Sundance

“Moviemaking Goes Hand-in-Hand with Collaboration” | Sophie Brooks, Oh, Hi!

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 magic of moviemaking goes hand-in-hand with collaboration. It takes a village to make a film, and every step and person along the way feels vital, but nothing can exist without that initial spark. When I search in my mind over the last four-and-a half-years it took to make this film, the day that […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2025
“That Call Was Almost as Exciting as the Good News Call from Sundance” | Sierra Falconer, Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)

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? We shot Sunfish on location in rural Northern Michigan. Our basecamp and primary shooting location—a cottage on Green Lake belonging to my grandmother—was chosen for story over logistics. Getting our crew, cast and gear to location was a logistical nightmare that included planes, buses and shuttles (and my dad, who graciously drove to Chicago […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2025
“Anything That Does a Good Job Everywhere Can’t Do a Great Job Anywhere”: DP Marcus Patterson on Sunfish

In Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition premiere Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake), the lives of a girl learning to sail, a musician, two sisters running a bed-and-breakfast and a fisherman intersect in the eponymous Northern Michigan locale. The film, the debut feature by Sierra Falconer was shot largely on location. Below, cinematographer Marcus Patterson (Soukoon) discusses his influences for the film’s look and how he plans around budget limitations without compromising his ambitions. 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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2025
“I Wanted to Always be Receptive to Inspiration on the Day”: DP Conor Murphy on Oh, Hi!

Screening in the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s Premieres section, Oh, Hi! is director Sophie Brooks’ romantic comedy about the unraveling and attempted reconciliation of the relationship between Iris (Molly Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman). Much of Oh, Hi! takes place in a single bedroom. Below, cinematographer Conor Murphy explains the importance of finding creative ways to shoot the same space and also recounts the challenges of the film’s showstopping long take. 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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2025
“Feedback Screenings Are Essential to the Process”: Editor Kayla Emter on Oh, Hi!

Director Sophie Brooks’ Oh, Hi! takes place over one weekend as it tracks the disintegration and attempted reconciliation of Iris and Isaac’s relationship (played by Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman, respectively). The film will premiere as part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s Premieres section. Kayla Emter (Hustlers, Am I Ok?) served as the film’s editor. Below, she talks about the importance of staying true to the story and characters of the film and how she worked around a major continuity issue in a scene set to a beloved Bee Gees-penned classic. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2025
“We Prioritized Story Over Logistics”: Producer Grant Ellison on Sunfish

Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake) follows a group of characters as their paths begin to cross on Northern Michigan’s Green Lake. Besides being the debut feature of director Sierra Falconer, Sunfish is also Grant Ellison’s first credit as a producer. Below, Ellison talks about becoming a producer as someone whose day job is in policy research and how he was able to learn on the fly. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here. Filmmaker: How did you connect with this filmmaker and wind up producing the film? Ellison: Sierra and I are high school sweethearts. We […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2025
“Shooting Vérité Means Embracing the Coincidences”: DP Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo on Folktales

In the northern extremes of Norway, along the Russian border, is a folk high school that teaches teenagers self-reliance and survival. That school is the subject of Folktales, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, who also co-directed Jesus Camp and Endangered, among others, together. Most remarkable about Folktales is its remote location. Below, cinematographer Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo (Songs of Earth) discusses the challenges of working in the Arctic and walks us through the equipment that made shooting a film at temperatures significantly below freezing possible. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2025
“A Continuous Swing Between Memories and the Present.”: DP Clarissa Cappellani on Brides

In Brides, UK teenagers Doe and Muna (Ebada Hassan and Safiyya Ingar) take an ill-advised trip to Syria to escape the constant feeling of being othered that follows them at home. The film, the debut feature by Young Vic Theatre artistic director Nadia Fall, examines teenage girlhood through a distinct sociopolitical lens. The film was shot in three different locations, meaning the production had new crews every two weeks. Director of photography Clarissa Cappellani (Misericordia, Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams) discusses working through those challenges and the films and photographs that she and Fall used as references. See all responses to our […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 24, 2025
“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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 24, 2025
“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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 24, 2025

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