Presenting the 6th part of our continuing series of short interviews with feature and short filmmakers from the upcoming NewFest 2007: The 19th NY LGBT Film Festival - May 31-June 10. Visit newfest.org for more information, including full program, schedule, and ticketing details.
FILM TITLE: Pink Shirt
DIRECTOR: Patrick McGuinn
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 (in shorts program: His Dark Materials)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Patrick McGuinn, NYC, Post Production
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
Super-8mm filmmaking as a child // 3 features, 20 shorts
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
NYU Film School
Please describe your film.
A young man has a summer daydream.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
Getting the actor comfortable with partial nudity.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Kenneth Anger, Russ Meyer, Radley Metzger, Guy Maddin
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Pink Narcissus
My top three all-time favorite films are:
The Wizard of Oz (1939), Pinocchio (1941), Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)
The last DVD I watched was:
A Bigger Splash (1974)
FILM TITLE: Right By Me
DIRECTOR: Thanyatorn Siwanukrow
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 & Monday, June 4
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Thanyatorn Siwanukrow. My nickname is "Fun," aged 26. I work as an independent photographer, based in Bangkok.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
Filmmaking is about people's lives. I love to explore their real selves and imagine what's it like if they turn this or that way. I made two short films - one is about my autistic younger brother and his alluring imagination about the world.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I went to King Mongkul Institute of Technology, where I majored in film and photography.
Please describe Right By Me
Love, understanding, and acceptance of who you are and how you relate to others. Gay people should not hide, but live a full life.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
People love it and they care more about their lives. On top of that, I proved myself that as a woman, I could make it in a male-dominated Thai movie industry. In my previous film, I asked my female lead characters to kiss, they refused to do it. But in this film, I got two boys kissing on screen. I was happy.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Wong Kar-Wai, George A Romero, Sofia Coppola
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Return of the Living Dead. As a child I was afraid of ghosts, but now I think I could make friends with them.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Longtime Companion
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Boys Don't Cry
FILM TITLE: Evangeleo
DIRECTOR: Brandon Harris
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 & Monday, June 4 (in shorts program: Twisted Love)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Brandon Harris. Im a Brooklyn based filmmaker and writer.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I've been obsessed with cinema since high school. The combination of various disciplines into a unique and far reaching artform made film speak to me. I've written and directed two shorts, and produced half a
dozen others. Evangeleo is my newest concoction.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I'm a graduate of SUNY Purchase's Conservatory of Theatre Arts and Film.
Please describe Evangeleo.
It's about a girl who, overshadowed by her celebrity parents, begins to suspect her boyfriend is hiding his bisexuality from her, only to discover the nature of his secrets are much more deadly.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Jean Luc Godard, Don DeLillo, Michaelangelo Antonioni, Olivier Assayas, Bill Gunn
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
I'm trying to raise financing for an ensemble drama about the aftermath of the Cincinnati race riots in 2001. I'm planning on shooting in August. If you have $40,000 and want to make an ultra low budget film that matters, let me know :)
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
I think it must be Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Back to the Future or The Land Before Time.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
Changes weekly.
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Far From Heaven
FILM TITLE: A Dirndl, A Poodle, A Trauma
DIRECTORS: Kerstin Honeit & Emma Cattell
SCREENING:Sunday, June 3 & Sunday, June 10 (in shorts program: Women on the Verge)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Hello, we are Kerstin Honeit & Emma Cattell. Kerstin is a fine artist, working in film, performance and installation and is a native Berliner. Emma is a theatre designer and comes from London, UK. We are both based mainly in Berlin, Germany. A constantly changing and thrilling city. You should visit.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
Film is something that we’ve all grown up with and are surrounded by, it’s impossible not to be attracted by it. Coming from a theatre background (Emma), film seems to be the best way to communicate, move, astonish, or provoke. It can be political, funny, scary, entertaining, or, if you’re lucky, everything at once, and editing is one of the best parts of the process. Coming from a fine art discipline (Kerstin) the control and independence of making film is really attractive! We’ve made 4 finished and shown short films and many film ‘sketches.’
Please describe your film.
A Dirndl, A Poodle, A Trauma is an 11 minute short, based on an event from Kerstin’s childhood which was filmed with a Super8 camera and shown over and over again within the family as she was growing up. The film is a funny revenge story, with the perfect lesbian ending.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
Too many beers at the gay bar.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
Revenge.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Some Like it Hot
My top three all-time favorite films are:
Mädchen in Uniform, Being John Malkovich, Gegen die Wand.
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
Brothers of the Head
FILM TITLE: Old Maid
DIRECTOR: Jim Zulevic (Jim is deceased. We miss his presence very much.)
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 & Sunday, June 10 (in shorts program: Women on the Verge)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Hi, I'm John Bonny. I am an actor/producer with GayCo Productions. I am originally from Chicago but I am currently based in Los Angeles to further develop GayCo's opportunities for film.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
GayCo Productions is a gay and lesbian sketch comedy ensemble which focuses on comedic GBLT content. We currently have written and produced 3 films. Our content was originally created for the stage, but it made sense to me that it would work well in film as well. We wanted to reach a broader audience.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
No. Actually all of us met at The famous Second City, where we learned to improvise and write. We formed GayCo Productions with the assistance of The Second City.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
Ensemble memeber Marybeth Burns wrote it based on her personal life experiences. GayCo was performing on tour in Provincetown and one night we stayed home and played Old Maid with her and it was a terrifyingly funny evening. She was fiercly imtimidating. I almost hyperventilated. Seriously. She wrote the scene based on that night and her life.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
Translating what works with timing and comedy from stage to film. And finding the money to produce it of course.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
A lot of comedic actors who have come out of the Second City. Broadway theater and musicals. Stephen Sondheim, Kander and Ebb. Film: Cohen Brothers, Frank Capra.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
The Great Gatsby
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
The Wizard of Oz. (just kidding) Maurice
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Hedwig
FILM TITLE: Secrets
DIRECTOR: Jeff Warden
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 & Monday, June 4 (in shorts program: Schoolboys)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name Jeff Warden, I’m a 25 year-old Los Angeles based graduate student pursuing a MFA in Directing at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film & TV.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
My passion for filmmaking was initially spurred in high school and really solidified in college when I traveled to some of the world’s poorest countries. I used filmmaking to document what I was experiencing so I could share it with friends and family. I’ve done a handful of short docs and Secrets is my first narrative film.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I am currently in film school at UCLA. I intend to shoot my thesis film, JACK’n’JILL (a short about a 16 year-old brother and sister who sneak off to Las Vegas so Jill can meet the girl with whom she’s been having an online relationship with) in the fall in Las Vegas and LA. I will then graduate in June 2008.
Please describe your film.
Secrets is about the pressures we feel from society to conform and be “normal.” I wanted to explore how those dynamics play out especially when we are teenagers. I wanted to make a film about a subject we are taught is evil and meant to be kept in a dark corner and shed some light on it -- to really highlight the fact that we all have aspects of our lives that we are uncomfortable with... our secrets, but that is who we are.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
The idea came from a something called The Choking Game, where juveniles choke themselves or each other to induce a sort of euphoria. I thought the premise of the game and discomfort for one’s own sexuality would be an interesting metaphor and thematic element; in a sense making the statement that by rejecting yourself you’re choking yourself and I even use water to sort of elicit the sense of drowning.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Films that deal with father/son relationships really speak to me. Especially Life as a House, In the Bedroom, and Monster’s Ball. I’ve always dreamed of a relationship with my father so I hope someday I’m able to make a film as powerful, one that someone really connects and relates to.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
The show, Queer as Folk
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Mysterious Skin
The last DVD I watched was:
Hell House (a doc about a church in Texas that uses a haunted house to scare people into finding God)
FILM TITLE: What's Up With Adam?
DIRECTOR: Babak Anvari
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 & Monday, June 4 (in shorts program: Schoolboys)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Babak Anvari, filmmaker, London
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
What attracted me to filmmaking was the idea of telling a good story through images. As a child I was very inspired by comic books, especially TinTin series, and from that early age I realized that's what I want to do; I want to create stories and narrate them with the help of interesting images. Later on I got more attracted to the moving picture and eventually filmmaking became my one and only passion. I have made 7 short films so far as a director.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I studied Film and Television production at the University of Westminster in London.
Please describe your film.
The journey of a young man starting university who through several trials and tribulations overcomes his personal insecurities on his way to getting what he wants in his life and achieving self discovery.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
The biggest challenge was confronting the subject matter as a straight male filmmaker and trying to adapt a script which dealt with the important issue of coming out for a young gay male, and to approach it in a manner in which it would not be misrepresented.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
The list is long, and I'm not sure if I can do justice by only naming a few. I have a variety of favorite artists, filmmakers, writers, musicians, etc, that have always influenced and inspired me through out my life. Some examples are: Steven Spielberg, Krzystof Kieslowski, Tim Burton, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, Darren Arrenofsky, Mark Romanek, Edward Hopper, Gottfried Helmwein, Ian Saudek, Nine Inch Nails, The Arcade Fire, Prodigy, Salvador Dali, Abbas Kiarostami...
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Teorema by Pierre Paolo Pasolini
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
Zodiac by David Fincher
The last DVD I watched was:
Oz season one
FILM TITLE: Look Sharp
DIRECTOR: Amy Gebhardt
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 & Saturday, June 9 (in shorts program: Best Mates)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Amy Gebhardt, writer/director/cinematographer, Sydney based.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
Spanish and Italian cinema initially attracted me to making films. I loved the stirring of the unconscious that filmmakers such as Fellini, Argento, and Antonioni achieved in their work and the political perversion of Bunuel. I've made 6 short dramas and 2 documentaries.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I studied law and arts majoring in film at Flinders Uni in South Australia and recently completed a Masters in Directing at Australian Film Television and Radio School.
Please describe your film.
After spending a drunken night together, Jo, a photographer, is compelled to capture the emotional truth beneath the rough exteriors of sharpie gang members, Darren and Jason. But to what lengths will she go in the name of art?
Where did the idea for your film come from?
I have long been inspired by the art and lives of various female photographers including Nan Goldin, Diane Arbus, and Carol Jerrems, who all developed very intimate relationships with the people they photographed, even putting themselves at personal risk for their work. I am also fascinated by what lies beneath the violent subculture of Melbourne's "Sharpies", whose favourite pastime was gay bashing in steel capped boots.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
Sustaining the energy within one scene, in one physical and temporal space. To ask the audience to feel compassion for a seemingly hateful character.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Watership Down
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
The Hunger
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Fassbinder's Querelle
FILM TITLE: Untitled/The Trees
DIRECTOR: Alex Goddard
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 & Saturday, June 9 (in shorts program: Best Mates)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Alex Goddard and I am a filmmaker from Sydney, Australia. As well as making films I currently direct an online lifestyle program for a magazine called Oyster and run my own production company, The Garden.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I’ve made three narrative shorts and dozens of experimental/fashion films. There was no moment I can remember where I was initially attracted to making films. It’s always been there for me, I was making videos with my dad’s camera as long as I can remember.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
Yes. I studied at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS).
Please describe your film.
While three high school students perform a school play, a more truthful reenactment of it is played out in a motel room.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
It’s like when someone lies and you know that they have yet you don’t say anything because it’s awkward. In a way that’s where the film came from because you are hearing something yet being given the opportunity to see the truth.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
The school. They are very strict on logistics, budgets, and procedures and not too keen on risk where I think some the best stuff can come from.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Labyrinth!
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Safe by Todd Haynes. I liked how he used metaphors for AIDS rather than being so blunt with it as so many other films were doing at the time.
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
The History Boys. How I wish I could have those two hours back.
FILM TITLE: Pariah
DIRECTOR: Dee Rees
SCREENING: Monday, June 4 & Saturday, June 9 (in shorts program: I Kissed a Girl)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Dee Rees, and I’m a recent graduate of NYU and am currently based in San Francisco (will be moving to Los Angeles this summer).
