FilmClick

The Big Apple Film Festival will be held in NYC at the Tribeca Cinemas from November 19-22. This annual festival showcases independent films made by individuals residing and/or working in the metropolitan area of New York.  BAFF, which was named “one of MovieMaker Magazine’s top 25 film festivals worth the entry fee,” will screen 90 films of various genres (narrative, documentary, animation, experimental) and lengths (features and shorts).  Here are a few highlights:

Wednesday, November 19th 7:30 PM: Tribeca Cinemas, Theater 2

The Living Wake

Directed by Sol Tryon (2007)

This bleak comedy follows K. Roth Binew, a self-proclaimed artist and genius, on his final day of existence.  Discovering that he has a fatal disease, K. Roth Binew sets off to uncover life’s baffling mysteries.  Enlisting his best friend, Mills Joquin, an unrecognized poet, as his biographer, K. Roth records his final hours of living.

Thursday, November 20th 6:00 PM: Tribeca Cinemas, Theater 2

The River of Copsa Mica

Directed by Ryan Uzilevsky (2008)

A period piece set in 1916, Transylvania.  A runaway boy steps into the mystifying world of a tribe of Gypsies.

Thursday, November 20th 6:30 PM: Tribeca Cinemas, Theater 1

One Step Behind

Directed by Gregoire Jeudy (2008)

Unsuccessful writer, Josh Person, has once again failed to get his latest novel published.  Desperate for a good story, he observes people in Central Park in hopes of finding interesting material for his next book.

Saturday, November 22nd 8:15 PM: Tribeca Cinemas, Theater 2

The Project

Directed by Ryan Piotrowicz (2008)

The Project is a self-reflexive film focusing on three aspiring filmmakers that set out to document NYC’s inner-city struggles and confrontations.  As the film progresses, the filmmakers are confronted by several events that complicate the project’s original objectives.  No longer detached voyeurs, the filmmakers develop into active participants within this underground world of violence.

For more information on the Big Apple Film Festival, visit: 

http://www.bigapplefilmfestival.com/index.html 

By Nikki Zhang, FilmClick staff

nzhang@filmclick.com

“Veronica Always”, is a story of longing.  One character has a dream, the other has a memory.  Together, the possibilities are endless.  This is a magical little film that is touching and inspiring.

 What led you to make this film?

This year I decided to make four shorts.  This is the second in my tetralogy.  Anyhow, after visiting my terminally ill uncle in rural Texas I came upon this idea.  A senior in his twilight years, missing his wife, and a young woman with a dream to be a dancer on the broadway stage.

What were some of the greatest challenges you faced in making this film?

Finding the lead female, Laura.  She needed to be able to dance ballet and act.  It took a long time to find a wonderful dancer.  Fallon D’elisiowas perfect.

What do you hope an audience gets from your film?

I hope they enjoy the film.  I am told that it is touching, moving, andinspiring.  What I get out of the film does not need to be what the viewergets.  I hope they find something in it that resonates.

What do you get from your film?

I get a special feeling of remembering my Uncle Gene, remembering the great experience of shooting the film, and inspiration to be the best that I can be.

Nic Beery

Tell me about your Director of Photography and what they added to the film.

Todd Tinkham, another filmmaker, shot this film.  Todd brings a wealth of experience and ideas to everything he works on.  This year, I have shot his shorts and he has shot mine.  We make a good team.

What format (film, video, hi-def) and camera did you use and why did you choose the format and camera?  If you had a choice, would you use that camera again?

We shot on the Sony EX-1.  Shot in HD.  I would use it again.  Light weight, great image, easy to use the footage in Final Cut.

What other festivals is your film appearing in?

“Veronica Always” is being well received.  It has been in the Revolve Film and Music Festival, Deep Fried Film Festival, and a few others.

Veronica Always

What was your goal when you decided to make the film?

I wanted to tell a good story and to try some new things, such as dolly shots, fog, night shots, shoot a dance sequence.

How much did it cost to make the film?

I spent about 500 bucks making this film.  It feels like I’m spending morethan that in submission fees.

What are you working on now, or next?

I am presently writing three more shorts, Judy Meatbahl, Frame, and Reel Hypnosis.

What are your three favorite films?

Buster Keaton’s “The General”, “spring, summer, fall, winter, spring”, and “Meatballs”.

Many of our users are just starting out; what advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers?

