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“That Call Was Almost as Exciting as the Good News Call from Sundance” | Sierra Falconer, Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)
Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake). Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why?
We shot Sunfish on location in rural Northern Michigan. Our basecamp and primary shooting location—a cottage on Green Lake belonging to my grandmother—was chosen for story over logistics. Getting our crew, cast and gear to location was a logistical nightmare that included planes, buses and shuttles (and my dad, who graciously drove to Chicago on more than one occasion to pick up talent after flights had been canceled). Somehow, it all came together. The weekend before day one, the team had made it to basecamp and our talent was set to fly out the next day, pending one minor hiccup: the SAG strike had just begun, and we were without a waiver. I was location scouting with Grant and Marc when we got the call from our SAG rep saying we had been approved for a waiver. That call was almost as exciting as the good news call from Sundance. It meant the movie was happening. The night before day one our talent arrived, and we were set to go. Of all the days, I think that day was the most significant—it was the day things finally felt real. Our crew and talent had made their way to Green Lake, we had a truck load of gear from Chicago and a green light from SAG. It was happening. We were making a movie.
See all responses to our annual Sundance Question here.
