Two ceramicists who are collaborators and lovers are split apart by the board of their pottery studio. But does the studio have their best interests in mind, or is something sinister bubbling beneath the surface?

Conspiracy theories thrive at a pottery studio. From wild and creative filmmaker Kati Skelton, Pots N’ Tots pushes the boundaries of pottery artisanry. The bond of a ceramics duo is threatened by a conniving pottery studio head. Margot and Billy are inseparable lovers and collaborators, but the top brass at their art studio (the titular Pots N’ Tots) have other ideas for them. When it comes time to submit work for the National Ceramic Arts Studio award, a fishy turn of events has Margot questioning everything.

I had been tinkering with the idea of this script for a couple years, but originally I wrote this movie about scientists! But for some reason I couldn’t seem to make the story work. It wasn’t until another project fell through that I redoubled my efforts to figure out the script, with the intention of shooting it as soon as possible. I made a list of locations I thought I could get access to, and one of them was a pottery studio. So I thought–what if they were ceramicists instead of scientists? With this adjustment the script worked so much better, so ceramicists they became. We did a Kickstarter and shot over the course of the year whenever cast and crew were available.

The movie is about jealousy, and the feeling of being cast aside by the powers that be while others around you gain fame and fortune. This was something I was very concerned with at the time; I had just had a project fall through that I had totally staked my ego on, and I was feeling pretty hopeless about my prospects as a filmmaker! I think I had to make this movie to grapple with that issue a bit. And I think there are a couple lessons: the first is that it’s not necessarily such a blessing to be the chosen one, and the second is that making art should feel good! The rat race of trying to get my work produced was honestly making me feel horrible, so we tried to make this movie in the most relaxed and fun way possible. And I think that’s what the movie wanted!

The film’s bizarre and dreamy tone can certainly reflect one’s paranoid mind’s state. Kati neatly bordered Margot’s fine line of suspicion and turned it into a playful explorative story. Starring Ruby McCollister as Margot and Andrew Ryder as Billy.