Tom DiCillo's Drunk Film School

In an earlier post I shared a Google Hangout that I had with director/writer Tom DiCillo after a screening of Living in Oblivion. Tom, being Tom, took the youtube version of the interview and made it into something so much more... The Drunk Film School. In it Tom really give great advice to aspiring filmmakers about everything from working with actors and cinematographers to launching projects and working in TV. It's really worth watching, and there's no guru quite as fun as Tom.

Drunk Film School Trailer from Tom DiCillo on Vimeo.

An interview with Jennifer Prediger (Apartment Troubles)

Jennifer Prediger and Jess Weixler's "Apartment Troubles" is a great low-budget comedy that is both funny and emotional. It's well worth the watch, and for aspiring micro-budget filmmakers, worth the study. A bi-coastal film, they stretched their dollars on two coasts, and were able to recruit some great name actors. I recently had the opportunity to host a discussion with co-writer/director/star Jennifer Prediger with students from Utah Valley University's Digital Cinema program. Jennifer shared insights into collaborating, appealing to audiences (or not), and recruiting name actors, among many other things.

 

Interview with Tom Donahue, director of "Casting By"

The documentary film "Casting By" is a great watch for anyone interested in films and the filmmaking process. On micro-budget films I have seldom had the opportunity to work with casting directors, as it is often a role that I end up doing myself, but watching this doc makes me eager to work with Casting Directors who know their stuff and who can bring their own sensibility to a project.

This interview with Tom Donahue, the film's director, is part of a monthly series I host at Utah Valley University, called CineSkype, where we show a film, then Skype with the filmmaker.

 

Sundance - The other days (Meet the Filmmakers)

After one of our events held at the Utah Film Commission Headquarters in Park City, filmmakers (L to R) Kerem Sanga (First Girl I Loved), Mario Campos (Christine), Clay Tweel (Gleason), Andrew Neel (Goat), Jeff Feuerzeig (Author: the JT LeRoy Story), and Steven Kijak (We are X), have fun in the Utah Postcard set. 

OK, it's hard to keep posting consistently, so it was a bad idea to try to keep a digital journal type thing for Sundance this year. But now that the dust has settled I can report on the other films I got to see and some of the other experiences.

As far as films go, in addition to what I already reported, I got to see Nuts (Penny Lane), Birth of a Nation (Nate Parker), The Fits (Anna Rose Holmer), Author: The JT LeRoy Story (Jeff Feuerzeig), and First Girl I Loved (Kerem Sanga) They were all fabulous. I learned a lot as a filmmaker from each film I saw, and will make better films myself for having seen them.






Each year I host several Meet-the-Filmmakers events for my students at Utah Valley University. These events are a highlight of the festival for me. We get to sit down with these awesome filmmakers and pick their brains and hear their advice for young filmmakers. This year was the second year we did it, and it's definitely becoming a thing. Last year I had four friends who had films in the festival, so I just called each of them and invited them to participate. This year I didn't know anyone, so I had to reach out through publicists, agents, and Facebook. In spite of the cold calls, we had a great response. We had nineteen different filmmakers participate this year - including all the filmmakers of the films that I got to see.

It was especially cool to have Mr. Parker there. Less than forty-eight hours before he had just sold his film for the highest amount of any film sale in Sundance (and all of film festival) history, but he very willingly and humbly came to sit with our students and answer their questions. I think all of the filmmakers who participated have already had some kind of sale, and several of them had super buzzed about films.

If I were to sum up what we learned from these filmmakers I would say: just make stuff. That's what we hear time and time again. Don't wait for permission or approval. Just go out and make stuff. It doesn't even have to be good. You can make stuff that you never show anyone - stuff that is horrible. It's the work and the learning that happens through work that matters. As you make things, you hone your craft and eventually you will make better and better things. This is a universal truth that I hear in one form or another from every filmmaker I interview.

After another of our Meet-the-Filmmaker sessions Utah Valley University Film Students pose with (L to R) Andrew Hyland (The 4th), Nate Parker (Birth of a Nation), Aaron Brookner (Uncle Howard), and Rokhserah Ghaemmaghami (Sonita).

Writer/director Rebecca Daly (Mammal), producer Mel Eslyn (The Intervention), producer Kim Leadford (Joshy, Yoga Hosers, Too Legit) talk to film students from UVU.

Writer/Director/Actor Jennifer Prediger (left) talks with students from Utah Valley University's film program.