by Lisa Butterworth

Our little town had its moment on the big screen in the big city this past weekend when “Walter,” a short film by local filmmaker Julie Restivo, premiered at New York City’s Big Apple Film Festival.

The film is a family affair — Restivo’s two kids star and her husband makes an appearance — and Claremont is more than the short’s setting; it was also a muse.

“Walter” is the story of 10-year-old Rowan (played by Restivo’s son Miles Murphy), who’s creatively coping with his parents’ divorce by caring for a pet wave he totes around in a red plastic beach pail. Run time is just shy of 12 minutes, but “Walter” packs it in: there’s the contentious dynamic of the separated parents, the eye-rolling energy of Rowan’s older sister (Restivo’s daughter Ayla Murphy), Rowan’s sweet vulnerability, just the right amount of weirdness and whimsy, and a ton of heart.

Claremont director Julie Restivo’s short film “Walter” had its theatrical debut last week at New York’s Big Apple Film Festival. In it, 10-year-old Rowan is coping with his parents’ divorce by caring for a pet wave he carries in this red plastic beach pail. Courier photo/Peter Weinberger

Restivo is no stranger to script writing. But this wasn’t always the case. Her career in entertainment started as a production assistant on “The Simpsons,” where the nearly all-male writers’ room made that side of the business feel inaccessible.

“I had always wanted to write, but I thought I would write novels,” she said. “It was several years after I left ‘The Simpsons’ that I finally got the courage to be like, I’m going to really try screenwriting. And then I just dove in.”

A couple of speculative scripts led to a development executive role at a startup making web content for teens. “I kind of weaseled my way into writing one of the shows we were discussing,” she said. “And that was my first writing job.” After penning several shows, including “My Alibi,” starring Alison Brie (who went on to star in “Community” and “Mad Men”), Restivo was let go when Disney, which had acquired the company, folded it into another Disney unit shortly after her daughter was born.

She’s been freelancing since, honing her scriptwriting skills through a number of projects, including book adaptations, more spec scripts, and a made-for-TV movie.

While her kids were at home distance learning during the pandemic lockdown, Restivo shifted to something more short-form. “I found it very difficult to focus on screenplays,” she said. “Writing children’s books really helped me stay sane during that time because I could still be creative in little bits and pieces.” She was brainstorming books when the idea of a kid and his pet wave first took hold.

In August 2022, Restivo and her family moved from Los Angeles to Claremont — “a more family-friendly environment is what we were looking for, and we found it,” she said — where “Walter” the film started to take shape. She workshopped some scenes with her writers-actors group, and was motivated by the positive response. That’s where she cast the film’s dad, Chris Webster (“Reacher” and  “Most Dangerous Game”); she connected with Amy Motta (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Modern Family”), through the online platform Actors Access. The writers-actors group was also where her kids, who she happened to bring along the night “Walter” was being workshopped, got involved.

(L-R) “Walter” actors Ayla Murphy and Chris Webster during filming on a bench at Jaeger Park in Claremont. Photo/by Jacob Seidman

“I was just like, I’m going to put this up at my writer’s group with my children in it for a fun experience for all of us. Once I did that, then of course I had to cast them. And also they were available,” she said with a laugh. “They gave me a good deal.” The kids, who have been doing theater since they were young, and come off as seasoned actors in the film, “were thrilled.”

Though casting her children was a newer idea, Restivo wrote the script for “Walter” with her Claremont home in mind. “It made sense to just do the whole thing here in Claremont,” Restivo said. “It is so picturesque and cinematic that it seemed like a no-brainer.”

Filming took place over two days last November (with a third day at Leo Carillo State Beach in Malibu). Eagle-eyed residents will recognize a tree-lined block of Yale Avenue in a driving shot, and the playground at Jaeger Park is the location for the film’s climax.

“People were super supportive and really excited to see that we were filming in Claremont,” Restivo said. And the process itself — from ample parking for cast and crew to easily pulling shooting permits — was a dream. It helped make Restivo’s directorial debut an experience she loved. “Honestly, I wish I had [tried directing] sooner. I just learned so much, and I feel like it made me a better writer,” she said. “To be in charge of every single element, it was a little stressful, a little overwhelming, but also just very thrilling.”

(L-R) Julie Restivo, Samuel Linkes, Eric Zimmerman, Sophia Mathaus, Jude Lanston, Marcos Butron Jr., and Andres Quintero on set in Claremont. Photo/by Jacob Seidman

The film itself, in addition to being what Restivo jokingly calls “a very expensive business card,” is also somewhat of a time capsule, born of her family’s new chapter in Claremont. “It was a difficult transition moving here. As an adult, it’s much harder to make friends because you’re working, you don’t have a lot of free time. And then when you move to a smaller area, a lot of people already have their friendships established. So that was challenging for me. I think that if we had stayed in LA, I never would’ve made this film. Claremont gave me the space, physically and mentally and emotionally, to be able to create something like this. So as much as it was a difficult transition in the beginning, I think it’s paid off,” she said. “As we were shooting it, my husband was like, Well, worst case scenario, we have the world’s most expensive home video.”

With the premiere of “Walter” at the Big Apple Film Festival, where Restivo got to walk the red carpet and experience the screening with her family, the worst-case scenario has already been greatly bested.

“It was just really cool to share it with an audience of strangers, to see how it went over. And several people after did come up and say it made them cry, and that was very special. I love making people cry,” she said with a laugh. “That’s really a great joy for me.”

Restivo will spend the upcoming year submitting “Walter” to other film festivals, which will hopefully include an LA screening. Until then, the trailer is viewable at youtube.com/watch?v=NPYBOLceX60.

Behind the scenes during the filming of “Walter” at Jaeger Park in Claremont. Photo/by Dan Murphy

Behind the scenes during the filming of “Walter” on 10th Street in Claremont. Photo/by Dan Murphy