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
My interest in writing is what initially attracted me to filmmaking. I’ve always loved to write, and so it was the prospect of being able to actually bring my stories to life that got me to thinking about filmmaking as a career. I’ve made four shorts, and am working on my first two features.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
Yep, I just graduated from New York University’s graduate film program two weeks ago. I can’t believe how time flies!
Please describe your film.
Pariah is a coming-of-age story about a lesbian teenager who juggles different identities to please her friends and family. She finally comes to realize that she’s neither of the personas that she’s pretending to be and finds the courage to be herself.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
The creative influences that have had the biggest impact on me both personally and as a storyteller are the works of Alice Walker and Audre Lorde. I grew up on a steady diet of womanist literature and biographies, and it was the stories that these women told that helped me to be comfortable in my own skin and inspired me to pursue my love of writing.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
Yes, I’m currently working on a feature documentary film called Eventual Salvation which chronicles the home-going journey of my 80-year old grandmother to rebuild her home and community in Monrovia, Liberia after having barely escaped with her life almost a decade ago during the civil war.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
The Women of Brewster Place (the “Theresa” and “Lorraine” characters)
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
A newly restored 35MM print of Killer of Sheep directed by Charles Burnett — it’s AMAZING!!!!
The last DVD I watched was:
Blood Simple
FILM TITLE: The Naked-Boy Business, part 1
DIRECTOR: Andre Hereford
SCREENING: Monday, June 4 (screening before The Parricide Sessions)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
I'm Andre Hereford, a writer/director and producer who runs a production company in NYC with my bf/partner Riccardo Costa.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I wrote my first story at 9, a gory murder-mystery that freaked out my mother, but won the respect of my teacher and classmates. I've needed to write ever since and came to filmmaking as a young man whose parents shared their love of watching movies with me from an even earlier age. I've directed four shorts (including Naked Boy), produced or co-produced three others, and worked in development and production for Spike Lee on 10 features.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
Graduated from NYU in 1994 at 20.
Please describe your film.
A tongue-in-cheek take on straight boys' attitudes about male hotness, featuring man-on-the-street interviews, pop culture collage, excerpts from my own work and brand-new erotic photos and video shot of model A-Rod (um, me) by gay art legend Peter Berlin.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
The film was inspired by my decision to start art modeling as a side job and by my subsequent discovery of Peter Berlin's work, which, much to my dismay - given his talent, prowess and influence - was appallingly unknown not just to me and my friends but even to supposed "art people."
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
Raising money with producers and my partner to shoot an indie feature, Queen of Harlem, a sexy comedy about an Italian actress who comes to the States to shoot a film in Spanish Harlem and falls hard for the men, the music, the whole vibe of that hot 'hood. Our producer calls it a cross between La Dolce Vita and She's Gotta Have It. There's gay stuff, but it's not specifically a gay story.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Two: The Wiz and Clash of the Titans. Don't have any of those early Star Wars memories that everyone claims, but the other two I remember VIVIDLY.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Parting Glances, late one night on Movie Channel. I was 12, and I wanna cry just thinking about how much I knew but didn't know that the film was about me.
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Apartment Zero, crypto-gay as it is, has seeped into every single thing I've written since I saw it at 17 (I'm 33 now).
FILM TITLE: We're All Angels
DIRECTOR: Robert Nunez
SCREENING: Thursday, June 7
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
I’m Robert Nunez and I interview celebrities when I’m not out on a documentary shoot of holed up in the editing room. I do interviews for Universal Studios and entertainment reporting for Cinecanal, a most excellent movie channel in Latin America. I live in the gay holy land: West Hollywood, California. It has always been home, even before I ever heard of it.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
We’re All Angels is my first feature-length film, but I’ve done several behind-the-scenes featurettes for DVDs like American Pie Presents: Band Camp, Bring It On Again, and Jesus Christ Superstar. I never thought I would be a filmmaker growing up, but I gradually felt a strong need to tell stories that I cared about.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I SO didn’t go to film school. I didn’t even finish college. I learned by doing interviews and sitting in the editing room with some great and not-so-great editors. Opportunities presented themselves and I grabbed them. I worked hard and read everything I could, and bugged all the pros I know with a million questions.
