IN THE ORCHARD
WINNER: Jury Award - Best US Feature - 2018 SONOMA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
WINNER: BEST FEATURE - 2019 BEAUFORT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
WINNER: GRAND PRIZE - Best Feature - 2018 CULVER CITY FILM FESTIVAL
“In the Orchard is a quiet and powerful film”.
Robert Kraft, Oscar-nominated songwriter, producer, former studio executive
and President of Fox Music
The Story
Charlotte and her husband John are packing in preparation for a trip to the beach with their son Ricky. Shortly after driving away from their farm, their car is struck in a head on collision and, tragically, only Charlotte survives. Isolated on her farm, Charlotte slowly becomes swallowed up in an overwhelming morass of anguish and grief. One night she encounters an injured man, Nick, on her property. An unexpected and unique bond develops between the two. Charlotte asks Nick to stay on to work the farm with her temporarily, telling him that her husband and child ‘are away on a trip’.
Nick, a Marine combat veteran, is trying to hide some serious issues of his own, among other things.
He quickly butts heads with her family friend and lawyer, Paul, a powerful man in town with ties to the local police. Protective of Charlotte, Paul grows suspicious of Nick’s intentions. An altercation ensues between the two men. Paul threatens the Marine causing Nick’s PTSD to ignite. Charlotte sides with Nick as her relationship with Nick deepens in intensity. Growing more paranoid, Nick tightens his efforts to protect them both as his mental state winds violently out of control. Lost in a dark rabbit hole, Charlotte represses serious warning signs of Nick’s behavior as she desperately hangs on to a relationship that could either save or destroy them.
“In The Orchard was very well received by our audience, some saying it
to be one of the most moving films they’ve ever seen at our festival.”
Steve Grumette, Founder and Artistic Director of
The Ojai Film Festival
“Director Christopher Knoblock's breakthrough first feature is an honest heartrending tale about survival in the midst of life's many physical and psychological battles.”
Vanessa McMahon, FilmFestivals.com
The Creators
Christopher Knoblock and Dana White are a husband and wife filmmaking team.
In the Orchard is a reflection of their unique vision.
The Filmmaker's Statement
In The Orchard is a story about trauma. The film seeks to reflect the deepest aspects of how we all cope with the life damaging events that are thrust upon us. In the midst of the darkness where do we turn? Who do we turn to?
Charlotte and Nick, two strangers from different worlds, find a curious and compelling connection with one another. Their ultimate griefs and haunting secrets draw them deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole of desperation. In one intense encounter, they find themselves inextricably linked to one another's fates. Isolated together on Charlotte and her recently deceased husband's farm, their complicated and evolving relationship becomes both a vice and an attempt at deliverance for both of them.
As storytellers, we've set out to explore here the desperate human need for salvation in the most extreme of circumstances and how our connections with one another both heal and consume us. By relating to the deepest traumas of Charlotte and Nick we can collectively grieve our own respective bruises and losses.