Indie Filmmaker of the Day: Haley Finnegan

Today our indie filmmaker of the day is the talented Haley Finnegan. She’s premiering her new movie Westfalia at the Nantucket Film Festival on June 21.

Haley is already an actor to watch. Now she’s added writing, directing, and producing to her skillset. She wrote, produced, directed, and stars in Westfalia. The dialogue is also mostly improvised in Haley’s film directorial debut.

Westfalia follows Emelia (Finnegan) and Brody (Bryan Flynn), a couple aspiring to Insta-fame.  According to Emelia, the best way to do that is to create an engagement post. They pack their camping gear and best camera equipment for a road trip in a 1984 Westfalia Vanagon, looking to find those perfect Instagrammable moments and grow their following.

When things don’t seem to be working out as planned, they meet their couple rivals, Instagram star Laura Lawson Visconti and former pro-snowboarder Nick Visconti (both playing versions of themselves) – whose following somehow organically doubled overnight. From there, Emelia and Brody devise a master plan to sneak onto Nick and Laura’s Instagram Stories and steal their followers.

Westfalia showcases the hard work and countless takes put into curating that perfect likable post, and explores how important social media has become in society – whether you’re boosting your profile in a “traditional” career path, or looking to become an influencer to impress your friends and gather swag.

Westfalia premieres on June 21 at the Nantucket Film Festival. The short has also been featured as part of Tribeca Film Festival, Mammoth Film Festival, Montclair Film Festival, and Hoboken International Film Festival. Find out more about attending the event here.

Starring: Haley Finnegan, Brian Flynn, Nicholas DePriest, Belle Adams, Laura Lawson Visconti, and Nick Visconti

Check out the film on Facebook and Instagram.

Photo credit: Ryland West