Director's Statement

We directed Adult Night as a way to honor all the couples out there - from ALL different backgrounds - who are trying to figure out how to keep the connection and love ALIVE as life starts to inevitably change. We’ve been married for 17 years now and have a 12 year old son, but prior to the birth of our kid, we were that party couple - the ones always looking for a good time, buying rounds of shots for everyone, the life of the party. But when our son came, some things had to change. Adult Night leans into the concept of trying to re-spark that fire after having a child together and ALL the ways it can go terribly wrong, but also how, with love and communication, it can also be a real opportunity to strengthen your relationship. 

The idea came when we wanted to challenge ourselves to create a story that focused on two people locked in a room. With the help of our friend - writer Derek Ray - and inspired by a true-ish story, Derek honed in on a story of a married couple trapped in the bathroom trying to deal with the aftermath of them deciding to reignite their sex life. And then it just grew from there with input and insight from co-star Lesley-Ann Brandt and producer Todd Sandler.

The collaborative process with creating the story, as well as working with our crew on the actual production, was really our favorite part of this whole experience. It was so organic and fun. And why wouldn’t it be? We were working with our friends who are pretty much our family! Because this was truly indie filmmaking at its finest, we all had to wear multiple hats and play many different roles, but this is what we love so much about this creative medium - it challenges us in so many ways and keeps us on our toes. 

Working on our strengths as a photographer (Leslie) and an actor (Kevin), we really got to rely on each other and push one another as directors to tell a story that was both heightened but also very grounded in its goal of telling a story about love, and hopefully people can relate to it. That’s the kind of storytelling that we’re interested in creating as filmmakers - ones that connect you to what we all have in common, despite our diverse backgrounds, and that is our shared humanity. We hope you enjoy watching Adult Night as much as we enjoyed making it.