inthearts // aidan brezonick
LISA HOLLE Y
CONTEMPORARY BOTANICAL ARTIST
“You Are What You Eat Series”
Dean speaks with his surrogate father figure/boss at the El Korah Diner.
down some dark paths. He begins to realize how much change has occurred because of this billionaire land buy and the influx of new residents from out of state, how it’s affected local livelihood, the environment, and in turn,
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I keep coming back to the line ‘if you can’t afford to live in Idaho, where can you?’ ” “CURIOUS SPIDER MONKE Y ” W/C 23”H X 14” W
www.lisaholley.com 270 Northwood Way, #205 Ketchum, ID 83340 208-622-9122 BY APPOINTMENT &/OR ARTISTS’ SUMMER STUDIO TOUR Friday-Sunday, August 19, 20 & 21, 2022 40 Participating Artists in their studios
—AIDAN BRE ZONICK
Dean. For that part of the movie, the cast and crew will be spending several weeks traveling the state, shooting everywhere from Sun Valley to Sandpoint and looping back to Boise. “Our goal is to shoot as many historical landmarks as possible that feel natural to the narrative,” says Brezonick. Brezonick sees “Mirage” as a kind of spiritual origin story to the Continental Op character in Dashiell Hammet novels. “In most noir stories, the detective or protagonist is this jaded, brooding archetype—already having lived through years of work that’s left them cynical of the world,” says Brezonick. “The idea behind our narrative is to take this young optimistic kid and show him all these injustices within his state and see if he can rise above that cynicism. We lead Dean down 100
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some pretty interesting avenues I don’t think most viewers will be expecting.” “I get a lot of inspiration from Robert Altman and Paul Thomas Anderson films, sweeping narratives with large ensemble casts,” says Brezonick. “’Mirage’ is an Idaho story, so we wanted to finance with people who live here and have a stake in these narratives firsthand. We’re currently in talks with some extremely talented actors, who I’m not allowed to name, or my producer will yell at me. Our hope is that we can show what major production can do here. Putting those funds back into the community in as many ways possible — and eventually get some production tax credits started. Idaho has the same potential as Chicago, Atlanta, and New Orleans. We want this to be a case study for future productions.” The timing of “Mirage” is no coincidence. Idaho has experienced seismic shifts in population and affordability over the past few years, growth that Brezonick feels has been extremely divisive. “I try to keep politics out of my films and focus on the characters/people that are affected, but I keep coming back to the line: ‘If you can’t afford to live in Idaho, where can you?’” says Brezonick. “I grew up with a split childhood. Living in the historic North End of Boise with my father, while my mom had the first house on the block in a new subdivision of Eagle; feeling trapped between the tradition of preserving things as they are, and the natural change and expansion that happens to a place over time. In a lot of ways, I feel like I was made to tell this story.” ï
sunvalleymag.com | SUMMER 2022
6/12/22 9:16 AM