Rita Moreno stands as one of the rare few entertainers to attain EGOT status. Mariem Pérez Riera intimate documentary on the West Side Story star the racism Moreno faced as a Puerto Rican immigrant with aplomb, featuring interviews other iconic entertainers such as Gloria Estefan, Whoopi Goldberg and Eva Longoria. DP PJ López discusses how they captured the authentic essence of a beloved figure in movie history. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? López: I had already worked with […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 1, 2021Hearkening back to coming-of-age movies like Superbad, Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp’s First Date feels comfortingly familiar as both a thriller and a comedy. After buying a questionable ’65 Chrysler, Mike’s (Tyson Brown) first date with Kelsey (Shelby Duclos) snowballs into an epic night of cop chases, criminals, and cat ladies. Editor Zach Passero explains how they snipped a nearly three hour cut down while preserving the movie’s irrepressible personality. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? Passero: I came onboard after Darren and Manuel had edited a 2 hour 45 minute cut. They were […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 1, 2021How did events of 2020—any of them—change your film, either in the way you approached it, produced it, post-produced it, or are now thinking about it? COVID-19 nearly derailed us in post-production, but the longer schedule forced us to think more deeply about the story we were telling and the way we told it. A film is shaped many times—on the page, by the actors in rehearsals, during production, and then again in the edit room. The extra time gave us space to breathe and see new ways of telling our story that we might have rushed past were it […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 1, 2021Erin Vassilopoulos’ Superior isn’t your classic film about twins. While on the run, Marian (Alessandra Mesa) returns to her childhood home where her housewife sister Vivian (Ani Mesa) lives. Marian’s past begins to catch up with her, endangering both her and her sister’s life tremendously. Editor Jenn Ruff shares what it was like to collaborate with one of her students and the brilliant madness that came from working during COVID. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Ruff: How? […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 1, 2021Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt’s Cusp embeds itself with a trio of teenage girls, all sustaining best friends, over the course of a long, alcohol-sodden rural Texas summer. Relationships come and go, but cycles of systemic sexual abuse and misogyny structure the lives of its indefatigable protagonists. As photographers, Hill and Bethencourt speak to acting as their own cinematographers, lighting from the Texas sun and capturing the textures of teen girl life. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Hill and Bethencourt: We […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 31, 2021Parker Hill and Isabel Bettencourt’s Cusp embeds itself with a trio of teenage girls, all sustaining best friends, over the course of a long, alcohol-sodden rural Texas summer. Relationships come and go, but cycles of systemic sexual abuse and misogyny structure the lives of its indefatigable protagonists. Hill, who also served as Cusp’s editor, discusses the project’s winnowing down, working with a consulting editor and learning to let go of footage. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Hill: Impatience, stubbornness, and […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 31, 2021How did events of 2020—any of them—change your film, either in the way you approached it, produced it, post-produced it, or are now thinking about it? Making our first feature in 2020 was definitely a rollercoaster. In some ways the pandemic meant there was nothing to do all summer except sit at home and edit, which was a very intense process, but it was helpful to fully immerse ourselves in the footage day in and day out. We were definitely fortunate to have something to focus on at home. In post production, it was certainly challenging to work with so […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 31, 2021Dating’s complicated arc during the pandemic has been lovingly captured in Pacho Velez’s documentary Searchers. Whether on Grindr, Tinder, or any other app, the question “what are you looking for?” varies from person to person amid the chaos of mid-COVID New York City. Editor Hannah Buck addresses the challenge of introducing the director as a subject of the film and the value of mediated experiences. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Buck: In 2019 I was the consulting […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 31, 2021In the era of surveillance, what does it mean to be on camera? Theo Anthony’s All Light, Everywhere investigates the nature of objectivity, physics, and policing from a scientific and sociological perspective, questioning much the way an essay might. DP Corey Hughes shares what he brought to the film from his experience with music videos and the physicality of image capturing devices. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Hughes: I met Theo in Baltimore in 2017. At that […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 31, 2021Camilla Nielsson’s President tells the tumultuous story of Zimbabwe’s 2018 general election, the first since the country attained independence that Robert Mugabe was not a candidate. It is in many ways a follow-up to Nielsson’s 2014 film Democrats. Editor Jeppe Bødskov discusses his ongoing collaboration with Nielssoni. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Bødskov: I worked with Camilla Nielsson on her previous documentary Democrats. So, I knew her already. I know quite a lot about Zimbabwe and about […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 31, 2021