1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?

I’m from New Jersey, grew up during the time of VHS-C cameras, and my friends and I were always making little movies to pull ourselves out of suburban ennui. Once I picked up the camera I never really put it down again. I made a tacky horror short that actually got my family to jump out of their seats (though I think it was more the soundtracks I was pulling than anything I was doing). The excitement of being able to manipulate their emotions encouraged me to keep at it.

2) What’s the backstory here - what was the initial idea and how did it evolve from there?

I wanted to tell the story of my wife the dog whisperer. And create a characterization in an untraditional way, that would allow me to be showy with an edit. I was also working through a lot of anxieties at the time (who isn’t), and someone turned me onto Andy Puddicombe and the Headspace App. I thought it’d be funny to juxtapose his soothing voice with anxiety ridden thought cycles or imagery.

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And generally what part of the creative process do you enjoy the most?

Starting the edit was the definitely the biggest challenge. Nothing worse than starting an edit. Watching dailies your constantly like, “didn’t get it in this take, hope the next one works.”

My wife and I had just moved to L.A. and our pool of resources was pretty small. We cast ourselves and to our surprise a couple friends we’d made wanted to help. Filming was the most fun and I think it shows. My wife was getting really pissed at me while shooting, saying I was being obnoxious and I’d just tell her I was trying to stay in character as her husband.  The writing was fun too.

 4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?

Taipei Story was one I’d never seen before, and it was incredible. It had the quality of reading a novel opposed to watching a movie. The way it was photographed was amazing. It’s also always refreshing to see a film that doesn’t feel the need to explain every last detail to the viewer. My wife (Mallory) and I kept arguing the whole time, trying to figure out the main relationship in the story, whether they were ex-lovers on the mend, or brother and sister.

5) What’s next for you?

The government's been paying me to finish up my second feature screenplay. And I’m directing my first remote shoot this week, so that should be interesting.

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http://www.alexmarkman.com/

IG: @alexmarkman