About the Project
Everywhere You Go grew from a question about inheritance — specifically, what we carry without knowing we're carrying it.
The project draws heavily from Eastern European folk tradition, particularly the figure of the domovoi — a household spirit, neither malevolent nor benevolent, simply present. A keeper of thresholds. The film follows Anna, who returns to a small village in rural Michigan settled by Ukrainian immigrants in the early 20th century, to close her grandmother's house after her death.
But the house has its own ideas about closing.
Visual Language
The film uses a dual structure: contemporary footage shot on digital with a pronounced grain, intercut with sequences shot on 16mm that represent the older world bleeding through. The 16mm footage was processed to enhance its age — pushed to increase contrast, printed with slight exposure drift.
The forest is a character. In Slavic folklore, the forest is never simply nature — it is the space where rules shift, where the normal logic of the world becomes negotiable. We spent considerable time ensuring the trees felt populated.
Research
Extensive research into Ukrainian and Belarusian folk customs, particularly around death, transition, and the liminal period between one state and another. The grandmother's house is arranged according to specific folk practices: mirrors covered, particular foods placed at thresholds, the fire managed in prescribed ways.
What surprised us was how alive these traditions felt when rendered with care. Not historical curiosity — something that still knows how to make itself necessary.