On their way from the Production For Use launch party to the NALIP’s Texas Film Fiesta at SXSW, producer Stephanie Huettner and director Craig Whitney discuss lessons learned from making their short films Harvest Home and The Garden and the Wilderness for the Houston Film Commission.

The Garden and the Wilderness is a 27-minute modern-day Western written and directed by Whitney and produced by Huettner. The film tells the story of Will James (Larry Grant Harbin), an aging Texas ranch hand who has spent three decades caring for a private hunting estate. When he learns the decaying property will be sold to developers following the owner’s death, Will must confront the prospect of leaving behind the patch of earth he has toiled over for nearly half his life. A final visit from the late owner’s son offers him a chance to reflect on his past and decide what to make of an uncertain future.

The film premiered at the 2011 Rome International Film Festival and went on to screen at over fifteen festivals worldwide, including in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Cancún. In 2013, it was selected by the Houston Film Commission for its annual Texas Filmmakers Showcase, an invitation-only presentation of the year’s best Texas short films, screened at the Directors Guild of America Theater in Los Angeles.

Harvest Home was written and directed by Whitney and produced by Huettner through Better Archangel Pictures. Shot in Texas and released in 2009, the film follows Esther Kern (Diane Hruska), an elderly woman trying to reenter the world after completing her shiva, the weeklong Jewish mourning period, following the death of her husband. When a cable repairman (Scott Bate) arrives at her home, she attempts to forge an emotional connection with this stranger, offering stories, cake, and coffee in an effort to fill the void left by her loss.

Watch parts 1 and 2 of the interview below: