Leading up to NewFest 2007: The 19th NY LGBT Film Festival - May 31-June 10 - we'll be presenting a series of brief interviews with filmmakers from this year's festival. Grouped more or less by the date they will screen at NewFest, and featuring a cross-section of feature and short filmmakers working in narrative, documentary, experimental, and animation, we hope that these Q&As will give you a little insight into the people behind the films. Visit newfest.org for more information, including film descriptions, full program, schedule, and ticketing details.
FILM TITLE: The Godfather of Disco
DIRECTOR: Gene Graham
SCREENING: Friday, June 1 & Saturday, June 2
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Hey I’m Gene Graham. I’m an editor by day, cutting promotional material for a pharmaceutical ad agency. And I’m based in NYC.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
The ability to edit at home on a computer. I knew I wouldn’t be great out of the box, but in time & with practice I’d become a decent editor. G.O.D. is my 5th feature length movie and 1st documentary.
Please describe your film, The Godfather of Disco.
A story about a man who came along, had/has vision, gave the world great music and stood up to the forces of indifference.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
Sitting next to Mel Cheren as we watched his story flash before our eyes. He cried and thanked me. Has to be the best moment of my life so far.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Music, macs/technology, my boyfriend, Black and gay cultural impact upon the greater society, the 60s & 70s, Maurice Jamal
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Parting Glances
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
The Ski Trip
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
Grindhouse
FILM TITLE: Seahorses
DIRECTOR: Rahman Milani
SCREENING: Friday, June 1
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Rahman Milani, filmmaker, based in Berlin.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
Don't know what attracted me in the first place. Have always wanted to make films, ever since I was a boy. I suppose it's the need of expressing myself and finding something that could give a meaning to my life.
I've made five or six short films in Norway. Seahorses is my first feature film.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I've studied theatre and film at the college of fine arts in Oslo.
Please describe Seahorses.
A littel girl being treated differently because of her family situation, rebels against her gay fathers who seem to accept the treatment easily.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
That I actually managed to finish the film without going compeletly mad.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
I have just started casting for my next film. It's about a young woman and four different men and their impact in her life.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
Les passions de Jeanne d'Arc, Noriko-trilogy, l'eclisse. (oops! That's more than three..)
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Happy Together (not sure about the definition of LGBT here...)
The last DVD I watched was:
Marie Antoinette
FILM TITLE:The Curiosity of Chance
DIRECTOR: Russell P Marleau
SCREENING: Friday, June 1
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Russell P. Marleau, Screenwriter/Director, based in Los Angeles, CA.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I always enjoyed writing when I was in school, and loved film and television. I thought working in the film industry would be fun and serve my creative-streak. So I combined the two.
The Curiosity of Chance is the first feature film I've directed. But I've written others that were made and wrote/directed a few shorts.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
Yes, I have a BA in Film/Television from San Jose State University.
Please describe The Curiosity of Chance.
High school Sophomore Chance Marquis -- an already "out" and eccentric teenager -- recruits a bizarre circle of friends made up of two oddball outcasts, a straight jock he's crushing on, and a drag queen, to help him bring down the homophobic bully threatening his would-be peaceful, high-school existence.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
I wanted to write a story about a single year of a horrible high-school experience, but in a comedic way that would be relatable to a lot of people. The Curiosity of Chance is what came out.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
Taking a script and story that was originally set in the U.S. and transposing it to a European environment. And then just going over to Europe to shoot a low-budget teen comedy. It made every aspect of the process a little more difficult. And in some cases, a lot more difficult.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
The Silence of the Lambs, All About Eve, Tootsie
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Get Real stands out a lot for me. The emotions and actions of the main characters were really believable and relatable. It's a gem of a movie.
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
Blaze of Glory. That's a true 'turn-off-your-brain-for-90 minutes-and-have-fun' movie. I enjoyed it.
FILM TITLE:Blueprint
DIRECTOR: Kirk Shannon-Butts
SCREENING: Friday, June 1 & Saturday, June 2
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Kirk Shannon-Butts. When I am not making films I am a fashion editor for a popular women's magazine. I live uptown. Harlem, NYC.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
My mother was an avid reader. Growing up I did not watch a lot of television nor films. When I was around 15 and started going to the movies with friends it was kind of weird to sit in the dark for two hours with all of these people I did not know. Neverthless I liked three aspects of the movies - the costumes, the story and the way it looked (cinematography).
I have made four short films and Blueprint is my first feature length film.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I went to film school in Southern California.
Please describe Blueprint.
Blueprint is a film about two young college guys in NYC who are searching for a connection. It is the story of so many black guys today who are balancing race, politics, education, career, parents -- all with self awareness. It is homage to the oldest living black gay man and my friends.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
The biggest creative influences on me is fashion photography. I clipped tons of fashion shoots and models for all of the scenes in Blueprint to create looks and images for each segment of the film. I showed all of these images to Jarrod - our cinematographer.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
I have completed my next script, The Pain Session, a story about the relationship of a young black guy and a young arab guy living in NYC in the days following September 11th. They exchange ideas and philosophies about life, religion and the world which each want to live in and leave behind upon his death.
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
My Beautiful Laundrette - the way the director handles all of the things (class, race, politics, gender, sex) and make them relevant is truly impressive.
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
Pride - I want two of the stars of this film for my next film - Kevin Phillips and Nate Parker. Pride presents black men in the most beautiful way i have even seen in a Hollywood film. Gorgeous minds, bodies, skin, hair, dialect, legs, lips, arm - it would have been a huge hit if I had cut the trailer!!!
The last DVD I watched was:
Miss Ross in the newly released Mahogany. I said I love fashion/costume - and Miss Ross was the costume designer on Mahogany.
FILM TITLE: Waiting
PRODUCER/WRITER/ACTOR: Sam Mathewes
SCREENING: Friday, June 1 (precedes Seahorses)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Sam Mathewes, actor. I am based in Los Angeles
What initially attracted you to film? How many films have you made?
I always wanted to be an actor ever since I saw Star Wars. Waiting is the first film I have produced and written.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I went to Louisiana tech University, School of the Performing Arts.
Please describe Waiting.
The film is about a gay couple trying to adopt a child. It is a light-hearted comedy but with a message of tolerance.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
My partner of 9 years (Mike Clark - also the Production Manager) came up with the idea. The story is "loosely" based on the two of us.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
The finished product is the most satisfying part and all the hard work and dedication everyone put into the film.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Star Wars and The Beastmaster. I love swords and sorcery and Sci-Fi. I remember wanting to be Luke Skywalker and had a huge crush on Marc Singer!
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Priest was the first GLBT film I ever saw. I rented it knowing it was gay, but snuck it home past my mom.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
The Neverending Story
Mask (with Cher NOT Jim Carrey)
Clue
FILM TITLE: Float
DIRECTOR: Kareem J Mortimer
SCREENING: Friday, June 1 & Saturday, June 2 (precedes Blueprint)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
I am Kareem Mortimer a fulltime filmmaker from Nassau,Bahamas
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I grew up on a really small Island in the Bahamas and films opened up a world to me that I had previously not known. I was able to see films from all over the world and as I grew older I wanted to share my surroundings with the world. I have made four films.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I went to a small school named International Fine Arts College. I think now it has changed its name to Miami International University of Art and Design.
Please describe Float.
Float is the story of two Bahamian young men, one white and one black, growing together in a homophobic climate.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
It was a confluence of things - Rosie O'Donnell’s cruise line came into the Bahamas and there was this huge protest in Nassau. After that I was working on the island of Eleuthera and I was thinking that it would be cool to have a story where a native person leaves the city of Nassau during that time and escapes to Eleuthera. Then Brokeback Mountain was completely banned in my country and I was like... I have to tell this story.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief
description.
I have a documentary in post-production about a quadriplegic who sails to the southern Caribbean by himself, and I am also developing the feature version of Float. I am committed to telling stories that move me which crosses racial, sexual, and socio-economic boundaries.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Desperately Seeking Susan
My top three all-time favorite films are:
Ma Vie en Rose, Water Drops on Burning Rocks, The Color Purple
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
East Side Story
