Confronting the turmoil that accompanies mental health struggles may initially appear to be a daunting task. But when people ultimately decide to embrace those challenges, they can positively shape their life. Nora, the protagonist of the new comedy, ‘Heightened,’ finds hope and solace after experiencing a mental breakdown, which catapults her onto an important path of self-discovery.

Actress Sara Friedman, who plays Nora in the movie, made her feature film directorial debut on the project. She also wrote the script for the feature, which she based on her 2015 short of the same name. She also served as an executive producer on the new comedy.

In ‘Heightened,’ the social anxiety and OCD-riddled Nora experiences a mental breakdown. After she then returns to Maine to live with her emotionally distant parents, Susan and Gordon (Sarah Clarke and Xander Berkeley).

While she undergoes court-ordered psychiatric treatment, Nora’s world is further upended when she is assigned to volunteer at a local state park. Her assignment actually shows promise when her anxiety subsides in the company of her new supervisor Dusty (Dave Register), who’s dealing with crippling issues of his own. To their surprise, Nora and Dusty begin to help each other overcome the obstacles their socially complicated world presents to them, which offers them hope that they’ll actually find happiness in their lives.

‘Heightened’ is now available to rent and own on all North American digital HD internet, cable and satellite platforms, courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media. In honor of the movie’s release, Friedman generously took the time to talk about penning, helming and producing the feature during an exclusive interview over Zoom.

Film Factual (FF): You wrote the script for the new comedy, ‘Heightened.‘ What was your inspiration in scribing the screenplay? How did you approach penning the script?

Sara Friedman (SF): So the film deals a lot with mental illness, anxiety and OCD. Those are things that I have struggled with since I was a kid. So I always knew that I wanted to make something that would help destigmatize some of those issues.

The characters just came to me in 2015. I decided to make a short film, and it was the very first short film I ever directed. Several years later, when I felt ready to direct a feature, I couldn’t get those characters out of my head. So I knew it was time to expand that short into my first feature.

FF: How did working on the short influence the way you approached the overall production for the feature?

SF: I kept the actor who played my co-lead in the short film, Dave Register, who I actually grew up with. He was so instrumental in creating the character of Dusty that when I was writing the feature, I knew he was going to play Dusty again. So I could really write with him in mind. I also knew that I would be playing Nora.

So I knew our strengths and our weaknesses. Dave does not really have many weaknesses, but I knew his strengths. As a result, I knew as I was writing exactly how to approach these characters. In the feature, I even kept some pieces of dialogue exactly the same from the short.

FF: Besides writing the feature, you also served as its director. How did scribing the screenplay and making the short influence the way you approached helming the feature?

SF: Well, it was nerve-wracking because it was my first feature that I was directing, but it was a goal that I had been working towards for a long time. So it was really exciting.

I really assembled an amazing team around me. I had such a wonderful producer, cast and cinematographer.

I knew that I was always going to have things to learn as a first-time feature director. So I just really tried to learn as much as I could and rely on the people around me.

It was so remarkable to watch these characters grow in this story, after we made the short with a little camera as we ran around without permits in 2015. Then we put some real money and resources behind the feature and watched how it grew.

FF: Like you mentioned earlier, you played Nora in both the short and the feature. How did you bring the character to life on screen as the lead actress in both projects?

SF: One reason I knew that this would be a good film for my first feature as a director was that the character of Nora is so

close to me. I know her so well. So I knew that I would not be overwhelmed by playing the role and directing the movie at the same time.

But it was still really challenging and a new experience for me to be the lead in a feature film and show up in every single scene. But I felt more comfortable directing myself as Nora than I would have with a different character.

FF: The feature‘s supporting cast includes Dave Register, who you mentioned earlier, as well as Mike Mitchell, Xander Berkeley and Sarah Clarke. What was the casting process like for the movie?

SF: So the co-lead to Nora in the film is Dusty, who was played by Dave. I always knew that I wanted him to play the role. We’ve known each other for a long time. As such, I think we have a very easy, fun chemistry. So he was a no brainer from the get-go, and I’m thrilled that he that he wanted to do it.

For the other roles, Mike Mitchell is an amazing comedian who I met when I was working for a TV network. I knew that I wanted him to play against type and play this villain character. He’s the nicest guy in the world.

So I was so thrilled that he wanted to come on board. He’s been in amazing TV shows, so I was so happy that he wanted to do this little indie film.

Xander Berkeley and Sarah Clark, who play Nora’s parents, are such icons. They’ve been in so many incredible things, and they were so generous with their time and talents. They love supporting independent films like this one, which we shot in Maine. They also love supporting young filmmakers. So it was a dream come true to work with them.

FF: Once the supporting actors were cast, how did you work with them to build your characters and the overall story together?

SF: One thing that was important to me about this movie was really making all of the characters feel two-dimensional, even the smaller characters. We had such incredible actors filling in all the roles, including the therapist, the parents and the best friends.

Everybody brought such an incredible energy to set. As a director, I like to encourage fun and play, and maybe a little bit of improv. So I was really thrilled that everybody just gelled so well together and felt very comfortable with each other. I think you can really see that on screen.

FF: Speaking about improvising and creating the comedy in Heightened,’ what was the experience of getting to work with the rest of the cast to create the characters and overall story?

SF: We did a lot of improv lot on the short film back in 2015. Some of that made it into the feature. So there is a beautiful sense of play from everybody.

The comedy in this movie is really important because I never want to make it feel like you are laughing at the characters with mental illness. Instead, you should be laughing at the situation with them

So that was a really specific fine line to walk. That was a line and a tone that everybody really matched. They understood the goal of the film, which was to show that struggling with mental illness can have light moments. We’re not laughing at their struggles, we’re just laughing at the absurdity of some of the things that are happening.

FF: Like you mentioned earlier, you shot the film on location in Maine. Why did you decide to film there? How did you secure the locations for the project?

SF: I grew up in Maine, so I’m biased, but I think it’s the most beautiful state in the country. I was really thrilled to be able to bring my feature home and turn the camera on the beautiful sights I’ve been looking at my entire life. It looks so stunning on camera.

The people are so friendly and excited to help out. It was really cool – we got to film at the lobster restaurant that I’ve been eating lobster rolls at since I was born.

So going to these places that meant so much to me and saying, “Hey, can I bring my film crew and can we do something here?,” was a really cool experience. It felt very full circle for my life.

FF: Besides writing and directing ‘Heightened,’ you also served as an executive producer. How did you approach working with your fellow producers during the production?

AF: We had originally wanted to shoot in 2020. So we were slowed down, of course, by COVID. Once vaccines were made available and protocols were put in place and we decided to go back ahead, we finished raising the money.

My producer, John Hermann, did so much incredible work to make this lower budget film really feel like it had some good resources behind it. He also really just used the money wisely. It was also a really incredible experience for me to learn as a director when to fight for spending money on something and when to save. So he was really wonderful to learn from.

FF: Now that ‘Heightened’ is available on Digital platforms, how did you secure that distribution? What kind of reactions have you received for the film since its release?

SF: Well, it was really exciting, and I’m very grateful to our distributor, Freestyle Digital Media, for bringing this movie to a wider audience. The whole goal was always just to get people to see the film. We also hoped that some people will take something away from it.

The response has been really wonderful. People from Maine are watching, and are excited to see the state on screen. People who are watching also know that they are less alone in their struggles, or are understanding a friend or a family member’s struggles better. That’s really all I could have ever hoped for.