[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 21, 9:00pm — Yarrow Hotel Theatre, Park City] I’ve encountered many challenges in making this film. First and foremost was struggling to survive on very little income, especially with law school loans I still needed to pay off. At times, it was very difficult for my family to understand why I would sacrifice financial security to make films. My mother has often asked me why I can’t use my law degree to practice law, make money, and have a house and a family like everybody else. Filming in extreme hot and humid conditions in Cambodia was […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 21, 6:30pm — Eccles Theatre, Park City] I didn’t feel there was any sacrifice involved. On the contrary, knowing how hard it is to get a movie made…I saw every single day (some of the hard ones as well) as a blessing to be working with extremely talented people and be doing what I love. Sundance Responses 2013
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 21, 8:30pm — Library Center Theatre, Park City] The sacrifice I made was putting myself in danger again and again. As a 20-year veteran of photojournalism, being in danger was nothing new. What was new, however, was how the making of this film brought others into the mix. My soundman Juan traveled with me everywhere. For him, this was his first time being in a conflict zone. I used to have a recurring nightmare that somehow he would get hurt and I, of course, would be the one forced to tell his father. Every time we would go to Juarez, we […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 21, 9:00pm — Egyptian Theatre, Park City] My serenity! Envisioning and working on this film meant putting profound emotions at stake with the desire to strive for meaning and balance in life, obviously more than just in the film itself. And with much physical exertion – it was quite the adventure! My path was parallel to the protagonist, in a dimension of listening and questioning, probation and ongoing research. And I think this represents what being a director means to me: to share a life experience. Because it accompanies me and becomes part of me until […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 21, 2:45pm — Prospector Square Theatre, Park City] I was in psychotherapy for a year before going into production on Pit Stop, mainly to deal with my insecurities and unresolved angst as an artist. By the time we began shooting, I still wasn’t sure if I was fully prepared to tackle the stress, the uncertainty, and the frustration of making another independent film.The most significant sacrifice I had to make then was my mental health. I felt a lot more vulnerable throughout the process, and in hindsight, thought it was a sign of weakness that I […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 21, 2:30pm — Library Center Theatre, Park City] I have a husband and two young children and they will tell you that I missed my share of birthdays and holidays over the three and half years we filmed. Those are sacrifices every filmmaker makes, but added to that for me was a real need to set aside my pride. Filmmaking is my second career and this is my first film – I ended up places I’d never thought I would be – I was traveling to prisons and hanging out in bad neighborhoods and seeing all […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 21, 6:00pm — Temple Theatre, Park City] The art of filmmaking took a strange twist when we turned the camera on ourselves as well as on our loved ones. We found ourselves constantly questioning our observational and self-reflexive approach to the craft, particularly when it conflicted with our parenting ideals. As parents, we were concerned about our son’s socio-emotional development and, therefore, our impulse was to turn off the camera early and often. Yet, more often than not, the decision to turn off the camera clearly hampered the quality and emotional depth contained in the first […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 21, Noon — Temple Theatre, Park City] Sacrifice is an interesting word when you think about it in context of our film, Life According to Sam, because one of the main themes of the film is sacrifice. Our film is about a mother and father, Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns, who are trying to find a cure for a fatal disease that is rapidly aging their son, Sam. Progeria is one of the rarest diseases in the world and children rarely live past their teenage years. The film picks up with Sam’s mom, who […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 21, 6:0pm — Yarrow Hotel Theatre, Park City] I had a vision for our film. I always refer to it as ‘cow time’, a unique perspective on the world from a chilled bovine point of view. My vision was ultimately sacrificed. Making The Moo Man taught me a lot about the humble cow. This docile, semi-domesticated farm animal is easy to take for granted. However in reality they’re so much more aware and connected to mother nature than we could ever hope to be. Cows are social, they have friends, they like pop music (although they’re […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Sunday, Jan. 20, 11:59pm — Egyptian Theatre, Park City] Early on I decided to shoot the psychological horror In Fear without giving the actors the script and without them even knowing the story. They had absolutely no idea of what was coming. They didn’t know if they were going to die, live happily ever after or win the lottery. Every day when filming I put them in a certain situation, gave them some guide dialogue, we’d discuss their current state of mind and then we’d shoot. So what was the sacrifice? On the shoot without the actors performing […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2013