When her rebel-brother on the run bursts into the family home with her other, regime-loyal brother in pursuit, a young woman is forced to confront the political and personal fault lines that tear her family - and her future - apart.
[Story]
Director's Statement
Anatomy of a regime began with a feeling I couldn't shake - the sense that history doesn't just repeat, it lingers.
While reading THe Secret History, a sixth-century account of corruption and tyranny under Emperor Justinian I, I was struck by how familiar it all felt. The language, the fear, the division - it echoed uncomfortably with the present.
This film lives in that space between past and present.
Set entirely within a single room, Anatomy of a regime brings a political conflict into an intimate, personal arena: A family. Kale (KAH-leh) stands between her brothers - one a rebel, the other a loyalist - each embodying opposing visions of the world. What begins as a confrontation becomes something quieter and more dangerous: a reckoning with what it means to choose, or to refuse to choose.
Visually, the film reflects this tension. We are building a world that blends medieval silhouettes with modern textures, lit almost entirely by candlelight. This approach is both practical and intentional, grounding the film in a timeless, suspended reality where past and present collapse into one another.
At its core, this is a film about paralysis in the face of conflict. About the illusion of neutrality. And about the moment when inaction is no longer an option.
This story is deeply personal to me, and I believe it reflects a broader, shared experience: the quiet, internal struggle of living through systems we may not fully believe in yet feel powerless to escape.
Above are stills from a recent test shoot featuring an original scene, lit only by candlelight.
This is my visual approach through lighting that I plan to take with anatomy of a Regime.
The TEAM:
MAy Barton - Writer/director/DP
Bruce Swanlund & Carley Pineda - producers
Ricky Patrick - Editor
Parise Zeleny - Actor (Kale)
Ben Barrus - Actor (Tarasios)
Em Perez - 1st Assistant Director
THE BUDGET:
$4,000
Equipment Rentals - ~$400
Catering - $300-500
Production & Costume Design Materials - $1,200
Composer - ~ $300
Insurance - $100
Film Festival Submissions - $