A desperate father makes one last-ditch attempt to reconnect with his emotionally distant daughter before she leaves home for college.

Director Biography

Matthew Myslinski is an independent film director whose work has screened at festivals and venues worldwide, including the Festival de Cannes and Universal Studios Hollywood.

Along with writing and directing his own projects, Matthew actively participates as crew on award-winning feature films and television series with a wide variety of entertainment companies including Warner Bros. Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios, HBO, Netflix, National Geographic, 20th Century Television, NBC Universal Television, and ABC Studios.

A graduate of the University of Maryland, Matthew holds a BFA in Cinematic Arts and is happy to have a filmmaking education to supplement his work in the field.

Now residing in Atlanta, Georgia, Matthew is intrinsically motivated to forward his career in exciting, new directions as he continues to chase that next big story.

Director Statement

The story of 'Operation Dark Site' was conceived exactly one week before the onset of the 2020 global pandemic. In the months that followed, stuck in lockdown, the script was workshopped with the help of a weekly Zoom Writer’s Roundtable. In between technical discussions about dialogue, structure, and pacing, our small group talked a lot about our feelings. We pondered over lost time and how the crisis had, for better or worse, affected the relationships we had with our loved ones. And from that discourse emerged the central question around which this film is based: How do we show love?

Family is a funny thing. In very few other situations in life is one so likely to encounter such an eclectic group of people with such conflicting ideologies, values, and opinions who are, in practical terms, forced to spend such a great deal of their time together. Inextricably bound by shared experiences and forever changed by each other’s varied perspectives, it is, for many people, the most unusual relationship of their lives. For within this dynamic, everyone has their own means of expression, and the way that one gives might not always be the same way another receives. These differences can oftentimes lead to a breakdown in communication as the way things that are said – or left unsaid – about one’s needs and expectations, can become a source of major conflict. It’s frustrating. It’s absurd. It’s nonsensical. However, at the end of the day, one does their best to understand and, when necessary, forgive.

But, what if one of these familial rifts didn’t resolve itself so easily? What if it instead played out to a degree so extreme that it drove someone to the point of desperation? How would that person react? What irrational things might that person do to protect their relationship? This is exactly the scenario in which our fictional characters, Albert and Zoe, find themselves in. Two members of a family torn apart years earlier by divorce, we meet our heroes as they are both still grappling with their individuality and how generational clashes in personality have driven a plow between them. With time running out, and Zoe now on the verge of moving to the other side of the country, Albert fears losing her forever. Will he bridge the gap between them before it’s too late? Or only make things worse?

Crafted with bold, character-driven imagery and a healthy dose of magical realism, we hope this story is one that both entertains and enlightens, feels fresh yet familiar, and is stylish yet sentimental. Come along with us through every heartbreaking altercation, every exciting escape, and every frantic look to the heavens, as we discover just how far some people will go for their family. Enjoy!