Alerts & Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

indieWIRE’s Project of the Day: “Putty Hill” Director Returns with “I Used to Be Darker”

indieWIRE's Project of the Day: "Putty Hill" Director Returns with "I Used to Be Darker"
indieWIRE's Project of the Day: "Putty Hill" Director Returns with "I Used Be Darker"

Here’s your daily dose of an indie film in progress; at the end of the week, you’ll have the chance to vote for your favorite.

In the meantime: Is this a movie you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments.


“I Used to Be Darker”

Tweetable Logline:

A new film by Matt Porterfield (HAMILTON, PUTTY HILL) about family, love and letting go. Shooting in Baltimore this summer.

Elevator Pitch:

When Taryn, a Northern Irish runaway, finds herself pregnant in Ocean City, MD, she seeks refuge with American relatives in Baltimore. But Aunt Kim and her husband, Bill, have problems of their own: they’re trying to handle the end of their marriage gracefully for the sake of their daughter Abby, just home from her first year of college. What follows is a story of family revelations, people finding each other and letting each other go, looking for love where they’ve found it before and, when that doesn’t work, figuring out where they might find it next.

Production Team:

Director: Matt Porterfield (“Putty Hill,” “Hamilton”)
Writers: Amy Belk, Matt Porterfield
Producers: Ryan Zacarias (“Septien”), Steve Holmgren (“The Ballad of Genesis + Lady Jaye,” “Putty Hill”), Amy Dotson, Eric Bannat (“The Wire”)
Executive Producers: Dan Carey, Laura Heberton, Celia Mingus Zaentz, Walter S. Hall
Editor: Mark Vives (“Septien,” “Putty Hill”)
Cinematographer: Jeremy Saulnier (“Septien,” “Putty Hill”)

About the Production:

“‘I Used to Be Darker’ features more awesome Baltimore locations, an amazing cast, and many of the same creative talent responsible for my first two features. My co-writer, Amy Belk, and I wanted to tell an honest story about divorce, having gone through it ourselves. We wanted to depict how complex and full of life even the dying of a marriage is. It’s a beginning as much as it’s an ending, for the couple concerned, and for the people whose lives they touch. We hope it will be a reflection of life on screen provoking thought, presenting possibility and providing hope.”

Current Status:

In Production.

To find out more and to support this project:

Film Website
Kickstarter Page


Be sure to check out our curated Kickstarter page for more information on projects we think you should check out.

If you have an in-the-works project and you’d like to be profiled in an upcoming iW Project of the Day column, submit yourself by filling out this form!

Daily Headlines
Daily Headlines covering Film, TV and more.

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Must Read
PMC Logo
IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 IndieWire Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.