Abigail Younger
Abigail Younger is originally from Upstate NY, in a small quiet town outside of Ithaca, and did a full 180 by moving to New York City. As an aspiring film director, she enjoys taking themes from her favorite classic novels and turning them into modern films. Recently she wrote and directed A Boy From Nantucket, which follows two boys who meet by chance but struggle with a long-distance relationship. She has always been interested in storytelling and loves making the visions in her head come to life. She enjoys connecting her favorite songs to her favorite books and creating a film from them. For Alex and Anna, she found inspiration from the song Groupie Love (feat. A$AP Rocky) by Lana Del Rey and the book A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. She currently works as the editor for the Start-Up Cornell Podcast. Her hobbies include; reading great American novels, discovering new music, playing Minecraft, and re-watching the movie National Treasure.
Artist Statement
I was a very lucky kid. Every night before bed my mom and dad would sit in my room and read to my sister and me. They read books like The Magic Tree House and Junie B. Jones and sometimes my dad would make up a story of his own. Ever since we grew out of picture books I started seeing the images the author was describing in my head. Before I knew it I was making little videos with my dolls and then making short movies with my friends. Books have always been a part of my life so I find a lot of inspiration for my projects for them. As I’ve gotten older I have been reading a lot of classic novels, so with my work I draw themes from classic stories and incorporate them into my films which tend to be contemporary stories set in the present. I made a short film called A Boy From Nantucket which
I found inspiration from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Alex and Anna were very fun for me to write because I had a lot of time to go into much more depth with the characters than in projects past. I was interested in writing a love story but I didn’t want to follow the typical route. I find that many love stories are predictable so I wanted to show a realistic character but one you never see on screen.
I was especially interested in showing a non-traditional female character, turning devotion and dedication into powerful traits instead of their gender deeming them basic and stereotypical. It’s important to me to show realistic women that never get proper representation in film.