Sundance Film Festival
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“Getting Things Right Is Always an Exercise in Perseverance”: Editor Steven Moyer on La Leyenda Negra
Aleteia, a teenage girl from El Salvador who has spent most of her life in the U.S., finds herself as the new girl at a high school in Compton, California. Amid the awkward feelings of being an outsider, Aleteia finds solace in underground activism, where she feels valued and heard. But suddenly, her own protected status as an immigrant comes under attack, and she unexpectedly finds comfort in a budding friendship with Rosarito, one of the most popular girls at her school. Finally feeling a sense of belonging, Aleteia takes it on herself to figure out a way to stay […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 3, 2020 -
“The Physical Demands Were No Small Challenge”: DP Lincoln Else on Rebuilding Paradise
After a devastating wildfire nearly decimated the town of Paradise, California on November 8, 2018 and left 85 people dead, the townspeople of Paradise decided to embark on an ambitious rebuilding of the town as opposed to abandoning it. While thousands of citizens were displaced—some still effectively remaining refugees—the inherent beauty of the Sierra Nevada foothills and the strong sense of community among the remaining residence was enough to guide the community through tremendous grief and inspire hope once again. DP Lincoln Else talks about the difficulties in presenting the day of the fire and the unique challenges of shooting […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 3, 2020 -
“We Wanted the Stories to Speak for Themselves, Without Distractions”: DP Ava Benjamin Shorr on Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen
The portrayal of trans characters and their experiences comes under much-needed scrutiny in Sam Feders Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen. Utilizing an archive of trans representation in media throughout the years along with interviews with transgender creatives and thinkers, Feder argues that the exploration of trans stories has often been one-dimensional, disparaging and reflective of our society’s anxieties regarding sex and gender. DP Ava Benjamin Shorr delves into the importance of shooting anamorphic for this film while also navigating the technical difficulties of lighting (and pesky windows). Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 3, 2020 -
“A Bright Slice of Pepperoni”: Max Barbakow | Palm Springs
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Led by our production designer, Jason Kisvarday, the art department was incredibly imaginative, passionate, and a bit twisted (in the best way), spoiling me with inspired options for every design choice. I had a lot of fun with the dream team of Marcy Silver (prop whiz) and Kelsi Ephraim (set dec) […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 3, 2020 -
“On Super 16 There is a ‘Baked In’ Feel”: DP Declan Quinn on Sylvie’s Love
The summer of 1957 in New York City serves as the backdrop of Eugene Ashe’s Slyvie’s Love, a story of music and romance that centers around Sylvie, a young woman waiting for her fiancé to return from war, passing the time by working at her father’s record store. However, when the charming musician Robert walks in looking for a day job to support his career as a saxophonist, Slyvie’s head is turned. They embark on a long, whirlwind romance, even as Robert books his first concert overseas. DP Declan Quinn speaks about the various musical and period influences on Sylvie’s […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 3, 2020 -
“We Wanted It to be Natural, Believable”: DP Declan Quinn on The Evening Hour
In rural Appalachia, Cole (Philip Ettinger), a health aide working at a nursing home, helps make ends meet by selling off excess pills from the townspeople to other local buyers. While Cole doesn’t see himself as perpetuating a culture of addiction, he finds himself in the center of conflict between the town’s drug kingpin when a childhood friend comes back to town and encourages Cole to assert his dominance in the local drug trade. Cinematographer Declan Quinn discusses the inspiration and technique that went into Braden King’s The Evening Hour. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 3, 2020 -
“My Editorial Philosophy is ‘Every Frame Matters'”: Editor Matt Friedman on Palm Springs
Max Barbakow’s feature debut, Palm Springs, centers around a destination wedding and a reluctant maid of honor, Sarah (Cristin Milioti), whose younger sister is the bride to be. She finds a fellow nihilist, Nyles (Andy Samberg), who is being strung along as the date of one of the bridesmaids. Their bond grows stronger as the events surrounding the wedding become increasingly more surreal. Editor Matt Friedman talks about his part in the process of making Palm Springs, from preserving the strength of the script to the necessity of VFX for small budget indie films. Filmmaker: How and why did you […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 3, 2020 -
“We Had to Create Something Consistent Yet Genuine”: DP Quyen Tran on Palm Springs
In Max Barbakow’s Palm Springs, Sarah (Cristin Milioti) is reluctantly assuming the role of maid of honor at her younger sister’s destination wedding. When she meets Nyles (Andy Samburg) after he helps her bail on giving a toast, she realizes she’s found an ally who also thinks that the stuffy conventions of weddings are lame. Nyles is technically the date of another bridesmaid, but he and Sarah can’t help but feel drawn to each other, eventually embracing nihilistic sentiments about the whole ordeal as it becomes increasingly more surreal. DP Quyen Tran talks about playing with subjectivity through camerawork, the […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 3, 2020 -
“The Story Was Simultaneously Engaging, Humorous and Stressful”: Editor Joi McMillon on Zola
Janicza Bravo’s Zola is a story that was originally chronicled in 144 tweets by a woman named A’Ziah “Zola” King. The Twitter thread chronicled a high-anxiety experience that Zola had while traveling in Florida with a friend, wherein she becomes her unofficial madame, encounters her hysterical boyfriend Jarrett and finds herself in the middle of a kidnapping scenario. Bravo’s adaptation takes the straightforward yet gripping narrative of a sequence of tweets and heightens the stakes by playing with perspective. Editor Joi McMillon talks about her trajectory as an editor and what enticed her to help make Zola. Filmmaker: How and […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 3, 2020 -
“It Is a Dark and Dire Reflection Without a Simple Solution”: Editors Langdon Page and Lauren Saffa on The Cost of Silence
Nearly a decade ago, 130 million gallons of oil was spilled into the Gulf of Mexico over the course of 87 days after a deadly explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling unit. During the lengthy clean-up process, workers and civilians alike were exposed to dangerous chemical dispersants, directly causing illness that no entity has been held responsible for—neither the federal government or the oil companies—and offshore drilling continues. Mark Manning, a former deep-sea oil-field diver, chronicles the human suffering and lack of accountability of this disaster in The Cost of Silence. Editors Langdon Page and Lauren Saffa detail how […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 3, 2020
