By Noma Faingold

Writer/director/producer/actor Isaac Hirotsu Woofter was on his phone minutes before his feature debut, “Bound,” was being screened in February, during SF IndieFest at the Roxie Theater. It was a Bay Area homecoming for Woofter, and he wanted to make sure the friends and family attending were taken care of.

As more than a dozen of his people trickled in, including his parents, he played host and usher. 

New York City resident Woofter, 47, who looks closer to 30, grew up in San Leandro and spent a lot of time in San Francisco, while his now-retired father, Tom Woofter, worked as an attorney in the Financial District. His brother, Matthew Hirotsu Woofter, lived in the Outer Sunset in his 20s and the siblings hung out together a lot, going to nightclubs and sporting events.

Some of his warmest memories involve his stay-at-home mom, Akemi, driving Matthew and Issac into the City, picking up their dad from work and dining out in Japantown (Akemi is Japanese), Fisherman’s Wharf or House of Nanking in Chinatown. 

“My brother and I would both fall asleep on the car ride home and my dad would carry us from the car to our beds,” he said. “Even though he got up at six in the morning and worked all day, he still had the energy to do that.”

“Bound,” a gritty, 99-minute drama, depicting perilous times for most of its characters, looks nothing like Woofter’s suburban, sports-obsessed childhood. Shot intermittently over 45 days in 2022, “Bound” has had a successful film festival run the last two years, winning 13 festival awards and now landing a distribution deal with a short, five-city theatrical run (New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Orlando and Alameda) in mid-May. Streaming drops May 16 on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime.

Woofter is planning to introduce the film at a screening in each city. 

“I’m supposed to be in five cities in seven days,” he said. “I’m figuring out my schedule.”

The characters in “Bound” are living on the fringe. Bella (Alexandra Faye Sadeghian), a traumatized young woman with artistic talent, flees her abusive rural home. Her mother is dying. Her father committed suicide and her volatile uncle, Gordy (Bryant Carroll), who lives with Bella’s mother, is a drug dealer.

Bella runs off to New York City with her pet squirrel, Bandit. She has no plan.

Despite being a contrast of introverted and feral, Bella does connect with a few supportive people. But they all have their own set of problems, like Marta (Jessica Pimentel), an undocumented woman, who works in a dive bar and lives in the shadows and Standrick (Jaye Alexander), an overweight, insecure gay man, who aspires to be a fashion designer, but can barely afford to buy fabric, despite working two jobs.

“I knew the title would be a central theme,” Woofter said. “Every character is bound by something. I wanted to show what they are being bound by and why. Bella is bound by the home life, by her past and by her mental health. Marta is bound by her immigration status. Gordy maybe has the biggest heart in the film. He wants to help but he just lacks the capacity.”

Woofter, a working actor (especially in the theater) and filmmaker, went to University of California, Davis for undergrad and earned an MFA in acting at Columbia University. After a negative experience as a spec script doctor for a Steven Seagal project, he realized it was time for him to create his own work.

“It never got made. It was a terrible script, and I tried to fix it,” he said. “I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to make my first one.”  

He dedicated four months to writing the first draft and another eight months developing the script for “Bound.” He removed distractions. When he went to bed, he would position his phone across the room. “The first thing I did every morning was grab my laptop and start writing,” Woofter said.

He would not spend time binge-watching shows or scrolling on the internet. 

“I couldn’t because then I don’t end up pumping out pages,” Woofter said. “I could watch for two hours or be creative for two hours.” 

Woofter planned to direct “Bound” all along. He was going to play Gordy, too. 

“I grew this nasty beard,” he said. “I was going to cut a bunch of weight to look like a drug addict.”

Then he found Carroll, who had 40 film and TV credits, as well as experience in the theater. 

“I cried during Bryant’s audition because he was so good. He was the only actor who auditioned that showed both sides of that character,” Woofter said. “I also cried because I knew I would have to give up this part that I was so excited to play.”

Woofter admitted that it was probably a good thing that he did not play an on-screen role in “Bound.” 

While filming, he said he may have bitten off more than he could chew.

“I was in over my head. I was sleeping three hours a night,” he said. “There was just too much to do. I was wearing a lot of hats and helping out with everything – the costumes, the set design, production design and I was helping with gear.”

Almost every scene was shot with a hand-held camera, which gives “Bound” an action-packed, yet haphazard feel.  

“The thing about this film is, you don’t know where it’s going,” Woofter said. “Hopefully, you are intrigued enough to follow the journey. I try not to spell everything out for the audience.”

“Bound” is not a dialogue-heavy film. The silences do have impact. 

“I wanted it to feel voyeuristic,” Woofter said.

As an independent filmmaker, Woofter raised money through crowd funding campaigns (which included contributions from family members). He also used his own savings. As a producer, he got involved in marketing the film, including attending festival screening Q&As and publicizing “Bound” on social media. His vision was realized and he is proud of the director’s cut.

“If one really sits down and watches the film, they will feel something at the end,” said Woofter. “They may not like it. They might love it. But they will always feel something. That’s the kind of film I like.”

For “Bound” showtimes at the Alameda Theatre and Cineplex, go to alamedatheatres.com/. The film will be available to stream starting May 16 on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime.Trailer: youtu.be/NIzBfzxpVNM. Instagram: @boundthemovie Facebook: @boundthemovie2023 Twitter: @BOUND_themovie Isaac Hirotsu Woofter. Instagram: @isaacwoofter, Facebook: @isaac.h.woofter, X: @IWoofter.