With “Still Moves” and “The Land of XYZ,” director Daniel Freeman introduces us to the Experimental Institute of Eastern Californiart, which aims to put the creative spotlight on an oft-overlooked section of the great state of California. We asked Freeman how the projects began, the percentage of real vs fiction, and what comes next for the Institute…

1) Can you talk a little bit about your background and how you got interested in movies?

I used to write scripts alone when I was 19/20, but none of them were very good and I ended up taking a government desk job right out of college. The pay and benefits were great, but I would go home crying some days of boredom and stress.

I then bought a synthesizer and started recording a ton of experimental music as a way to feel better and have more in control of my life. 

This return to creativity resulted in a renewed interest in filmmaking as I figured the medium would be a strong platform for all of my music.

2) What about these two projects? Were they connected initially? What was the spark with both of them?

Still Moves was a passion project of mine for about 2 years. I wrote it and based the main character on myself with the intention of acting and hiring a cinematographer. I offered around 10 people I knew from college the cinematographer position, but nobody wanted to. I was then lucky enough to meet Drew (Edison) while we both drove trucks and did manual labor production for Sundance Film Festival. We really hit it off and to my surprise he agreed to be in the film. After that, it all just kinda worked out naturally and the film exceeded both of our expectations. After we got some run at a few art film festivals, we were both hungry to keep working together and continue creating like-minded films.

The Land of XYZ was much more loose and unplanned. I had just finished a truck-driving contract and hadn't filmed anything new in a few months. I was feeling sort of manic and needed to shoot something (anything) ASAP. So when my friend Brandon was rolling through my town with his van, I convinced him to take me with him on a 4-day detour in order to make an improvised road trip film.

3) In your director statement for “Still Moves,” you say the film is 90% fiction / 10% real. Can you elaborate? It’s kind of a funny to classify it like that because to me, it all feels real. It’s the rare film that I would like equally as much if it was real or a kind of parody.

We like to call our approach "docufiction". We shoot all of our stuff in order and try to rely on improvisation, method-acting, and spontaneity as much as possible. While a lot of the trip is planned or semi-scripted, we try to experience the exact journey as it is shown on screen. I suppose the 10% real part is due to the natural result that comes with our verite style, but a lot of the reality is based on my very real dream to actually start The Experimental Institute of Eastern Californiart. I figured we should just make films about the institute until people acknowledge it as a real entity.

It's our goal to have people intake our work as 100% real and we try to distance ourselves from the "mockumentary" classification. We don't want to deceive the audience, but certainly want folks to believe that our subject is a relatable and real person.

4) There’s this great, free-flowing, unhurried spirit in both films, particularly “The Land of XYZ” where it seems just as much like a travelogue than a film. Was it planned out at all, or was it all just going where the breeze took ya?

I created a general route by researching 7 or 8 roadside attractions before we hit the road. But the project was very much driven by unplanned moments and zero expectations.  If we show up somewhere and nobody interesting is around, I would just shoot the environment. If someone wanted to talk to us, we'd chat and have a little interview. Whatever happens, happens, and I knew I could tell a story about place if no legitimate subjects presented themselves.

5) I love the mission and imagery of The Experimental Institute of Eastern Californiart. How’s it going? New projects in the works? Any headway on the Western Nevada expansion initiative, or in Mozambique?  

To me, the Experimental Institute has always been real and very serious, but I'm aware that others will think it's sort of silly. The name is ridiculous and I'm just some random guy with very few traditional connections in the art world.

I just figured that I should make films about the institute as a way to make it REAL. It seems to be working and we're excited about completing more and more projects.

Drew and I are in production on our first feature (Teddy, Out of Tune) and are still shooting in the same docufiction style. 

Going from shorts to  feature is a big jump, especially with a microbudget, but we are more stoked than ever and very grateful to be doing what we love.

Contact Info:

Email: danieljensenfreeman@gmail.com

IG: @dfree_ombk