shots Unsigned: Major Dorfman

Major Dorfman is a writer and director from a small mill town in Massachusetts.

Dorfman's films are often about good people who are forced to do bad things, and have screened at numerous festivals including Palm Springs International ShortFest, Hamptons International Film Festival, and Cinema Jove.

His latest short film, Classmates, was recently featured as a Vimeo Staff Pick. And revolves around an apathetic teenager who is dropped off on the outskirts of town to work on a project with the school outcast. The two boys form an unlikely connection, but not without consequences...

Can you tell us a little about your background and your route into directing? 

As a kid, I loved movies, but it truly never occurred to me that filmmaking was an actual career. I went to school to study biomedical engineering because I was strong in math and it felt like a safe choice. But I was so miserable in all my classes and was often daydreaming about movies. I soon made the switch to filmmaking, and I remember being terrified because it felt like such a risk. But I’m very happy I followed my gut. 

As a kid, I loved movies, but it truly never occurred to me that filmmaking was an actual career.

Did you study filmmaking? How did you learn your craft? 

I recently completed a Masters in Directing at Columbia University. I made five short films there, one of which was Classmates. I learned how to direct through each of those shorts. 

Would you say you have a directing style? How did you arrive at it? 

I’m not sure. I know I like to shoot things with a more naturalistic style, where the loose camera feels invisible and lets the performances do most of the work. I really like focusing on people’s gestures and behaviour. 

I think I figured out what I liked and a way of shooting that made sense to me by just watching a lot of movies and by making a lot of shorts. 

I really like focusing on people’s gestures and behaviour. 

What was the inspiration behind your short film Classmates?

I came across a newspaper article about hidden homelessness in my small Massachusetts hometown. In the article, a childhood friend of mine, now a social worker in the district, spoke about how he couldn’t even guess how many kids were sleeping in cars on any given night. I was stunned at how prevalent but invisible this issue was in our hometown. 

I wanted to make a film about the quiet kid you sat next to in class, and how you truly don't know what he or she was going home to. 

ABOVE: Some BTS photographs from the Classmates shoot.

What other directors' work do you admire, and why?

Abbas Kiarostami’s films, specifically his films about kids. They are such simple stories, but somehow they feel so expansive. I like how they feel mythical in how they play with childlike wonder. 

Also Andrea Arnold. Her movies feel so painfully real, like they’re happening right in front of you for the first time.  

Where do you find the motivation for your projects?

New England. When starting a new project, I often think about the small-town stories and the idiosyncratic people I grew up with. 

What were some of the difficulties you faced in pulling this project together?

I knew that the success of the film would heavily depend on the performances of the two leads, so the casting process was probably the most crucial part of making the film. 

We saw a lot of actors, and did many chemistry reads with different pairs. It was eventually clear that it would be Uly and Ty. 

the casting process was probably the most crucial part of making the film.