[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[PREMIERE SCREENING: Sunday, Jan. 20, 2:30pm — Prospector Square Theatre, Park City] My film, Which Way Is The Front Line From Here?, is about the death, in combat, of my good friend and colleague Tim Hetherington. In a sense the film would not exist without the tragedy of his death, but I don’t think that’s what you are asking. I pre-sold my film rather than financing it myself — as Tim and I were forced to do with Restrepo — and I was able to hire amazing people to work with. But making a film about Tim’s death took a […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Sunday, Jan. 20, 11:45pm — Library Center Theatre, Park City] We’ve never done an indie before, so the budget and time constraints were much more intense than any we’d experienced. That said, the freedom we gained made that sacrifice absolutely worth it. No committee-think in this movie — every line, every casting decision, everything — it’s all 100% ours (thank you darko). So we sacrificed money and gained autonomy. We will absolutely do it again. It was the most fun we’ve ever had, and probably the thing we’re most proud of. Also, Tom got in a swamp with […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Sunday, Jan. 20, 9:00pm — Egyptian Theatre, Park City] I made one no-budget film in 2008 called Luke and Brie are on a First Date. It was a great experience and had an okay life for itself, but I was adamant that I wouldn’t make a no-budget film again. In order to grow (or be perceived as growing), my next film would need to have a name actor and a budget of $250,000. I was confident This is Martin Bonner was that script and I took 18 months to figure out how to get that money or a […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Sunday, Jan. 20, 3:00pm — Temple Theatre, Park City] It’s strange to talk about making a film as a sacrifice. Of course we are always under enormous financial pressures and we’ve given up treasured time with family and friends to create this work. But to us it feels like a privilege — especially in these difficult times — to be able to make art, and even more so to be making it independently. The motto of Wisconsin and the last line of our film is “Forward;” as we head to Sundance, we aren’t looking back. Sundance Responses 2013
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2013[PREMIERE SCREENING: Sunday, Jan. 20, 8:30pm — Library Center Theatre, Park City] Short of my personal relationships, I sacrificed everything for the film. Years of my life, my personal finances, all of my creative and professional resources. If I wasn’t willing do that, then what would be the point? If you’re not willing to sacrifice for what you love, than you don’t truly love it and if you don’t truly love film, you probably shouldn’t be an independent filmmaker. It’s too much of a challenge. You have to make sure to hold on to that initial spark that got you on to the film so tightly cause, […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2013