REVIEWS & PRESS
Filmmaker Hollis Sherman-Pepe on Craft, Creativity, and Her Feature Debut
Though she has become known for dreaming up fantastical worlds and elaborate stories through her work as a filmmaker, Hollis Sherman-Pepe insists she’s not a dreamer, she is a doer. And after looking at all that she has accomplished over the course of her more than two-decade career in the industry, it is a statement one can only agree with.
by Portia Leigh for Medium
SAMPLE FROM THE INTERVIEW:
You often describe your work as exploring the unseen forces that shape our lives. What draws you to stories where mystery, folklore, or the supernatural become a lens for examining human nature?
Unseen forces shaping our lives have been a through line in my work thus far. As human beings, our life cycle is short, and our place in the universe is a marvelous mystery. We are all story tellers; functionally recounting events, replacing lost facts with emotional impressions, as well as inventing explanations for the unknown. From prehistoric cave painters to the legends of the Qing Dynasty, and the traditions of the modern American ghost story, as a species we love to share, imagine and invent. Here on Earth, we are but a pin prick in the vast and ever-expanding Universe. There is far more unknown than known to humankind.
I love the questions that arise from that uncertainty. They give me a reason to research, to read books, papers, and studies written by philosophers, scientists, poets and thinkers. My private holiday is to lose myself in it all, then find clever ways to hide the gems within the stories I build.
Characters interacting with fantastical beings and supernatural spaces gives me an avenue to materialize thoughts and feelings that would otherwise be difficult to see. It opens the door to humanizing concepts and questions. People are marvelously complex. Behavior for most of us is multifaceted. The choices we make are based on morals, emotions and culture. When you introduce spirit realms like magic, faith, consciousness, and new dimensions the possibilities are endless. The supernatural isn’t an escape from human nature, it is a way of looking at it from a different angle.
Ali Vela interviews Hollis for #jointhescene Podcast, exploring the magical landscapes of her sci-fi film, “Twenty Minute Exotic Getaway,” Hollis gives us a preview about her upcoming feature film “Tenants Of Carver Hill.”
December 2025
TENANTS OF CARVER HILL
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Former Local Brings Ghostly Story To Life In Harleysville
“As the autumn leaves begin to turn and thoughts drift to ghostly tales, a different kind of spirit has already made its mark on our community. Hollis Sherman-Pepe, a former resident of Lower Salford area, returned to her roots this Spring to craft a chilling tale that’s as much about our local history as it is about things that go bump in the night…”
by Maggie Wurst
TWENTY MINUTE EXOTIC GETAWAY
“Great premise. I liked the juxtaposition of a world where it is too dangerous to travel, but technology itself is equally terrifying.
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“The timeliness is unmistakable.”
“I find that if I just think of a feeling, the AI takes me right where I need to be,” the actress’ contented delivery says that Devon has got escape down to a science.
“More importantly, the cinematic presentation by Gabriel Gely sets a tone appropriate for the science fiction. As the fauna gyrates and the clouds meander in at stop-motion speed, Devon appears to have been superimposed into a fantasy that would even have our imaginations falling short.”
by Rich Monetti
“Five out of Five”
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“What Twenty Minute Exotic Getaway does extremely well is create a convincing future landscape and populates it with characters who are flawed and complex. As the writer, director, and star Hollis Sherman-Pepe is the heart of this short and the main reason for its success. She will deserve all the praise, accolades, and success that will undoubtedly come her way.”
“For such a small budget and the length of time it took to make, 5 years according to our notes, Twenty Minute Exotic Getaway is a technical triumph. Director Sherman-Pepe, along with her visual effects designers and special-effects artists, creates the vision of a future that allows you to change your surroundings simply by touching them and yet they feel so familiar. Cinematographer Gabriel Gely’s shots are dazzling, especially the VR sections and the opening traveling shots in which we take a whistle-stop tour of a decaying city. The pacing is relentless, and the editing by Chris Chandler, Erin Perri, and Philip Perri creates an urgency that, by the end, leaves us wanting a twenty-minute break.”
by Jolly Moel
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“Hollis Sherman-Pepe’s short film gives us a look into a world that doesn’t seem quite so far fetched given the events of recent history.”
“An introspective film about the connection between humanity and technology.”
by Russ Pirozek
CATHARTIC ART
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“Cathartic Art is a collective of artists gathering together to uphold practices of compassion and transformation through dance, spoken word, and performance art. Founded by Jill Collins and Kirstin Ajax, the self-titled film directed by Hollis Sherman-Pepe is both a media performance and an advocacy piece for mental health.”
by Beth Megill - September 22, 2020
TO QUIET MY MIND
Cleveland International Film Fest. 2016
