and the Oregon Gardens in historic Silverton. 

Graves wrote the screenplay and based her artistic direction for the film off her own interpretation of Stevenson’s text.  Since the film began as a personal project, Graves cast Stevenson and herself as the two dueling characters, remaining faithful to her casting decision even as Monsters of My Youth grew in production value. The personal connection both collaborators felt to the content gave their performances emotional authenticity. 

Synopsis: 

Monsters of My Youth is an experimental visual interpretation of a four part poem. In part one of the film, we enter a fairytale setting, following a character in a red hood (played by Stevenson) as she wanders into a massive forest and begins to compose a story.  As the narration continues, the scene suddenly shifts. We see a different version of our Storyteller, now masked and standing on a dark, stormy beach opposite another masked figure (played by Graves). They fight, and just as our Heroine is about to overcome her Obstacle, the scene shifts again.  

In part two, she is whisked away onto a childlike sailboat in a lake full of floating corked bottles. One of Graves' favorite lines is spoken during this scene: "I'm always on my boat, set with its sephamore sails, trying to carry a message to land." The fight erupts again between the two masked figures, but before she can be defeated, the Obstacle dives off the pier, disappearing under the water. 

In part three, our Heroine gasps for air while surfacing from a pool of water, discovering she is now inside a strange garden at night. Wandering through the trees, she again encounters her Obstacle. As they continue to struggle, she is sucked back to the beach where, in part four, she finally unmasks her opponent. 

For a moment, she believes she sees herself under the mask, but then observes her Obstacle clearly, defeated and no longer a threat. She notices the red-hooded Storyteller stands on a cliff above, narrating her through the struggles with life's obstacles. 

In the final scene, we are back in the fairytale forest as dark is closing in.  The Storyteller puts her book away and walks out of the forest, ending the tale with these lines: 

I went in to gather and I gathered. 

I went in, came out another side. 

I wanted to show you it could be done. 

For Graves, the poem is about the struggles of life, which sometimes are external, and at other times are internal. For Stevenson, her poem and the film it inspired both express "the need to reflect on our experiences and apply the knowledge gained to achieve a stronger sense of self and a more accurate place in the world." 

Monsters of My Youth with will screen with several of Graves' other shorts in summer 2014.  Check back soon for more details.