Road to Sundance 2013: Catnip: Egress to Oblivion? (short), directed by Jason Willis

Tell us about your film. What inspired you to make it?

My film is a 7 minute short entitled "Catnip: Egress to Oblivion?" and it will be playing in the Shorts: Documentary section of Sundance this year. Informationally speaking, it's a fairly straight documentary about the effects of catnip, but it's done in a faux late 1960's/ early 1970's classroom drug educational film style which allows me to play with a lot of the conventions of that era.

Ever since I was a little kid, I've been a fan of "metal hygiene" films (I was actually IN one when I was 7 years old -- a short called "Halloween Safety" made in my hometown of Lawrence, KS by Centron Films back in 1977), and I really enjoy the earnest and "functional" approach those filmmakers brought to their work. There's something there that I can't quite put my finger on that just always works for me. I mean, for sure, the people behind these films were generally very well intentioned, but because they made their work outside of the dominant film centers of the time (or with alternate talent behind their output) the results are pretty singular while also often seeming charmingly outdated/ histrionic sounding today. From the direction to the motion graphics to the musical cues to the acting, I swear that I can sit and watch those things for HOURS.

What do you love about your film?

It was really a ton of fun to do, so I'm not sure what I would leave out from the whole experience. The whole thing came together quickly and easily, and I got to work with a bunch of my friends and their cats when it came to shooting the footage for my script, so really all of that was just a great time from start to finish. I also really enjoyed mocking up the paperback books and black light poster type graphics to use in selling the whole "catnip scare" as a parallel to LSD or marijuana.

Oh! And I got a chance to write, sing & record a late 60's raga-rock influenced pseudo-psych song, which I tried to make as corny as possible (figuring that the ersatz band I cooked up, "The Electric Manx", would probably be a pretty low-rent outfit if they were willing to lend their talents to an industrial film of that era). So *that* was pretty fun for sure.

How long did it take you to make your film?

I got the idea over the May 28 Memorial Day weekend  and uploaded the finished short on June 26, 2012, so just a little shy of that timeframe. The writing came together pretty quickly, shooting was about 2 and a half weeks and, over the course of it all, I was plugging away on the graphics and post production work using programs like Final Cut Pro X, After Effects, and Photoshop.

How did you finance your film?

Well, I did most of the technical type work myself and the folks in it are all friends, so the entire budget for my film was $25 (which I spent getting catnip for the feline cast). So, you know, financing wasn't all THAT rough for me.

What was the most challenging part of the filmmaking process and how did you overcome it?

Heh, well these aren't trained felines or anything, and I foolishly wrote the script around actions and notions that I naively just assumed would be easily gettable, so there was a lot of "creative solution" work going on around that.

It, uh, also turns out that even the most talkative cat will tend to clam up when a DSLR is pointed at their face, so getting the "user testimonials" was way more of a challenge than I had counted on. But hey! They're cats! They came through for me in the end.

Tell us about your experience getting into Sundance.

Hah! I honestly am still having a hard time believing that it happened and the shadowy ways in which things like that go down remain a complete mystery to me. I can tell you about my REACTION though: total giddiness and stupefied jaw dropping, followed closely by a call to my parents, followed by several agonizing days where I couldn't tell anybody else and half assumed I'd be getting a "whoops, we sent you that email by mistake" follow-up. Seeing as how I still haven't boarded the plane for Utah as I type this, I am holding on to that possibility.

If you had to make the film all over again, would you do anything different?

Well sure! But since I'm guessing that most of my impulses (More cats! More "period specific" trippy effects! More heavy-handed dialogue!) are probably pretty misguided, the world will probably be better off for now without that going down.

Oh, and I'd probably spring for an extreme fisheye lens. In fact, I really oughtta do that anyway.

What’s next for your film? Do you have distribution? If so, when and how can people see it and if not, what are your hopes for the film?

