Casey Wilson hopes her mom would have liked her most recent film, Daddio.
Wilson, a T.C. Williams graduate and successful actress, comedian and director, is showing her short film Daddio at the Alexandria Film Festival, Nov. 7 - 10.
Based on real death events, Wilson said, the film focuses on the years after her mother, Kathy Higdon Wilson, died and how her family had to reconfigure itself.
“It’s actually kind of a love story between a father and daughter,” Wilson said. “There’s a lot of humor in grief. There are really low lows, but there are really very funny things that happen.”
Wilson grew up in Alexandria, graduating from T.C. Williams High School in 1998 where she was involved in student government and drama.
“I’ve always been someone who likes to organize things and lead,” Wilson said. “It was very much valued in my family growing up — leading and giving service.”
Directing, she said, has been the ultimate leadership test in her career.
After high school, Wilson headed to New York City, graduating from New York University and receiving NYU's "Excellence in Acting" award when she graduated in 2002.
Wilson now lives in California with her husband, David Caspe, and their two young sons. Wilson’s professional credits include Saturday Night Live, Gone Girl, Happy Endings, Black Monday and several others. (See her filmography here.)
“Daddio” had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and it has been accepted into several others.
“My Dad is a loveable eccentric, you might say, and you could say it was inspired by the period of time after my mom passed away — he became very manic and I became very depressed,” Wilson said. “We were both grieving differently.”
In part, Wilson said, the second year after her mother’s death was very difficult: “Other people have gone back to their lives but you’re still kind of adrift.”
What would her mom think of the film? “I think she would love it, but I think she would just roll her eyes at my dad.”
Despite living in California, Wilson makes the effort to return to her home base several times each year. Wilson won’t have much time in November to visit her favorite Alexandria stomping grounds, but when she’s back for the holidays, you might find her at Rocket Grill, The Christmas Attic or at Union Street Public House.
The Alexandria Film Festival is a four-day event, Nov. 7 – 10 this year, that presents short and feature-length films, documentaries, panels and arts presentations.
Daddio will be one of more than 50 new films screened at venues including the AMC Hoffman Center 22 Cinema Complex and Beatley Central Library. Several of the films in the Alexandria Film Festival are premiers. The four-day event is open to the public, though some films are ticketed.
