Sundance Film Festival

“ANYWHERE, U.S.A.” co-writer-director, Chusy (Anthony Haney-Jardine)

The question isn’t fair as it relates to my production. I don’t wish I had 10 percent more of anything. I deliberately set out to make a film without expectations. Expectations are what thwarted any creative impulse I’d had in the past. Instead I relied on whatever I found before me. It is no accident that our production company’s name is Found Films. From the get-go we knew we had severe limitations: intellectual, financial, technological and with regards to professional talent; so instead, we embraced those limitations, almost with glee. No interchangeable lenses? No problem. Let’s embrace the aesthetic and […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 18, 2008
“A COMPLETE HISTORY OF MY SEXUAL FAILURES” co-writer-director, Chris Waitt

I made a documentary where I tried to interview my ex-girlfriends to find out why they dumped me. I wish 10 percent more of them had agreed to talk to me. In fact I wish 50 percent more had talked to me. But they didn’t. So for a couple of months I wandered ’round, scratched my head and tried to think of ways to persuade them. When I couldn’t persuade them I tried to come up with other things to film. As a result I think I ended up doing a lot of naval gazing, or in my case, a […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 18, 2008
“MOMMA’S MAN” writer-director, Azazel Jacobs

I have been thinking about this question for a couple days now and I’m stumped. I’m really happy with Momma’s Man and I think extra cash, time… a bit extra of anything could have just fucked it up. Whatever limitations there were — and I had an enormous amount of freedom on this one — were helpful as far as I can see. Sorry if this wasn’t the answer you were looking for, but for me it’s the truth. [PREMIERE SCREENING: Friday, Jan. 18, 11:30 am — Library Center Theatre, Park City]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 18, 2008
“ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT” director, Brett Simon

While filming Assassination there were times when the chatter of my thoughts and the cacophony of the set drowned out my instincts’ pleas. When this happened, the result was always the same: The movie and I would suffer. But when I listened, out came the gifts. I acknowledged this, I even wrote “INSTINCT” on my finger so I was reminded every time I typed, framed a shot, or gestured to an actor. But still there were times I forgot to listen.So please, make my instincts louder, or make me a better listener, and then I’ll have all the time and […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 18, 2008
“AUGUST” director, Austin Chick

At the risk of sounding unoriginal I’m gonna have to go with time. I’m sure everyone wishes they had more time but I had no idea how little time I would have to shoot this movie. The budget was about five times the budget of my previous film, XX/XY, (which isn’t saying much since we made XX for about 37 cents) but on XX I had about 50 percent MORE time. We had more days and on XX the days were longer by about 35 percent. This was because XX was nonunion and August was [IATSE] East Coast Council. It’s […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 18, 2008
“AMERICAN SON” producer, Danielle Renfrew

A defining moment in the making of American Son was when the financing fell through four weeks before production. Six months of preproduction and planning evaporated with one phone call. That disappointment forced me to dig deeper and commit to making the film by whatever means necessary. In hindsight it was the best thing that could have happened. After digesting the initial disappointment, I was suddenly reconnected to the initial inspiration that was the genesis of the film. I felt like I was back in control of the creative process — it was from that moment on that the film […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 18, 2008
“NORTH STARR” writer-director, Matthew Stanton

It took me a few moments to really find the most specific and significant answer to this idea. In my experience on this particular film, I have to respond by saying that if I had 10 percent more of anything, it would definitely be AVAILABILITY. Since I have the most sincere and genuine respect for all positions regarding the many aspects of filmmaking, it was my duty as a multiple player on this production to wear many different hats. Serving proudly as the screenwriter, director, actor and producer (among others) on this film had some serious consequences. The most important […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 18, 2008
“I.O.U.S.A.” co-writer-director,

How do you make a small film about the American economy, the federal government and where they’re both heading? And more importantly, how do you make it appealing to a general audience? How do you make people care about it? As I write this we are five weeks away from our world premiere at Sundance ‘08, and we’re still asking ourselves these questions. We’re still trying to find the heart of this story, and the challenge is made greater since we’re trying to hit a moving target. This story literally changes every day. Our country is remarkably resilient and has […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 18, 2008
“THE VISITOR” writer-director, Tom McCarthy

Days. It’s always about time in terms of shooting, especially on a smaller budget. I usually move pretty fast when I’m shooting. I like the energy, but I don’t like to be rushed. Being on a set is a fluid environment. Sometimes you will move faster than expected and sometimes (most times) you will move slower. So whenever you have a little safety/time cushion it’s always a good thing. It allows for a bit more creative discovery along the way. [PREMIERE SCREENING: Wednesday, Jan. 23, 9:30 pm — Eccles Theatre, Park City]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 18, 2008
“KING OF PING PONG” co-writer-director, Jens Jonsson

I’d need 10 percent more time, not only in front of the camera, but for my family. Becoming a father of Valter, 15 months, and at the same time being a first-time feature film director is hard. I long for time alone, time with my girlfriend, Anna, time with my son, time to write, time to watch more films, time to sleep and time for exercise. [PREMIERE SCREENING: Friday, Jan. 18, 9:00 pm — Egyptian Theatre, Park City]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 17, 2008

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cfmrk_cic		Used by Cloudflare to route user traffic for this Site.
sparrow_id		Installed by Cloudflare. Used to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not store any personal identifiable information.

Cookie	Duration	Description
OAGEO		Installed by the Revive Ad Server. Used to cache geolocation (session, deleted when closing the browser)
OAID		Installed by the Revive Ad Server to distinguish users.