I've got some stuff happening for digital distribution that seems pretty swell to me, I'll be working with a cool startup called "Elevision" who plan to create hand curated collections of shorts online. The guys behind it are really good dudes so I'm really looking forward to seeing what shakes out there.

Can you provide any advice to other filmmakers who dream of getting their films made and into Sundance?

Even without something as amazing as this Sundance opportunity, I can say that the entire experience here (putting it together, seeing the reactions from strangers after I uploaded it online, etc.) was just so much fun. The basic tools are really non-cost prohibitive right now as well, and so many aesthetic styles are now accepted as choices rather than compromises.  The whole thing feels very wide open in 2013 and it seems as though almost everyone has reached the consensus that this is just an amazing time to be able to play with almost ANY kind of media.

Hmm. I think that I might be saying "Holy crap everyone, if you want to do it you should totally just make stuff!" (but, you know, feel free to pretend that I was much more eloquent about it all).

WATCH CATNIP: EGRESS TO OBLIVION here:

Read More

Road to Sundance 2013: Irish Folk Furniture (short), directed by Tony Donoghue

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FILM. 
Irish Folk Furniture (Ireland) 2012. Commissioned as an animation (Irish Film Board: Frameworks Scheme) Selected as a documentary (Sundance) and playing in Shorts Program 5.

INSPIRATION 
I saw people in rural Ireland were still (even in 2010) discarding furniture that had been part of their family for up to 150 years. I decided to investigate this. The investigation showed that there was a strong historical association of this furniture with poverty and general hard times. 

The film is a piece of pure pro furniture propaganda: an attempt to show the beauty and social significance of this rural furniture.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR FILM? 
The people and their stories. I was shocked by the beauty of the personal histories associated with every single item.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO MAKE THE FILM? 
3 years. we restored 16 pieces of furniture and all of these needed 3-6 months to dry out before they could be worked on.

FUNDING
Irish Film Board Frameworks Animation Scheme.

MOST CHALLENGING PART 
Animation outdoors in the Irish weather. The Irish weather is so inconsistent and windy in that many shots took 4-5 days to get in the can.

HOW DID WE DEAL WITH THIS? 
Stuck with it till it was right.

IF FILMING AGAIN WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT? 
Probably not.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOUR FILM/ DISTRIBUTION/ HOPES? 
It has just started its festival life but so far has been selected for 37 festivals and screenings in 14 countries. Hopefully this run will continue.

I'd primarily like it to continue playing in small rural festivals and communities and hope it encourages other people to record their aunt, their granny, their neighbor talking about everyday life and events.

ADVICE FOR GETTING INTO SUNDANCE? 
Less than 1% of short film applicants succeeded in getting into Sundance this year (65 out of 8,102). I would say the most important thing is to be bold, brave and inventive in your filmmaking and to risk failure in your techniques and approach. I think mimicking what has gone before is of no interest to Sundance. I think Sundance is very interested in bold and inventive approaches to any subject . 

WATCH IRISH FOLK FURNITURE here: 

Read More

Road to Sundance 2013: Girl Rising, directed by Richard Robbins

Tell us about your film. What inspired you to make it? 

We're only showing a few sneak peeks of my film, Girl Rising, at Sundance. We weren't quite ready for a full screening as the film is still in post-production, but we were eager to be part of the festival. The film is a unique blend of both documentary and fiction filmmaking. We have real girls from around the world playing themselves in scripted stories based on their own lives. The stories focus on each of these girls, who live in the developing world, striving to get an education. The underlying message is really about the power of education for girls. It is an unusual film in the way it was made, but I hope feels very organic for the audience. 

I was really inspired by the girls I have met in my travels, and their unfailing determination to make better lives for themselves and their families. When I started reading the reports coming out of the development community about how powerful an intervention education was for girls and their communities, I knew I had to try and make a film. The most important thing people need to know about educating girls is that it is incredibly effective. It works. I hope these stories will spread that message to a much wider audience. 

