Re-Entry
After serving a 15 year sentence, a man re-enters a society which has outgrown him in hopes of reconnecting with the family he lost.
RJ Zabasky, 22 years old, attends film school at the University of Arizona and is graduating in May 2023. His family instilled in him a hardworking spirit and gave him the determination to be a self-learner. RJ’s mother and grandparents are immigrants from Riga, Latvia who came to America with a few hundred dollars to their name and worked hard to become successful. Growing up, RJ watched his entrepreneur father work long hours from home to start businesses from scratch. When RJ first got into filmmaking he started off creating short films with his friends and family members. Each film taught him something new and each script he wrote enhanced his writing ability.
During the Covid quarantine, RJ started his popular TikTok account @rj_zabasky which has over 550,000 followers. He creates content about movie facts, behind the scenes, film recommendations, and stories.
A short film he created last summer, 30 Minutes Till, was an award winner. It followed the story of a depressed college student who comes across a drug that gives him a new perspective on life.
This last summer, RJ spent the majority of his time developing Re-Entry. He wrote the script, cast all of the actors, found crew members, and scouted locations. In each of his films, he provides you with much more than a short viewing experience. He tells you a story that stays on your mind much longer than its running time. One that can be applied to your outlook on life.
I’ve always been passionate about stories of people overcoming adversity and inspired by my mom’s work as a therapist for underprivileged youth. I created Re-Entry because I wanted to tell the story of a changed man who reflects on the struggles he put his family through. A man who feels invisible in a society that has changed since he’s been gone.
Casper committed a crime doing what he believed was right to protect his family. This tears his fractured family apart as he now serves a fifteen year sentence. It is possible to see both Casper and Marsha’s perspectives as they rival for what is right for their family and themselves.
This is a film about a complicated family dynamic, a father/son relationship, and a man who struggles with his re-entry into a society which has outgrown him. After fifteen years, technology has come a long way. Barely noticed by people distracted by their phones, he’s a loner on a journey to find his family.
There is much left to uncover in this story that I want to put into a feature film one day. Please enjoy what we put together this summer. Thank you.