Artist's statement
"The frustration we all feel over the unbridgeable chasm..."
By Tom Maduell, Writer/Director
The original concept for A One-Sided Affair percolated in my mind for a year and a half. Then I woke at three am one morning with a flash of insight: this piece was to express the frustration we all feel over the unbridgeable chasm our politics has descended into. Over the next seven days I could not write fast enough.
As soon as I finished, I knew I had to make this film myself. Although I had written for the likes of Michael Cimino and Bill Pullman, I had never made a film before. I had only a micro-budget and a driving passion. To quote the late Lou Reed, “A busload of Faith.”
Less than 9 months later we finished filming, I look back in awe. People I didn’t even know gave me money (I know them now, I love them now). A legendary agent, John Castonia, took a gamble and sent it on to his talent. Talented people donated their time and others were hired on for far less than they are worth. Local people pitched in their time and resources not just willingly, but with energetic fervor. It was like the creation of a planet; once it got started, it just kept building off its own gravity. In the end, over 160 people were involved. I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone involved such that it humbles me to think of it.
In the beginning I hoped for a specific type of success, only to slowly realize it is already a success. As Will Durst put it, “It’s the experience, the people, the connection.”