What do you love about your film?

I'm proud of the fact that we told stories about girls who live in very difficult conditions, but never looked at them as victims. We wanted to tell stories about their world as they see it, not the way an American visitor would see it. I hope audiences will love with these girls as I do, as real people - not people in need of our charity. 

How long did it take you to make your film?

I'm slightly embarrassed to say that we began working on the film six years ago. I've done a lot of other projects in the meantime, but this was always my passion. We began our pre-production travel about two and a half years ago. 

How did you finance your film?

Most independent documentaries these days probably have an epic story behind the financing - just as complicated as the stories in the film, although far more tedious. This was an expensive film, primarily because it involved so much travel. I count myself as one of the luckiest doc filmmakers around because I had incredible executive producers who raised the money for this film.  The money came from foundations, corporations, individuals, and the extra money under all my friend's sofa cushions.

What was the most challenging part of the filmmaking process and how did you overcome it?

The most challenging part was raising the money. But since I didn't do much of that, I can't complain. I think the hardest part for most documentary filmmakers is the determination to keep going when you lose your way, which of course we all do. For fiction filmmakers, you can always fall back to the script or the story. In documentary you're trying to find the story during the process of making the film, so it often feels like you are wandering in the wilderness. At some point, or at many points, you will find yourself completely lost and you have to find a way to keep moving forward. To me that is always a bigger challenge than the long days, lousy hotel rooms, difficult subjects, and all the other problems documentary filmmakers encounter.

If you had to make the film all over again, would you do anything different?

I could never make this film again. It almost killed me. But that's the beauty of filmmaking, the experiences are unique to who you are in the moment you are making it. Partly I couldn't make this film again because I know so much more and have learned so much in making this. I hope I'm smart enough to bring all those lessons to my next film. Maybe the most lasting lessons are about appreciating how fortunate I am to be doing this kind of work at all. I wish I could have enjoyed the process more, without all the angst and hand-wringing. 

What's next for your film? Do you have distribution? If so, when and how can people see it and if not, what are your hopes for the film?

The film will be released nationally through Gathr on March 8th. By working with Gathr we're hoping to make this film available to anyone who wants to see it, regardless of where they live. It's essentially crowd-sourced distribution. I think Gathr's model is the future of independent film distribution because it is so much more focused and targeted. 

And then in June we will be broadcast internationally as part of CNN's new venture CNN Films. We think CNN is an amazing home for the film, especially when it comes to reaching an international audience which is crucial to this project. 

Can you provide any advice to other filmmakers who dream of getting their films made and into Sundance?

You can't make films because you want money, glory, fame, success, or a trip to Sundance. You can only do it because you can't do anything else. People will discourage you. Tell you what a thankless job it will be. Tell you how hard it will be. Tell you how unlikely you are to ever make real money. And all those things are true, so if they bother you, reconsider. If you don't care and want to do it anyway, you'll be just fine.  The true key to success as a documentarian is a combination of moderate talent and pathological persistence. 

Read More

Road to Sundance 2013: The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear, directed by Tinatin Gurchiani

Tinatin Gurchiani
(Photo credit: Levan Kherkheulidze)

Tell us about your film. What inspired you to make it?

My film is The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear, and it will be in the World Documentary Competition category. My inspiration was my own search to try to bridge the gap I felt between two worlds.

I lived for a long time in Europe. I studied there. When I came back, I had many ideas for fiction films. But here I noticed that the stories I wanted to tell didn’t match the people I met. You know when you look at a person you can imagine what their background is, what stories they could tell. And I had changed while in Europe, and my stories just weren’t compatible with the Georgian people anymore.

So, instead of trying to force the people to fit my stories, I thought I needed to find out these peoples, my peoples, real stories, to find out how we can come together again. I wanted to find the commonalities (universal truths), that would bridge this gap.

What do you love about your film?

