A man shows up at a Los Angeles house party with a plan and a mysterious lunchbox, but things take a turn when he runs into someone from his past.

Out of a simple idea and some powerful moments, It’s Not What You Know came from friends staying at Ava Gardner’s old house. As they had to move out in two weeks, director and actor Aaron Abrams thought that he would always kick myself if I didn’t try to shoot something in there before he left.

The entire idea came from the house, which was beautiful place with so much history…but had these dilapidated birdcages strewn about the grounds. The house felt a lot like LA itself; seductive but broken.

So I wrote something, called in favors and we shot the whole thing in one night. Los Angeles is sort of the villain of the movie, but it’s also maybe the only place where you could make a short like this with talented friends coming together at a moments notice.

The film start Aaron Abrams himself along side Carly Pope, who also co-starred in Young People Fucking, you can also see Carly in one of our latest features by Neill Blomkamp: Rakka. The duo bring forward the film’s dark and comedic energy while trying to navigate the embarrassing reality of what they’ve become.