Wake Me Up In A Week

Dir. Gavin MacGregor

Starring Henry Rhoden

Edited by Gavin MacGregor

Creative Assistant Dina Olson

Drawn from a personal period of emotional unrest, Wake Me Up In A Week explores the disorienting and suffocating nature of anxiety through abstract storytelling and symbolic imagery. Water functions as a recurring motif throughout the film, representing both tranquility and emotional overwhelm. Artificial and unnatural water sources mirror the anxiety of city life, while natural landscapes and sounds reflect moments of peace, memory, and dissociation. Rooted in my experience of moving from an island environment surrounded by nature to New York City, the film speaks to the loss of open space and the search for new forms of escape and grounding. Through the use of color theory, projection, and surreal visual language, the film captures the emotional contrast between confinement and release.

A large whiteboard with handwritten notes and ideas for filming locations, supplies, and video planning. The board is decorated with various colored sticky notes, and blue tape secures the notes at the top and bottom.

Brainstorming Session

Nighttime outdoor scene with two people, one holding a red light and the other using a camera on a tripod, in front of a cityscape with tall buildings.

Coney Island Night Shoot BTS

For the final work in my Time class, I worked within a time parameter and focused on time. I worked hard to create the visuals and execute my idea to what I had envisioned in my head, and I feel that my work and effort show.

A person appears to breathe or meditate with hands in a prayer position, illuminated in low light, with a draped cloth behind them and some reflective surfaces in the environment.

Projection Scene BTS

A person's silhouette with their head facing the bright light source above, creating a halo effect around their hair in a dark setting.
Close-up of a person's eye with blue iris, surrounded by red light.
Nighttime view of a tall modern building with illuminated windows

Stills

10 May 2026
New York City