What I love about this film is the people, and how they open themselves up to you completely. How ready they are to expose their basic core - their desire, despair and dreams. They act in front of the camera as in front of the court of God - just really, honest, naked, helpless and intense.  It was their one chance and they could say only the most important truths in their heart, the most essential pieces of their soul. And they try - with the help of the magic of cinema and the camera they are standing in front of - to create moments of eternity for themselves, out of their ordinary human lives.  I love this energy in our film. It is unique. I hope this film will make you happy in a strange way even if its not a happy film, but because of all those beautiful people.

How long did it take you to make your film?

This film was made in one breath, in a trance-like state by passionate people,  all of us was on the border between dreaming and perfect concentration. The reason for this was that we had very very low budget for this film. So we had to be very focused in our work. I counted that the money we had would be enough for 20 shooting days, so I tried to do the best possible in this time. The editing period was about two very intense months, without breaks or weekends. And we wrote the musical score over 5 sleepless days via Skype, because the composer was in Germany and I was in Georgia. It was like we were all together: crew, actors, myself – one organism and everything we did moved towards the completion of the film.

How did you finance your film?

We got some support from the Georgian National Filmcenter, about 20,000 USD, and a little bit of support from Goethe Institute and Robert Bosch Foundation for research. This subsidy from the Georgian National Filmcenter was the largest sum that anyone in Georgia can get for a documentary. The problem was that this money had to be spent by the end of the year, so in 6 months. It was very difficult to start with such a small sum, but we decided not to wait because films have to be made when they “burn." This means, when they are potent and passionate and not just when there is enough money. So all of us worked for many months without payment, but full of heart and enthusiasm. And then, when we had the material edited, there was a lot of interest in it and we were able to find post-production companies that were willing to help us in the post-production for free. There were so many people who they supported  us so that the film could be finished without money. Dok-Incubator, especially helped us. It is a unique documentary workshop in Europe, that supports films in the rough cut stage, in order to emphasise their international potential and help them to break into the market.

What was the most challenging part of the filmmaking process and how did you overcome it?

I worked on this film very intuitively, even irrationally--like writing a poem, but in this case I had real people with real dramas in it. It was emotionally very charged and intense. I had never been in situations like this before. The biggest challenge was staying with each protagonist a maximum of two or three days and then to go. I would become completely immersed in the most personal issues of their lives, and then we would have to go our separate ways. I became very close with these people, and had to find a way to show the truth of their stories while keeping in mind how showing this film around the world would impact their lives.

Tell us about your experience getting into Sundance. 

After the film was completed (only a couple of days before!), we had a national première  at DOK_Leipzig and IDFA. Many important international experts saw our film there and loved it, so they asked us to try to submit to Sundance, even though the deadline had passed. And of course they recommend the film to them as well. So we tried our luck and got the invitation.

If you had to make the film all over again, would you do anything different?

I think I would change a lot, but it doesn’t make sense to think about it--it would make me crazy and anyway it would be a different film. I've changed, the time and circumstances around me have changed and this would have a lot of influence on it. Now this film is ready and interesting and exciting for me as well. I can watch over it like a child. I raised it, but it's grown up and out in the real world. It has some qualities I hoped for, some I would preferred to be otherwise, but I can’t change them. Now I’m also like a part of audience and can emotionally react as all of you seeing this film.

What’s next for your film? Do you have distribution? If so, when and how can people see it and if not, what are your hopes for the film?

This film gets a lot of invitations every month from all around the world and I have to travel a lot. Of course, is always very exciting for me to see how the people with very different background react, to see if they laugh and cry at the same moments as I do or as audiences in my own country do.

For The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear we  already have the World Sales-Deckert Distribution, with a lot of influencing european directors of our days,  but we got also great distributor-Icarus Films-especially for North American countries. We hope a big U.S. audience will see our film.