Just go for it.  Remove any obstacles you have to making that first short. Yes, it costs a few bucks for food, gas, etc.  But you can buy a consumer HD camera at Best Buy for 400 bucks nowadays.  Make a short.  If it is no good, make another.  Keep doing it.  Most of the obstacles are mental.  You can do it.

Have you placed your films online and do you think it’s a good outlet for young filmmakers to get exposure?

Yes.  I think just getting your film out there is healthy.  Once I complete a film, it is not mine anymore.  I love constructive criticism.  It is how Iget better.

You can preview my short here:

http://www.vimeo.com/1668617

Did you go to film school?  If yes, where and what did you think of the experience?

Yes, I went to NYU for film.  I got a lot out of it.  But now I am getting more out of making films with my group of tech and acting friends.

What are some other films you have made?

I have made several shorts, narratives, and docs.  My doc on the musical act “the mad tea party” has been embraced on YouTube.  My other titles include “NightLife”, “Borderline Bonfire”, “Ted’s 12″, “Boy with the wet thumb”, and “I love my girlfriend”.

Which filmmakers have most influenced your work?

Buster Keaton, Spielberg, my friends who I make films with, Todd Tinkham, Ajit Anthony Prem.

What’s your motto?

Use your resources.

Veronica Always screens at the 2008 Secret City Film Festival on Thursday, October 9th in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

For more info on the Secret City Film Festival, visit:

http://www.secretcityfilmfestival.com/index.htm

For more info on Nic Beery, visit:

http://beerymedia.com/Site/Welcome.html

People will say to me “so you and your wife are the ones who made that Abraham Lincoln film.” I have to kindly say no and explain that it is not a film about Abraham Lincoln. It’s a film about the over 160 men in 38 states across America who eat, sleep and breathe our 16th President. If you see our film expecting a history lesson, you’ll be disappointed. In the film, we follow Lincoln Presenter (don’t EVER call them impersonators!) John Mansfield as he competes in his first ever “Lincoln Look-alike” contest in Hodgenville, Kentucky, the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. All his life, people tell John he looks like Lincoln, and now he wants to see if he can “be” Lincoln. With the help of veteran Lincoln Presenter Dennis Boggs, John finally has his big day. Will he win? I’m not going to tell you! See the movie!

Why should people see it?
First and foremost, folks should see our film, BEING LINCOLN–MEN WITH HATS because it’s entertaining. There’s a lot of serious stuff going on in the world and a lot of serious films are addressing those issues. But I truly believe that people need to come up for a breathe of air from time to time and just enjoy themselves. In my opinion, documentaries have an understood predisposition of being only about social issues, and that’s good, but if the medium and audience is to grow for the genre, festivals need to be more accepting of the lighter fare of some documentaries. Thank goodness for Secret City!

What led you to make this film?
My wife and Executive Producer Victoria Radford, is not only beautiful, but she is also brilliant. She wrote a book called “Meeting Mr. Lincoln” published out of Chicago by Ivan R. Dee. It is a collection of first hand accounts of people great and small who actually met Lincoln. In about 2005, TIME magazine wrote an article about the opening of the Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois along with pictures of all these kooky Lincolns who came out for the opening ceremonies. She handed the magazine to me and said, “Honey, this would make a great story”. I had written and directed two short films, and being in Nashville and working in advertising, I’ve shot my share of commercials and music videos, but I really wanted to make a feature. A documentary was a great way to break into features where we could have more control. A good story is a good story, right? Having written a feature script, I wanted the film to have a tight story and structure with a beginning, a middle and an end. We jump in and never looked back.

What were some of the greatest challenges you faced in making this film?
-The greatest challenge in making the film was getting people to participate. We hashed out dozen of story lines. I even considered myself as becoming a Lincoln! Vicki had nothing to do with that.
-Money was a big factor. We have two children, jobs and a mortgage and we didn’t want to put a strain on the family finances, but we wanted to own our film. The next film I make will have to be for someone else, or my kid will have to get job to buy his milk money (for the social services folks reading this, that was a joke).
-Also, our shooting ratio was about 10:1, so we shoot a truckload of stuff. I could probably make a mini-series out of the out-takes. I traveled and shoot every scene myself and I wished we had the money for a sound crew, so I think the sound could have been much better. I minored in photography, so if I had the time to light a scene, I would, but that was rare. More hands would have made my life much easier. Vicki couldn’t travel with me as much, because of our children, but she structured the interviews and came up with most of the questions. She a real substance person, so I think that’s why we got a lot of good interview footage.

