The Off Hours
Megan Griffiths
You’re awake when everyone else is asleep. You’re standing still as traffic is whipping by at 70 mph. Your off hours are spent trying to figure out why you’re here, whether you want to stay, and how to leave.
Francine (Amy Seimitz) works as a waitress whose liberation from her mundane existence is long overdue. In the restless world of the night shift at a highway diner, Francine’s life consists of casual encounters and transient friendships. What she wants is out of reach – or is it that she’s lost track of wanting anything at all? When a banker turned big-rig driver becomes a regular, he sparks hope in Francine. As change begins to invade the quiet diner, Francine is reminded that it is never too late to become the person she was meant to be.
The Off Hours provides a reverse angle for a road movie, focusing not on the people passing through but on those who stay behind. Megan Griffiths draws complex characters and stays true to them, respecting their shortcomings and yearnings for connection.
Awards for ›The Off Hours‹
Carlos Velo Award für die beste Regisseurin, Ourense Film Festival 2011 | Spezialpreis der Jury, Ourense Film Festival 2011
Megan Griffiths
For the past decade, Megan Griffiths has been a director, writer and producer in the independent film community. She has produced films such as The Catechism Cataclysm (2011) and the The Guatemalan Handshake (2006). She was a co-producer on the acclaimed Sundance documentary Zoo (2007). Ms Griffiths received her MFA in film production from the Ohio University School of Film. While in school, she wrote and directed three award-winning films – including Not Waving but Drowning. In 2003, she directed her first feature and, since then, has also written and directed two narrative shorts, as well as a short documentary about Seattle indie radio station KEXP for MTV. The Off Hours was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011 and is now showing worldwide. She is currently in production on her third feature film: Eden. She also serves on the boards of the Northwest Film Forum and the Sustainable Style Foundation, and is an active advocate for sustainable production.
Films by Megan Griffiths
Eden 2012 | Eros 2009 | Moving 2008 | First Aid for Choking 2003 | Not Waving but Drowning 2001