Jonathan Miller, head of Icarus Films, said: "After such a hectic year in 2012, it's wonderful to begin 2013 with a lovely, unexpected film from a new talent, and from a land we know too little about. I think people will fall in love with the film the way we did. It may be winter, but it didn't feel that way watching Tinatin's film. We can't wait to bring it to American audiences."

For me, already new projects form in my mind and I will work on them as soon as possible. I have to take care of them. I miss the shootings, the magic atmosphere around film. I already have a screenplay written for a fiction film and I’m very excited about it. It’s a drama about a man, who decided to give everything to others but trying not to get (trying to refuse) anything back. I’m thinking about it, in which country I will realize it. And I also have 2 feature documentaries I work on.

Can you provide any advice to other filmmakers who dream of getting their films made and into Sundance?

Please fight for your film! Believe, trust in yourself and your film and try to make films, you are passionate for, you have need for. Have an individual vision and try not to make compromises--that is what I can advise people.

Read More

Road to Sundance 2013: The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, directed by Fredrik Bond

Fredrik Bond

The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman Production Still

Tell us about your film.

My movie is called The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman and is playing in the World Premiere section of the festival.

What inspired you to make it?

One of the best scripts I had read. The script was just full of surprises and unexpected twists and turns in a very emotional grounded way.  The script connected to me very personally on several levels and especially to similar period in my own life at that age. 

What do you love about your film?

I love the performances [film stars Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood] and I love the cinematography, production design and clothes…I guess I love it all…especially knowing how hard everybody worked to get it made. The process in Bucharest was an amazing time.

How long did it take you to make your film?


20 years…this particular one about 2 years.

How did you finance your film?


Voltage Pictures put up all the money for it through foreign sales.

What was the most challenging part of the filmmaking process and how did you overcome it?


One of the most challenging part was to get everything done in time. We had a very ambitious script on a really tight schedule. Our phenomenal AD made it go really smooth and didn’t make us feel stressed but rather being able to work through at a great creative pace.

Tell us about your experience getting into Sundance. 


[Producer] Ron Yerxa called me and told me the news...for days after I was jumping up and down and my ego  drifting high up into the clouds until my wife brought me back to earth. I'm so excited to open my first movie at this amazing festival.

If you had to make the film all over again, would you do anything different?


I don’t think I would do anything different. Off course I've learnt a great deal especially from my actors...but in all I just loved the process and the finished movie even with its little imperfections here and there…which hopefully only I will see.

What’s next for your film?

We are going to compete at the Berlin Film Festival in February, which I'm also really excited about.

Do you have distribution? If so, when and how can people see it and if not, what are your hopes for the film?


We are hoping somebody will pick up the movie in Sundance.

Can you provide any advice to other filmmakers who dream of getting their films made and into Sundance?

“Have Stamina” is something Terry Gilliam signed in a book for me at a book signing in London 1998. Now I know what he meant and couldn’t agree more.

Read More

Road to Sundance 2013: Black Metal (short), directed by Kat Candler

Kat Candler

Black Metal Production Still

Black Metal Production Still

Tell us about your film. What inspired you to make it?

Black Metal  - Narrative Shorts Competition

After a career spent mining his music from the shadows, one fan creates a chain reaction for the lead singer of a black metal band.

I’m fascinated by how an artist is blamed for a tragedy and how they deal with public blame.

What do you love about your film?

I love that it’s radically different from any other film I’ve made. I love that it was a huge challenge in researching and developing a world that was outside of myself. I loved shooting a black metal concert.

How long did it take you to make your film?

I’d been writing a feature about a heavy metal band for about a year. I wanted to shoot something last summer so decided to create a short out of the first act of the feature script. I wrote many drafts of that little 13-page short. Then in July of 2012 we shot for five days. Post-production lasted up until about mid-December.

How did you finance your film?

We financed through crowd funding, private equity and grants.

What was the most challenging part of the filmmaking process and how did you overcome it?

