Filmmaking
Filmmaking
-
Writer-Director Zach Clark on His Twisted Little Sister
In Zach Clark’s Little Sister, Colleen (Addison Timlin), a former goth girl turned nun, returns home to her dysfunctional family for the first time in years after learning that her brother Jacob (Keith Poulson) is back from fighting the war in Iraq. To cope with her passive father, Bill (Peter Hedges), her bipolar, pot-smoking mother, Joani (Ally Sheedy), and her depressed, disfigured brother, Colleen resurrects her goth persona in hopes of livening things up. Set in 2008, against the backdrop of President Obama’s election, the dark family comedy manages to be both tender and pointed. In a review of the film in Filmmaker, Howard Feinstein called Little Sister “an unaffected masterpiece,” […]
-
“When I Looked at All the Ways You Can Fail in VR, That Was a Turn-On”: Doug Liman on His VR Sci-Fi Thriller, Invisible
Released today, Invisible is director Doug Liman’s first foray into virtual reality, a five-part science-fiction thriller that places viewers in the midst of a tale involving corporate secrets, future tech and family treachery. The series takes off from the question one sometimes mulls: what superpower would I choose for myself? Says producer Julina Tatlock of the production company 30 Ninjas, “One of the top superpowers people would choose is invisibility — and we’ve all dreamed about being rich. By creating Invisible in VR, we are able to immerse the viewer into that glam, exotic and at times terrifying world in […]
-
Beyond Telefilm Canada: Curating the Future of Canadian Film at VIFF’s “Future//Present”
What does a Canadian film look like? This could be construed as a bad joke with limitless punch lines, the film equivalent of “a man walks into a bar…” But this query isn’t meant to drag my own national cinema, which has produced great filmmakers like Alanis Obomsawin, David Cronenberg and Michael Snow. Instead of a set-up to a gag, this line of questioning opens a conversation about the future of Canadian cinema, especially when it comes to funding. This topic was front of mind at the Vancouver International Film Festival this year, which debuted a new program, curated by […]
-
Watch: The Look of Fear
Just in time for Halloween, Fandor shares the above video essay which analyzes how film can effectively convey fear. Spanning 1920-2014, the video highlights the best reaction shots featuring “the look of fear.” In the accompanying essay, Daniel Mcilwraith explains, “This video asks you to contemplate several questions within these faces of fear. Which gender is most burdened with the look of fear? Which is more effective: paralyzing shock or a piercing scream? I asked myself why the look of fear was so persistent in horror cinema—perhaps it can tell us more about the human face as the most powerful cinematic spectacle.”
-
Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers Aims to Showcase the Golden Age of Women Directors
In early 2015, Kino Lorber mounted a successful crowd-funding campaign for Pioneers of African-American Cinema. The campaign raised over $53,000, far surpassing its original $35,000 goal. Now Kino Lorber is hoping to repeat that success with its new Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming release Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers. So far, they’ve raised more than $20,000 towards the $44,000 goal. “You wouldn’t know it looking back at the last 90 years of film history, but at one time, it was not uncommon to have women behind the camera in Hollywood,” says writer-director Ileana Douglas in the campaign video (above). Presented in association with the […]
-
Wizard Mode Filmmakers on Why They Went the Digital Distribution Route
Directed by Salazar Film (Nathan Drillot and Jeff Petry), the documentary Wizard Mode relates the story of Robert Gagno, a young man with autism who is one of the world’s highest ranking pinball players. Wizard Mode tracks Robert’s rise on the international pinball circuit and his efforts to forge an independent life for himself. The film, Vimeo’s first-ever original feature, had its world premiere at Hot Docs earlier this year and is available now on Vimeo, VOD and iTunes. Filmmaker recently asked the film’s directors Nathan Drillot and Jeff Petry about working with a subject who has autism, getting the rights to The Who’s iconic “Pinball Wizard,” opting […]
-
Watch for 48 Hours: Spider Veins and Hearts of Palm from the East Oregon Film Festival
With the East Oregon Film Festival underway this weekend in La Grande, Oregon, Filmmaker is happy to once again host the festival online selections here at the site. Starting now, for 48 hours, you can watch Monica Peña’s haunting and haunted relationship mystery, Hearts of Palm, preceded by a short, Frank Mosley’s multi-layered psychological drama Spider Veins. From the filmmakers, here are their two short synopses: Spider Veins: Two women reunite in a quiet neighborhood before a party begins. But by turns mysterious and shocking, the film’s narrative begins to unravel even as the women’s relationship teeters on the edge of […]
-
Laughing Matters (and Not)
The Squid and the Whale The Squid and the Whale was, for Noah Baumbach, a rare and blessed thing: an honest to god new beginning. Baumbach’s directing career started strong (his first two films, Kicking and Screaming and Mr. Jealousy, were both released before he turned 30) but sat idle for eight years between Mr. Jealousy and the 2005 Sundance premiere of The Squid and the Whale, which brought Baumbach back with a passion. Watching the film, you get the sense that the wasteland years created within him a burning passion to scream this autobiographical story as furiously as possible […]
-
Pilot Checkride: How To Break Into Television Writing, Part Two
In the summer issue of this magazine, I wrote about how television is written and some of the ways that a screenwriter might break into writing for television — starting as an assistant in the writers’ room, fellowship programs, being hired directly to staff and selling a pitch or a pilot. As I noted in conclusion, whichever route you take, it all starts with a great pilot — that’s the sample that your agents will use to put you up for staffing, that’s the usual application piece for fellowships, and that’s even what assistants submit for consideration. So what exactly […]
-
Playing the Long Game: Producers on Sustaining a Career in Independent Film
When legendary producer and studio executive Robert Evans penned his autobiography — later adapted into a documentary — he picked a telling title: The Kid Stays in the Picture. You would think that after producing films like Chinatown and Urban Cowboy, Evans could happily rest on his laurels, but his book’s title, with its defiant use of the present tense, speaks to the ambitions and anxieties affecting every filmmaker with producer DNA. These, of course, are issues of continuing relevance and professional durability — or, to use the independent film parlance of the moment, sustainability. Contrary to the imagination of […]
