Season 1
Fallout
By Ben Rekhi
Synopsis
A love story set against the aftermath of a nuclear attack, Fallout follows one man’s journey to find the woman he left behind. It’s America’s worst nightmare come true, shot in live action then animated in the style of a motion-graphic-novel. A true genre blend, Fallout is part character improvisation, part apocalypse story, and part science fiction.
Damien is driving the freeways of Los Angeles, fresh from breaking up with his girlfriend, Rose. Suddenly blinded by a flash of light, he crashes his car off the freeway, but stays conscious just long enough to see a mushroom cloud forming in the sky. He awakens to find himself in a makeshift refugee camp beyond the blast zone in the deserts north of Los Angeles. Unsettled by a deep guilt, Damien breaks free of the military quarantine to find Rose, the lost love of his life.
His search takes him across miles of nuclear wasteland, and all the while Rose’s voice rings out in his mind and heart. When Damien finally reaches the burning wreckage that is Rose’s apartment, she’s nowhere to be found. As it slowly dawns on Damien that he might have lost the most important person in his life, a soldier with a gun confronts Damien and takes him into custody.
A nurse treats Damien for radiation exposure in an emergency medical facility set up in a church. Just when Damien has given up entirely, Rose appears on a stretcher down the hall — she’s still alive! In order to save Rose now, Damien must confront his own demons of the past.
Genesis
I had nuclear dreams for a year. Giant mushroom clouds in the sky. A deep, bassy rumbling in my ears.
This waking fear of the end of the world. I was convinced that we were in for it, that our fate was sealed.
I don’t know why I'm drawn to stories about the end of the world. I'm usually a positive person.
But everyone has guilt. Something they wish they could go back and fix.
This is one of those stories.
— Ben Rekhi, Director
Cast & Credits
Filmmaker Bio
Ben Rekhi
Writer / Director
Whether it’s writing, directing, or producing, Ben Rekhi has been making bold statements on film for more than a decade. Graduating from NYU film school, Rekhi went on to intern and work in development, management, and production at New Line Cinema and MGM while his short films were playing festivals and winning awards. After working with the Coen Brothers in the camera department of O Brother, Where Art Thou? Rekhi was hired by George Clooney to shoot the behind the scenes for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. He has directed several music videos in India and the US; produced two 35mm feature films including the graffiti cult classic Bomb the System; and wrote and directed the SXSW Audience Award Winner Waterborne, currently on the Sundance Channel. His screenplay for Waste won the Tribeca All Access Award in 2007. In India, Rekhi directed a museum film for producer Bobby Bedi, wrote the English dialogue for the soon-to-be-released Teen Patti with Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley, and founded the ScriptWalla workshop with veteran writer Kamlesh Pandey. Currently, Rekhi is enrolled in the prestigious Peter Stark Producing Program at USC.
Cast Bios
Jake Muxworthy – “Damien”
Jake Muxworthy emerged as an onscreen presence in the early 2000s when he gradually transitioned from supporting parts to higher billing. Muxworthy first hit film screens in David O. Russell’s I Heart Huckabees in the story of existentialism. Jake then landed his first starring role in the independent festival hit, Piggy Banks, as a serial killer for director Morgan J. Freeman. The role garnered him the prestigious Rising Star Award at the Hampton’s Film Festival in 2005. Shortly thereafter, Jake took on the morally ambiguous role of “Bodi” in the critically acclaimed film Waterborne. The film won the Audience Award at both South by Southwest and the Method Film Festival, as well as Best Ensemble Cast at the Method Film Festival. Jake was next seen as one of the leads in LionsGate Films true life story Borderland, as a college student on spring break in Mexico faced with a friend’s kidnapping. Then Jake went and did three films back to back. The films were Sony’s The Take, starring John Leguizamo which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival; The Art of Travel , with Chris Masterson and Hyde Park; and David Ellis’s Asylum. His latest project is Federico Zampaglione's psychological thriller The Shadow, in which Jake was the lead. In addition to the numerous film credit Jake has, he also has had stand out guest starring roles in television series including American Dreams, 24, Medical Investigation, Third Watch, CSI NY, Saving Grace, and Without a Trace. Raised in Colorado, Jake currently resides in Los Angeles.
Frankie Shaw – “Rose”
Frankie Shaw is a writer and actress from Boston. She graduated from Barnard college in 2007 with a degree in English Literature concentrating on psychoanalytic feminist analysis. She recently completed The Freebie with Dax Shepherd, produced by Mark Duplass, and can be seen in Explicit Ills with Rosario Dawson and in Falling Up with Snoop Dogg.
Stephen Buchanan – “Khalid”
Stephen Buchanan is originally from Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Tisch School of The Arts where he studied with the Atlantic Theatre Company. He played Noble in the feature film Bomb The System and has appeared in numerous short films. He currently resides in downtown Los Angeles.
