In “Alone Together,” Wareham native Naomi Oliver plays a high school student who joins the boys wrestling team as a way to process sexual trauma and regain control.
Oliver said that the film’s director and writer, Katie Sponseller, wanted the film to start discussions and spread awareness about sexual coercion, which one in nine girls will experience by the time they turn 18.
“I did a lot of research to educate myself on what survivors feel, what survivors go through, what their experiences are,” Oliver said. “And even that process of talking with others and explaining it to my family created some very important dialogues in my personal life., which I think was kind of the point of the film. One of the reasons why Katie created this project was to create a platform to support those important discussions.”
The short film clocks in at just under 20 minutes, and, thanks to the pandemic, is available to watch on Youtube.
If it weren’t for the pandemic, Oliver said that the film -- a part of the LA Shorts International Film Festival -- would have been shown twice to a theater that could seat maybe 400 people. Online, its audience has already far outpaced what would have been possible in person.
“So many of our girls have this story, and maybe they don’t feel like they can talk about it, and so, having this project, hopefully, we wanted to give them the opportunity to have that dialogue, and bring awareness to what they go through,” Oliver said.
“Alone Together” was Oliver’s second major project.
In 2018, Oliver was getting ready to begin her first year studying for a master’s degree at Harvard University.
Just 19 years old at the time and already a college graduate, she was surprised to get a call that she had been asked to audition for a Netflix show.
“How many times are you going to be able to audition for a Netflix show?” Oliver asked, before taking the audition.
She got called back, and was cast in a recurring role in “The Society” -- a dystopian show that Oliver called “very angsty, very gritty, very very fun.”
Oliver was homeschooled, and said that playing a traditional high school student in both “The Society” and “Alone Together” gave her a better understanding of what that experience was like.
“Especially the prom scene… That was such a blessing that I was able to experience some form of prom through that episode. The costume designer was amazing, and she let my mom sit in while I was picking out a dress for the prom,” Oliver said. “Instead of prom being one night, we were shooting that scene for two days.”
Oliver filmed the show while taking classes at Harvard online — writing papers in between scenes and pulling a few all-nighters during finals.
Unfortunately, Netflix cancelled the series’ second season, citing the pandemic.
Now, Oliver is continuing her studies at home. She has transferred from the business program at Harvard to international relations, with a certificate in social justice.
She said she hopes to continue acting in projects that have “real humanity” to them, but in the meantime, she’ll be studying and taking some well-earned time to relax.
To watch “Alone Together,” click here.
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October 26, 2020 at 05:08PM
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Wareham actress stars in short film | Wareham - Wareham Week
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