Please describe your film.
We’re All Angels digs deep into the lives of pop singers Jason and deMarco: Christian pop singers, homosexuals and lovers. And they’re really hot!
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock proved to me that documentaries don’t have to be those deadly-dull film reels I was shown in grade school, that they could be just as exciting as any other filmed entertainment and they could have a point of view. Jimmy Somerville showed me you can be very out and very loud and it can be very beautiful. David Hockney and Keith Haring taught me that you should never stop exploring, to my your own voice and to trust that there are people who will care.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
I’m interesting in using documentary to explore some of the taboos around men’s bodies and how we look at our own sexuality. I’ll have something to announce soon.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Bedknobs and Broomsticks, from the back of the family station wagon at the La Habra Drive In. I must have liked it because I got the Viewmaster reels soon after.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
The Rocky Horror Picture Show when I was 12. It changed my life. Forever. In a big way.
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Torch Song Trilogy is the gold standard of all gay movies. It is the gay Citizen Kane, the gay Gone With the Wind and the gay Titanic. Harvey Fierstein is a national treasure and continues to spread his genius in every commentary on In the Life and every time he sends a letter to a newspaper. No matter how much credit he is given, it could never be enough.
But Making Love really got my hormones racing for the first time!
FILM TITLE: Ready or Not
DIRECTOR: Katherine Wilkinson
SCREENING: Thursday, June 7 (preceding To Be Happy in Chile)
Please introduce yourself:
My name is Katherine Wilkinson. I'm a painter and filmmaker. I live in
Sydney, Australia.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I was hunting for a girlfriend and all the girls I connected with were filmmakers! So I found a girlfriend, and helped out on her films and one day I thought "I want to do this too!" I have only made one film so far, and it's a short documentary, my favourite genre.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I didn't go to film school, my background is classical music and fine art but I find being musical and visual has really helped me with filmmaking.
Please describe your film.
Kelly came out unexpectedly on national TV, Katherine fell in love with a straight girl, and Fee got married to avoid burning in hell. The stories explore the experience of embracing a queer identity in very different circumstances.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
Not knowing how to make a film! I treated it like a school project to try to not freak out about it. The worst part was the production. One of the subjects refused to do anything we had planned on one of the days, but I managed to get what I wanted in the end.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
I've written a script about some adorable lesbian penguins, currently in production. It's about gender roles. For example, male emperor penguins always look after the egg, but in my story the female wants to enter the nursery and all the males are really angry!
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
I think it was Charlotte's Web‚ at a drive-in movie theatre. My parents had no money, so they hid me under a blanket and pretended I was a dog!
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Go Fish. I saw it with my sister and I remember that she said she was thinking of getting a nipple ring because one of the characters had them and she thought it was hot. All I was thinking was "THAT WAS THE MOST AMAZING THING I EVER SAW!" I decided I was definitely gay after seeing that film.
The last DVD I watched was:
Golden Girls! I watch it with the subtitles on - the dialogue is quite clever. The outfits are also hilarious.
FILM TITLE: Seoul To Soul
DIRECTORS: Michael Chen and Paul Detwiler
SCREENING: Friday, June 8 (in shorts program: Prodigal Sons)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Paul Detwiler, writer/science educator/filmmaker/editor, based in San Diego.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I've always been interested in creating media that educates, inspires, and challenges audiences in some way, and I find it artistically satisfying to develop combinations of sounds and images that evoke mood and emotion. I like how the process of filmmaking causes you to develop multifaceted skills: having your observations become more analytical, sharpening and tightening your writing, and requiring that you constantly learn both on a technical and artistic level. It’s a dynamic field, definitely one that I can’t see myself tiring of. Seoul to Soul is my 4th documentary.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I would have liked to attend film school after college, but I took a number of different paths that instead provided me with some invaluable experiences that have influenced the style and content of my work, leading me to specialize in science/nature, docs and educational media. I studied filmmaking briefly in the Bay Area, and over the years I've taken various classes in digital production.
