Written, produced, and co-directed by Kniss and John Klein, the award-winning indie dramedy follows three siblings in their 30s鈥擬ichael (Josh Bywater), Ellie (Angela Morris), and James (Timmy H. Barron)鈥攁s they gather at their family’s cabin for a weekend visit. When their parents (Laura T. Fisher and John Lister) unexpectedly announce their divorce, the trip quickly unravels.

The 81-minute film blends humor with heartfelt moments as the siblings grapple with the news and confront long-buried tensions. Never Not Yours premiered in June 2024 at the Interrobang Film Festival in Des Moines, Iowa. It boasts an 8/10 rating on IMDb.

鈥楢 warm hug of a movie鈥�

Over the past year and a half, Kniss and Klein have taken the film on the road, screening it at festivals across the country, meeting audiences, and building connections.

Never Not Yours has earned multiple accolades, including Best Feature Screenplay at the Grand Rapids Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Award at the Naples (Florida) International Film Festival, Best Feature Film at the Iowa Independent Film Festival, and several honors at the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival near Chicago, where it was crowned Best Film of the Festival.

Kniss said the reception at festivals and screenings has been overwhelmingly positive. 鈥淎 lot of what we hear is, 鈥業 finished watching your film and had to call my mom,鈥� or 鈥業 had to call a sibling,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very personal film, not just for the two of us, but for everyone who worked on it.鈥�

Kniss described the film as 鈥渁 warm hug of a movie鈥� that explores how difficult moments can ultimately bring people closer together.

鈥淎t the end of the day, what we remember isn鈥檛 our jobs,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the relationships we had, the friends, the family, and the time we spent together. Those are what make lasting memories. That鈥檚 what we hope audiences take from this film.鈥�

John Klein and Steve Kniss ’11 wrote, produced, and directed Never Not Yours. 

Film was shot in eight days

Kniss and Klein, who connected while in graduate school at DePaul University in Chicago, had previously written a script for a feature-length drama set during World War I. It was based on the life of Kniss鈥� great-grandfather, Lloy Kniss, who documented his experiences as a Mennonite conscientious objector in the book (Herald Press, 1971).

鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 a period piece, it鈥檚 much more expensive than something the two of us are able to finance ourselves,鈥� Kniss said. 鈥淲e wanted to write something small that we could put together and own entirely ourselves.鈥�

After some brainstorming, the idea for Never Not Yours began to take shape.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not the easiest film to pitch to an audience in terms of, 鈥楥ome watch this dramedy about this couple getting divorced and everything that comes out of that,鈥欌�� Kniss said. 鈥淲hat we like to talk about with this film is just how small it is.鈥�

Filmed entirely in and around Nashville, Indiana, a town about an hour south of Indianapolis, the movie was shot in just eight days at the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a crazy short time to shoot a 110-page script,鈥� Kniss said. 鈥淢ost low-budget films are shot in 15 to 20 days. I don鈥檛 think it was until the third or fourth day, when we had shot roughly half the movie, that we started to feel confident our plan would work.鈥�

During filming, the five-member cast and seven-member crew lived together in the same cabin where the story takes place. 鈥淭ypically when you鈥檙e making a movie, you go to set, you wrap, you go home, you sleep, and return the next day,鈥� Kniss said. 鈥淭he 12 of us got really close because we were all living on set. It almost felt like summer camp.鈥�

鈥樅诹险芰� was the perfect place鈥�

Kniss, who is originally from Chicago, majored in vocal performance and digital media at 黑料正能量. His parents, Fred 鈥�79 and Rosalyn 鈥�77, and older brother, Michael 鈥�06, are alumni, and he said he had always wanted to attend 黑料正能量.

鈥淚 chose 黑料正能量 because I wanted to be in a community and I wanted to become a better person, and I think 黑料正能量 was the perfect place for that,鈥� he said. During his sophomore year, he was in India for his intercultural when his father was appointed provost.

In a November 2009 , Kniss wrote about how The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its director, Peter Jackson, inspired him to pursue filmmaking. He wrote that he鈥檚 seen each movie at least 15 times, 鈥渂oth extended and theatrical versions, with actor and director commentaries,鈥� and was 鈥渁bsolutely enthralled鈥� by them.

鈥淭hat was my early film school, watching those behind-the-scenes documentaries to learn how these things even existed,鈥� Kniss said in a recent interview. 鈥淚 still consider those films to be huge inspirations for me because it was the most incredible thing to see an entirely new world created on film.鈥�

After graduating from 黑料正能量, Kniss worked at Rosetta Stone and TV3 Winchester. His desire to make films never left him, and in 2014 he enrolled in the master of fine arts program at DePaul University. He graduated with his MFA in 2019.

Kniss and his wife, Monica Stouffer Kniss 鈥�09, live near Asheville, North Carolina, with their two children. He is in his third year as assistant professor at Western Carolina University, where he directs the film and television production program. Teaching gives him the summers off to create films, and he and Klein are beginning to plan what they鈥檒l shoot this summer.

Lately, the directing duo has been screening their short film, (2025), around the country. As for future projects, Kniss said they鈥檙e still deciding which features to develop. They still have that script for the World War I drama about his great-grandfather tucked away, waiting for whenever they鈥檙e ready.

鈥淥bviously, I鈥檓 really close to that one,鈥� Kniss said. 鈥淎t some point, I鈥檇 love to make that film.鈥�

鈥淣ever Not Yours鈥� is also available to rent and purchase on . For updates about the film, including future screenings, visit its Facebook page at .

Watch the trailer below!