Sundance Responses
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“An Incredible Learning Experience”: Director Michael Larnell | Roxanne Roxanne
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? My first feature film, Cronies, had a small budget and production team. For Roxanne Roxanne, we had a bigger budget, and this allowed for a larger production team. This meant there were more moving pieces, which presented a slew of challenges on all levels. The fact that the film is a 1980s period film in the busy land of NYC complicated these challenges even more. There were […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 28, 2017 -
“The Notion of Truth Is Being Challenged”: Director Peter Nicks | The Force
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? This year, perhaps more than any other year I can remember, the notion of truth is being challenged. We are creating fences around ourselves – virtual fences built from social media circles that reinforce increasingly segregated belief systems that have led to great division in America. In this environment, artistic expression is more important than ever, especially when tackling themes and subjects that audiences approach with their […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 28, 2017 -
“Crying on the Inside and Nodding on the Outside”: Director Janicza Bravo | Lemon
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? The most challenging thing to convey was that I was capable. The road to getting the film (Lemon) made started five years ago. I had only one short film under my belt. Last spring I had eight short films, all of which had played at prestigious festivals and one episode of television and whether or not I was ready or could handle a feature was still on the […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 28, 2017 -
“A Challenge for Some in the Audience”: Director Yance Ford | Strong Island
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? It’s important to understand that Strong Island was in development years before a frame of the film was shot. The first challenge I faced was “coming out” as someone who had lost a loved one to homicide. In the doc community there is a divide that we don’t talk about much, if at all: My parents grew up in the Jim Crow South, I am ONE generation […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 27, 2017 -
“I Was Exposed to Very Dangerous Situations”: Director José María Cabral | Woodpeckers
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? Communication was the key for writing, shooting and making the movie, particularly this one. Woodpeckers explores communication and language on a very specific level. First of all, the writing process was about making contact and understanding the prisoners, getting to create relationships, not only for the script but also because I wanted them as actors too. It was also kind of a social experiment, where I was […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 27, 2017 -
“A Historical Document for Hopefully Decades to Come”: Director Peter Bratt | Dolores
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? During the research phase of making the film, it became apparent that Dolores’ contributions as an activist and organizer were being deliberately left out of the historical record. So beyond wanting to communicate and tell a good story, we also wanted to help set the record straight about who she is and why her story matters. We decided that the use of archival material would be more […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
“An Uplifting and Life-Affirming Experience”: Director Frankie Fenton | It’s Not Yet Dark
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? This question is, to say the least, spookily resonant with It’s Not Yet Dark. Our documentary is about a man who has lost the ability to speak. Much like every other part of his body except for his eyes, Simon Fitzmaurice, an Irish director, is unable to move. He suffers from Motor Neuron Disease or A.L.S. as it’s called in the US and communicates using a computer […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
“Our Intent Was Never to Make Viewers Laugh”: Directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion | Bushwick
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? One challenge of communication we originally faced was when we started pitching the idea over seven years ago. We presented the idea of Texas seceding from the U.S. and starting a civil war. At the time it sounded like a ridiculous satire and some people thought we wanted to make a comedy. Our intent was never to make viewers laugh though. The seeds of political animosity have […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2017 -
“As Crazy and Unpredictable as Real Life”: Director Matt Spicer | Ingrid Goes West
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? I think the biggest challenge of communicating nowadays is figuring out how to make your voice heard amidst all the noise. There is so much out there vying for people’s attention, and it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. This applies to indie filmmakers as well. We don’t have massive marketing budgets to buy ad space or air time, and oftentimes we’re lucky to even find […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2017 -
“Directing in Stereo”: Directors Alicia Scherson and Cristian Jimenez | Family Life
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? Since we were two directors on set, which is unusual, we had to deal with the challenge of communicating with the crew and actors as one single voice. We created a method. There were days when one of us had the director’s cap and the second director had to refrain from talking to the cast or crew directly and had to go through the first director. A bit like […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2017
