Sundance
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“Dance With Me, Ben” | Grace Glowicki, Dead Lover
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? I have been trying to pinpoint a single day of Dead Lover to answer this question…but the truth is, specific days are almost impossible for me to remember. It’s just a smattering of random memorable moments! The days from which they came are lost in my memory….probably due to the lack of sleep. So, […]
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“The Profound Exchange Between Doctor and Patient” | Gianluca Matarrese, GEN_
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? The most memorable day, without a doubt, was the very first day I met the doctor and began filming simultaneously. It was an overwhelming vortex of emotions. In just one day, I observed and listened to the stories of more than ten patients, stories of resilience, pain, and joy. All at once. All ages, […]
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“An Observational Character Study of an Ex-Offender”: DP Sam Motamedi on Ricky
In Ricky, Rashad Frett extends his Sundance 2023 short of the same name to feature length to tell the story of a 30-year-old returning home after serving time in prison. The film follows Ricky as he tries to reintegrate into the community that he was taken from, utilize his gifts as a barber to making a living and make up for lost time. Sam Motamedi, who shot the 2023 short, again served as DP. Below, he explains how he tried to replicate a documentary-like feeling and shares a couple of his influences, including documentary footage from the early days of the […]
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“Don’t Be Afraid to Speak Up and Set the Tone”: Producer Pierre M. Coleman on Ricky
Ricky follows the travails of its title character (Stephan James), who has just been released from prison at age 30, as he tries to reintegrate into his community in Hartford, Conn. The film, directed by Rashad Frett, is an adaptation of Frett’s own short, itself a Sundance 2023 premiere. Ricky also marks Pierre M. Coleman’s first turn as a lead producer after handling the initial short. Below, he recounts the origin of his “little engine that could” and speaks to the importance of good partners. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here. Filmmaker: How did you connect […]
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“The Power of Sounds, Spells, and the Sublime Unknown”: Editor Brett W. Bachman on Rabbit Trap
Set in 1976, writer-director Bryn Chainey’s Rabbit Trap follows a couple (Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen) who decide to move to a house in the Welsh countryside. Musicians by trade, they unwittingly unleash an eldritch horror through the songs that they make, culminating in an eerie, unnamed child showing up at their doorstep. Below, Bachman speaks about the two dominant ideas kept in mind while cutting Rabbit Trap, the intense sound design process and the importance of trusting one’s audience. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor […]
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“Knowing How to Take Feedback Is an Art”: Editor Lev Lewis on Dead Lover
When a young grave digger (Grace Glowicki) finds love—despite her crude demeanor and disheveled appearance—she vows that it will be eternal. When her betrothed dies at sea, she decides to revive her dream man out of the corpses that she buries every day. Glowicki serves as the writer, director and star in this horror-comedy take on Mary Shelley’s iconic sci-fi novel. Editor Lev Lewis tells Filmmaker about the extensive test screening process, his preference for cutting on Premiere and why he’s “thrilled” to be part of the team that made Dead Lover. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor […]
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“The Camera Team Was Also the SFX Team”: DP Rhayne Vermette on Dead Lover
Writer-director Grace Glowicki looks to Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein for inspiration with Dead Lover, her follow-up to her 2019 feature debut Tito. As with her previous film, Glowicki plays the lead character, this time embodying an awkward and crude grave digger who manages to woo a handsome local. When he tragically dies at sea, she goes to great lengths to rekindle their spark and bring him back from the dead. DP Rhayne Vermette discusses being a self-taught cinematographer, handling SFX work alongside shooting and the singular filmmaker who Glowicki sought to reference. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. […]
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“We All Brought Something Unique to the Table” | Rashad Frett, Ricky
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? The most significant day for me was when my editor, Daysha Broadway; my co-writer, Lin Que Ayoung; and I gathered at an amazing restaurant in Chinatown to brainstorm and finetune the film’s edit. Over delicious food, laughter and deep conversation, we made key adjustments that truly elevated the project. That moment of collaboration felt […]
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“14 Inches From a Very Personal Form of Murder”: Steven Soderbergh on Camera as Character and His Sundance Horror Film, Presence
The following interview of Steven Soderbergh about Presence was originally published last year when the film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. It is being reposted today as the film is released in theaters from NEON. — Editor A heady, elegantly-constructed ghost story, Steven Soderbergh’s Presence has a bunch of half-buried threads, a couple of perfectly-timed scares, and a horrific close-up of an act of violence that mesmerizes the camera—just as horror films mesmerize their audience. The camera is the star here, and not merely because its sustained, floating movements, its sudden turns and retreats, its anxious hovering display […]
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“Interrotrons Can Be a Real Drain on Production”: DP David Jacobson on Pee-wee as Himself
Filmed before his death in 2023, Pee-wee as Himself, an episodic project from documentary filmmaker Matt Wolf, chronicles the life and legacy of performer Paul Reubens via intimate interviews and a wealth of archival material. Cinematographer David Jacobson discusses his involvement on the project, including meeting Wolf at their alma mater, the influence of technicolor on the shoot and incorporating Errol Morris’s Interrotron technology for the interviews. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your […]
