A young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult struggles are dramatized in Director Alma Har’el’s new feature, Honey Boy.
Based on a screenplay by Shia LaBeouf that fictionalizes his own life, Har’el’s film tells the story of how a boy named Otis made an ascent to stardom as a child actor despite a stormy relationship with his ex-rodeo clown/felon father. After going into rehab as an adult, Otis seeks to reconcile with his father and deal with his own mental health issues.
Following the DGA membership screening in New York on November 9, Har’el sat down with Director Boaz Yakin (Boarding School) to discuss the making of Honey Boy. She also discussed the film in a conversation moderated by Director Jill Soloway (Valencia) following the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles on November 24.
Honey Boy is Har’el’s feature narrative debut. Her other directorial credits include the documentaries 11/8/16, LoveTrue and Bombay Beach. She was nominated for the 2017 DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials for her P&G spot, Love Without Bias. Har’el has been a DGA member since 2007.
You can listen to Har'El's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.