I think the most challenging part (which was also the most fun part) was the research in trying to get the world right-- especially one that’s pretty foreign to me. It’s a lot of time having coffee with folks in the metal community, interviewing them, watching concert footage, reading interviews, books, going to rock shows … trying to immerse yourself in a world so you can be as authentic and respectful on screen as possible.

Tell us about your experience getting into Sundance. 

We played our short film, Hellion,at Sundance in 2012. We weren’t expecting to get in at all so it was a complete and utter surprise and really out of the blue when we got the call. This year, we knew when the calls came and so for about a week or two leading up I was physically ill with anticipation. No lie. My husband almost made me go to the doctor he was so worried. It’s crazy the pressure we put on ourselves.

I had just gotten off a plane to head to my folks house when I got the call. I screamed. I cried. My dad was sitting next to me and I could tell how proud he was. That’s gold.

If you had to make the film all over again, would you do anything different?

Nope. I had an amazing crew and a fantastic cast. I wouldn’t have gained all the little lessons and mistakes and knowledge I learned without going through the process the way we did. With warts, flaws and all, it was magical.

What’s next for your film?

We’ll do the festival circuit and I’ll go back to the feature script with fresh eyes. I hope to make that after we make the feature version of Hellion this year.

Do you have distribution? If so, when and how can people see it and if not, what are your hopes for the film?

We don’t have distribution at this point. But it’ll be available during the ten days of Sundance through Sundance’s Screening Room on Youtube.

Can you provide any advice to other filmmakers who dream of getting their films made and into Sundance?

Tell unique stories and create characters we’ve never seen on screen before. 

Black Metal Trailer (2013 Sundance Official Selection) from Jonny Mars on Vimeo.


WATCH BLACK METAL here: 

 

Read More

Road to Sundance 2013: Muscle Shoals, directed by Greg "Freddy" Camalier

Greg "Freddy" Camalier

Aretha Franklin
(Photo Credit Jennifer Baer)

Bono
(Photo Credit Barney Edwards)

Tell us about your film. What inspired you to make it?

Muscle Shoals is a documentary [part of the Sundance Documentary Premieres] about the unlikely breeding ground for some of America's most creative and defiant music. Under the spiritual influence of the Tennessee River, or the "Singing River" as Native Americans called it, the music of Muscle Shoals has helped create some of the most important and resonant songs of all time, including “Brown Sugar”, “Mustang Sally”, “I Never Loved A Man”, “Kodachrome” and so many others. The fact this incredible story had never been told compelled me to try and capture and share this transcendent tale with the world.

What do you love about your film?
I love the richness of the story, its depth and magnitude. I love the artists both famous and unknown, the stories and insights they share and the music that came out of there. That said, I truly believe this story will appeal to more than just those who love music.

How long did it take you to make your film?
It has been a 4 year labor of love.

How did you finance your film?
It was privately financed.

What was the most challenging part of the filmmaking process and how did you overcome it?
I would say one of the most challenging elements of the film was determining what aspects to focus on as there are so many wonderful tales, stories and characters, many of which we couldn’t fit in the film.

Tell us about your experience getting into Sundance.
We’d always spoken about possibly screening our film at Sundance and were so thrilled when we were told that we were accepted. We’re truly honored to be showing our film at the festival and to see what people think of it.

If you had to make the film all over again, would you do anything different?
I wouldn’t change anything; every day was a learning curve and we had to learn so much on the job. It was great to be challenged and be creative and to have a great team around us from our Director of Photography to our Line Producers.

What’s next for your film? Do you have distribution? If so, when and how can people see it and if not, what are your hopes for the film?
Sundance is the first time audiences will be able to see the film and we’re really excited to see what will happen from here.

Can you provide any advice to other filmmakers who dream of getting their films made and into Sundance?
I would suggest to simply not give up, and recognize that no matter how hard it gets, to keep going. If you believe in your film, then it’s worth it.

Check out the trailer here:

Read More