What do you hope an audience gets from your film?
I’m an open book. You can ask me just about anything. So, I’ll tell you this, I had a crummy childhood. When I was young, I would lose myself into a good movie when some really ugly stuff was going on in my life or family. If I entertain people, possibly move them in some way, or just help them kick back a little, that would be my mission. The real world happens off-screen, so the film experience needs to be an outlet for my audience.

What do you get from your film?
I love the idea of people taking time out of their lives to participate in something that came out of my head. That is extremely gratifying.

Tell me about your Director of Photography and what they added to the film.
I was the DP on my film because of budget, but I don’t think I entirely blew it. Even though my film was a documentary, I tried extremely hard to block and light the shots if time permitted. I was always looking for b-roll footage and I shot a lot of time-lapse. I thought the juxtaposition of the rabid camera work when I was following the Lincolns cut to the interviews and time-lapse sequences gives the film an interesting visual rhythm and helps pace the action against the dialog.

What format (film, video, hi-def) and camera did you use and why did you choose the format and camera?  If you had a choice, would you use that camera again?
I do wish I had a full-blown HD rig and was able to shoot entirely in progressive frame instead of HDV. My Sony FX-1 (and a rental Sony ZU-1) was awesome, but the extra frame information would have been nice, especially in the blacks and shadow. Lincolns wear a lot of black!!!

What other festivals is your film appearing in?
We have been in a total of three fests so far and counting. A highlight for us was being chosen to be the opening night film at the Derby City Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. That is just 50 minutes north of where Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky. We got a letter from the Governor! Sweet.

What was your goal when you decided to make the film?
We wanted to make a feature. We wanted to make it about something we know and love. We wanted to have fun making it since it was going to be a three to four year commitment.

How much did it cost to make the film?
I haven’t totaled it up yet. I have two 3-inch binders at home with all my paperwork and receipts in it, but I would guess we spent about $25K.

What are you working on now, or next?
I wrote a feature script called “Time of Death” that did really well in several screenwriting competitions. It’s a forensic thriller in my 7th draft (yes, 7 drafts) and I’m going to start shopping that around for representation. After that, I have a good 10 pages and extensive notes on a romantic-comedy that I’m dying to finish about the wonderful world of bowling.

What are your three favorite films?
That’s an unfair question, dammit! But, I’ll try…
Comedy: Raising Arizona
Documentary: American Movie
Horror: The Changling (That ball bouncing down the stairs still freaks me out!)
Drama: The River’s Edge
Sorry, that’s four. There are so many.

Many of our users are just starting out; what advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers?
Read Robert Rodriguez’s “Rebel Without A Crew” and go shoot something! Even if it turns out crappy, shoot something. Unfortunately, with filmmaking there is a huge learning curve with the “craft” of the profession. The sooner you get past the technical stumbling blocks, the sooner you get to hone in on your content and substance. Turn your computer off and go shoot something, now! Ultimately, you must have a good story. So read a lot, and write more.

Have you placed your films online and do you think it’s a good outlet for young filmmakers to get exposure?
I think the eventual medium/media for everything will be online. However, I am waiting to even consider that until legislation is honed more on the issues of compensation of creative works online. But, I am definitely excited about the prospect of reaching international and possibly galactic audiences in cyberspace.

Did you go to film school?  If yes, where and what did you think of the experience?
No film school for me. The year I went from Jr. College to a four-year school, they killed the film program. I was poor and I was going to school on a United Way Scholarship, so I couldn’t go to a specialized film school. But, like Kevin Smith, I’ve watch a lot of films! And I mean a LOT of films.

What are some other films you have made?
I have made two narrative short films.
-PREMONITION. A man gets a premonition about his own death through prints made by an old Polaroid camera (I wrote this before I read the Stephen King short story “The Sun Dog”). Shot on Mini-DV.
-THE VISITOR is about a young man in college who pays his last visit to his dying Grandmother. She has a dark secret she wants to tell him because he is here favorite. I shot this movie completely on film which was extremely expensive, but what an education I got doing it!

Which filmmakers have most influenced your work?
The Coen Brothers, Michael Mann,  Katherine Bigelow, Michael Moore, Takashi Mike, so many. I think Buster Keaton was a genius.

What’s you motto?
Nothing is cheap or easy. But most likely, nothing cheap or easy is worth doing.

FilmClickers,

I wanted to confirm after midnight before declaring that our voting issues have been resolved.  Thanks for your patience.

Best,

Christopher Potter
Project Manager
FilmClick.com