Please describe your film.
Our film profiles one man’s journey from his devout Mormon upbringing in Utah through his drug-fueled adulthood in Southern California. As the layers of this especially complex life are peeled away, a hopeful message of change and growth emerges.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
My co-director Mike and I originally had the intention of making a documentary to explore the issues facing the queer Asian community in Southern California, and to that effect, we conducted a number of interviews over a 3-month period. Wade (the subject of our documentary) had a particularly compelling story that we could illustrate with strong visual components that also worked on a metaphoric level. So we decided to profile him instead.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
Hearing the positivie feedback from audiences after screenings of our doc and hearing the audience react emotionally to certain segments in the doc. So I know that there’s been a connection with people on some level with our work.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Maybe Chitty Chitty Bang Bang... I remember Marilyn Mansion’s inspiration, the Child Catcher, was one scary freak!
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Probably Brokeback Mountain, because of all the media attention and controversy it generated, I ended up having the feeling that its premiere was a significant cultural milestone in American cinema.
The last DVD I watched was:
Requiem for a Dream. Certainly hard to watch the characters on their inexorable downward spirals, but I admired the cinematography and thought the editing was inventive and especially effective in artistically compressing the act of mainlining junk.
FILM TITLE: This Time
DIRECTOR: Melissa Downing & Nicola Marsh
SCREENING: Friday, June 8 & Saturday, June 9 (in shorts program: Close Encounters)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time
filmmaker, and where you are based.
Melissa Downing (aka: zippy), full-timer, based in loverly Los Angeles
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I became obsessed with music videos in college, where I had regular access to cable television for the first time. I would stay up all hours flipping back and forth from MTV to BET, trying to figure them out. I have 4 shorts under my belt, and hope to produce my first feature within the next year and a half.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
A couple of film classes at the University of Kansas and one amazing 8mm class at the University of Colorado - Boulder (props to Patti Bruck!)
Please describe your film.
A broken hearted panhandler traverses the city of Los Angeles in search of her lover, and a second chance.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
MONEY. But in some ways our ignorance paid off. Knowing what i know now, I'm astounded at our boldness in location choices. With no permit, we managed to steal shots in some of LA's most expensive (and well-patrolled) locales. Among them: Union Station, Santa Monica pier, and the LA metro.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
Adapting a short story by one of my literary idols, San Francisco's Michelle Tea. If you haven't heard of her yet, don't worry. You will.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Rad - a BMX movie starring gymnast Bart Conner as the villain and Lori Laughlin as the love interest. If anyone has a copy out there, I'll buy it!
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
Reno 911: Miami. I still haven't forgiven Nic for dragging me to that mess.
The last DVD I watched was:
Better Off Dead. Cusack owned the '80s, dude.
FILM TITLE: Happenstance
DIRECTOR: Joyce Draganosky
SCREENING: Saturday, June 9 (preceding Out at the Wedding)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
I'm Joyce Draganosky. I’m a full time writer/director and filmmaker. I live in NYC but work anywhere and everywhere.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
Insanity. I've made four short films and written several feature screenplays.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
Yes. MFA (Directing) from Columbia University.
Please describe your film.
Beth discovers she has a lot in common with her son's new girlfriend.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
HBO invited filmmakers to compete in the first-ever HBO/GBLT short film competition, "Shout." I pulled the central idea out of one of my feature scripts, figuring if I win and make the short, it will help move the feature forward. I won and made the short so here we are.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
My partner Laureen Callo inspires me the most. When life is good and I am happy, I am able to focus and be creative. Laureen is beyond supportive and encourages me to do what I do. This June we celebrate our 12 year anniversary.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
Network, The Silence of the Lambs, Tootsie
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Thelma and Louise
The last DVD I watched was:
Jesus Camp
