Sam Henderson’s “Ado,” a stunning short film that stars Jenifer Lewis as a drama teacher facing down a school shooter, has played all over the world, from Cannes to Sydney to London. It won at four-Oscar qualifying film festivals and landed a prized place on the Oscar shortlist.
But its latest and last festival screening, at the Waco Independent Film Festival, is special: Henderson has been close to the festival from its start a decade ago, and is an associate professor in the Department of Film and Digital Media at Baylor, located in Waco.
“It’s not just the ‘hometown’ screening,” Henderson notes. “It’s the ‘return-to- home’ screening.”
The film plays tonight as part of the festival’s Crowd Pleasers block. It doesn’t just please crowds — it’s an astonishingly tense, cathartic, and hopeful story about the role just one person can make in the life of someone else, no matter how deeply damaged.
Henderson, who is an acclaimed actor as well as screenwriter, director and producer, shared some insights with us about handling tough subject matter, his family legacy in education, and casting Lewis, whose long resume includes The Preacher’s Wife, What’s Love Got to Do With It, black-ish, and the recent Goat.
Sam Henderson on Making ‘Ado’
MovieMaker: What made you want to make a film about school shootings? And how did you come up with this unique take on the idea?
Sam Henderson: There’s a dedication at the end of the film to “Ms. Bee.” Ms. Bee is my mom, who’s was a middle school theatre teacher for almost 40 years. The idea spawned from a conversation I had with her after the Uvalde school shooting when I asked her what she would do in that situation. She told me one thing that was the creative impetus for the entire film: She said, “The only chance I’d have in that situation is if the shooter remembered me. I don’t think he would hurt me if he did.”
MovieMaker: As both an actor and filmmaker, you’re of course aware of how much of a lifeline drama classes can be to some kids. How did you dramatize that?
Sam Henderson: I’m not sure how to answer this. In attempting to try to stay true to who I believe my mom is, I think I just wanted to highlight how I feel about her, her career and teachers like her. I firmly believe the best teachers are America’s true heroes, and that’s irrespective of any classroom they may oversee.
MovieMaker: What kind of precautions did you take, dealing with such tricky subject matter?
Sam Henderson: As one might imagine, casting the shooter was a difficult task. We had a great casting director, Ally Beans, who essentially found us a unicorn in Zachary Lane. (And won an Artios for her work on the film, rightfully so.) But on set, we had a mental health professional available for anyone — cast or crew — who’d like to speak to someone during production.
But I was keen on the kids who were cast not interacting with the shooter who was cast. Of course, the kids knew what the film was about and the scenario they would be in. They were incredible. But I wanted to prioritize their mental health during filming as much as possible. Unfortunately, this is something our kids how to deal with every day. So, the concept wasn’t foreign. But I didn’t want to be responsible for traumatizing or re-traumatizing anyone’s previously lived experience. My daughter has a prominent role in the film, so I wanted to protect the rest of the cast as much I intended on protecting her.
MovieMaker: Can you talk about casting the amazing Jenifer Lewis? And how did your experience as an actor help you make this?
Sam Henderson: Ms. Lewis fell in the love with the script. And as the director, this was the first thing that gave me a lot of confidence working with her going forward. Admittedly, we had doubts about her ability to handle the more dramatic portions of the script. But those concerns were quickly assuaged. She’s a classically trained actress. And though she hasn’t built a career on performing classical works, she proved herself more than capable of doing so. As classically trained actor myself, it was great to share a common language with her, and it made communicating with her seamless.
MovieMaker: Given that you teach at Baylor, what do you think of the local film scene, in Waco and the surrounding areas?
Waco is a diamond in the rough for filmmaking. We may not have all the resources of, say, a Dallas or an Austin. But we’re only 90 minutes away from either. So, we get the benefit of having access to the big city resources, without having to live and work in a big city. People are slowly but surely catching on to this.
“Ado” plays tonight at the Waco Independent Film Festival. You can read more of our film festival coverage here.
Main image: Jenifer Lewis in “Ado.”