“I think there were some ethics challenges inherent in the subject matter. How do I tell a story of addiction and recovery when I’m not an addict or person in recovery myself? What are the stigmas and stereotypes that only exploit or sensationalize, and how do I redirect the film towards something more specific and compassionate?”
Read More“I set out for a no "film bro" environment from the beginning. I was sick of questioning myself based on snarky comments from film bros on past sets. This being my first film as a director, I wanted to make sure I could trust my own instincts and that my collaborators could feel free to offer up their own. And it worked!”
Read More“The biggest challenge was filling a car with water. We didn’t have a budget so we needed to find a car that would look visually pleasing, cost next to nothing and fit the technical requirements. My production designer and stunt coordinator worked tirelessly and finally they found one. The car was taken apart, made as waterproof as possible and then put together again.”
Read More“I want to build a little world in them. The creators I like the most make stuff that pulls me out of the real world, that has some line in the sand like "okay we're here and there's new rules". 2064 feels like the closest thing I'm capable of doing that with right now.”
Read More“Growing up, I had always been obsessed with film, but didn’t know any filmmakers and it didn’t seem like a “real” career. My original life plan was to be a doctor. Exposure to other film obsessed classmates and a large film library broadened my understanding of film beyond Hollywood to Independent and International cinema. It also showed me the myriad of pathways to becoming an artist.”
Read More“Personally, I feel the best way to get into an artist is by seeing them live. By seeing an artist perform, it feels more personal. I hope that this film captures some of the magic I initially felt when seeing Juan perform for the first time, and I hope it's a way for people to get into his music.”
Read More“Especially with unscripted stuff I make, I have a period where I get self conscious about filming people, and don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. This results In me feeling guilty about missing out on capturing good moments, and there is a very unproductive internal back-and-forth that goes on for a bit. But usually I find a groove.”
Read More“We recently purchased a handycam, and have been making little guerilla style, no-frills films. I’ve been reminded of the freedom I had making work as a child. Letting the imagination play out of boredom. Shooting random moments and not caring whether they serve the greater narrative. If we don’t have the luxury or means of a sound person, a DP, or AC, what can we make?”
Read More“She was bandaged up cosmetic post-surgery style, but you could tell she had that Hollywood look. This is a look that is uncommon in that area. Ashcroft itself is worthy of a film, so the story that we made up while sitting in that greek restaurant about this bandaged celebrity coming through a little desert town seemed like a nice way to just start filming.”
Read More“Anyway, my grandfather and I looked at each other, a little incensed. We couldn't tell if this was genius or dumb as hell. I shook my head to say "hmm, what do we feel here?" and he did the same. I didn't understand what the joke in the movie was getting at -- but it was funny anyway. Maybe that was the first time I shared a cheeky laugh with an adult. Like, "ain't life weird?" kinda thing.”
Something unlocked in me at that moment.
Read More“After the 2015 San Bernardino shooting, my old employer sent an all-staff email containing preparatory videos and educational films designed to help office workers survive a mass shooting. The videos were horrifying and totally seductive. I totally empathized with the “better safe than sorry” mentality, especially when the “sorry” part meant literally dead.”
Read More“I grew up on a farm, and Gossamer stemmed from a few different experiences during that time. It was noticing the creeping suburbs eating up the empty cornfields behind our property. Then it was the question of whether my siblings and I would volunteer to possibly keep the farm going. I thought that question, injected with a steady level of paranoia, could make for an interesting film.”
Read More“I was fascinated with the fact that villains in horror movies are often represented as some far away man in the woods, but the threats that I find most unsettling are the ones that are close to home. This isn’t a horror, it's about creating a language for the grey areas, the everyday threats to safety that women have to navigate in their lives.”
Read More“A friend of mine loaned me an iPad which I always wanted to try animating on. It's a game changer, so I knew I wanted to make a project on it. My mom is always leaving me entertaining voicemails and this one just felt particularly visual, so it seemed like a good fit.”
Read More“I have been obsessed with movies for as long as I can remember. I made my first short when I was 17 and haven't stopped since. I spent a year at the University of AZ then dropped out and went through a technical film program at Scottsdale Community College where they put a 16mm camera in your hands and just had you shoot films.”
Read More“I started thinking how this could become an essay about global warming, or about how the fish aren't the real point... then I didn't think that I could even pull that off, so I kind of scrapped it entirely. But hey, quarantine got me revisiting it and it struck me that, unbeknownst to us, this might be the last time we get together in a cabin for quite a while.”
Read More“The initial idea of being a fish out of water trying to find a can of paint came from Dre, and we developed it from there. Dre is half-Japanese, though multi-generationally American. And I am half-Indian, first-gen, on my father’s side. We wanted to make something about a particular feeling of other-ness we both share in being a mixed-race American visiting our "other" motherland.”
Read More“When I looked at the people around me and inwardly, there was so much self-pity going around so that felt like a good starting point. I met up with DeMorge, who I've worked with many times before but never this intimately, and we just chatted a bunch about self-pity. I can't remember when I landed on the ear infection part of it but it came from us wanting to give the character real pain.
Read More“After a brief stint in L.A., I luckily moved back to the city a few weeks before the lockdown began. I had no furniture, I was totally alone and I had nothing to do. “wormgirl” came out of my diminished existence: I felt like a worm, inching from one random solitary activity to the next.”
Read MoreWe found ourselves with three weeks of mandatory quarantine with no filmmaking prospects on the horizon, and we were feeling the same uncertainty, paranoia, and hopelessness shared by so many. We decided, in part for the sake of our own mental health, to shoot a film with just the two of us and whatever resources we could muster.”
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