DIRECTOR: STEVE ACEVEDO

FILM: EL COCODRILO (THE CROCODILE) (UW 2012)

Q: Sometimes great scenes have to hit the cutting room floor. What material was the most difficult to edit out of your film?

A: It wasn’t too hard cutting this film. The script was 12-pages long and the first cut was 17 minutes without credits. I knew I wanted the film to be under 15 minutes with credits, so we started with the opening scene, which is essentially a 5-minute monologue. Originally, it was 6.5 minutes and we cut it down to 4. Then we just trimmed the fat off the rest.

Q: What sparks your creativity?

A: So many things I see and hear inspire me. Often times, it’s simply a story that a friend tells me in conversation, and other times, it’s a photograph in a magazine or a painting in a museum. I care tremendously about the audience, so my films are generally geared towards them and not necessarily for personal expression.

Q: If there was a movie made about your life, who would you want to play you?

A: That will never happen. But if does 20 years from now, Adolfo Alvarez who plays Miguelito in EL COCODRILO. He’s only 7, but I think he’s got a big future ahead of him.

Q: What has been your greatest challenge as a content creator and how have you addressed it?

A: Independent film is difficult because the financing is always low, especially for short films. You want to pay the crew what they’re worth, but it’s impossible with the size of the budgets. So we have to ask for a lot of favors and always do some creative producing to make everything happen. Oh, and access to locations is huge.

Q: Cartel activity in Mexico has been a key news story in the U.S., how does it feel to direct a piece so connected to current events? How do audiences react?

A: I believe it’s important to tell these stories in meaningful and realistic ways so that people in the U.S. can know the truth about what’s happening in Mexico. Northern Mexico is in huge trouble right now and a big part of it is because of the United State’s insatiable demand for drugs. We’re essentially the market, and the violence stems from the cartel’s fight for territory to access it. It’s important for me to tell this story in an engaging way that will not only be entertaining, but shed light on a horrific reality for Mexicans.

Q: How was it directing a child in your film? Describe that process and how you prepped for it?

A: We had three rounds of auditions for the part of Miguelito. I had Adolfo Alvarez come in for all three and each time he stood out. He was one of a few that always had his lines memorized. It was clear that he prepared which you don’t see from most child actors. He also has a natural charm about him, for example, he would walk into the room in his sweater vest and bow tie, and instead of being shy or offering a handshake, he came in for a hug with me and the producers. As far as prepping, I had him and Jacob Vargas rehearse for one hour the week before shooting. Once they had the scene down, I felt confident. I did learn one major lesson though—on the shoot day at the diner, he got pretty hyper half way through the day. I came to learn that he had is way with the candy at the craft service table. I will definitely make sure that doesn’t happen again with a child actor.

ACTRESS:  TRACEY HEGGINS

FILMS: ALL THINGS FALL APART (UW 2011), CHERRY WAVES (UW 2012), THE LAST/FIRST KISS (UW 2012)

Q: What inspired you to become an actress?

A: Lynn Whitfield in the The Josephine Baker Story

Q: What is an important tip you would like to pass along to aspiring actors?

A: Be you: don’t let anyone change you! You’re enough even when you don’t feel like it.

Q: Are there any similarities between you and your characters in Cherry Waves and The First/Last Kiss?

A: There is a little of me in both characters.

Q: What film(s) are you working on currently?

A: Just finished up Black Girl in Paris and the film Pardon post-production.

Q: Who would you most like to work with and why?

A: Morgan Freeman, Adrian Brody, Kate Blanchet, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Jake Gyllenhaal the usual suspects. They work on the level I want to work.

Q: What are the differences between being a part of the independent and studio film creation processes?

A: Every set is different, but I have found now that it’s more about the “director,” You can have a production with 4 dollars and the morale is so great you don’t care your wardrobe is on your back. The opposite is true also; you can be on a 4 million dollar set and be miserable. So I found for me, the difference is in the captain. So I base my work on comfort level. I had just as much comfort on Pardon as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 and the money was different.

Q: Do you have aspirations in the industry behind the camera? If so, what would you like to do in this arena?

A: Writer/Creator

Q: In 2011 we’ve seen actresses of color in leading roles in film and television, as well as receiving awards in the industry. As an actress of color, has this impacted the number of roles you see available to you?

A: I have seen the change and hopefully I feel it too.

DIRECTOR:  CHRISTINA CHOE

FILMS: I AM JOHN WAYNE (UW 2012)

What was the most memorable part of directing I am John Wayne for you?

A: Well, there were a lot moments but one of them was a bit sad. When we were setting up the street altar for the scene where the main character “Taco” goes to see his best friend’s altar at the spot where he was killed, the production designer did such a good job of making it look realistic that several of the people in the neighborhood started freaking out because they thought someone had actually died. We had to put up a sign next to it saying that it was just a film. I found out later that somebody had been murdered in front of that Chinese restaurant in the past year and while we were filming, one of our friends in the neighborhood told us we should finish at a certain time because the drug dealers would be back at their spot and would get mad if we were still there during their working hours. Also, my actor was really bummed that he was missing his homecoming dance because we were running over time. So that was a bit of pressure on me to finish my shots!

Q: If you weren’t a content creator, what kind of work do you think you’d be doing?

A: I think if I was not a filmmaker, I think I’d be either doing some kind of global human rights/refugee work or if I could ever be good enough, I’d love to be a back up dancer for some 90’s hip hop group which could mean a lifetime career teaching dance at Bally’s fitness or something.

Q: Who would you most like to work with on a project and why?

A: Probably Werner Herzog because I know I would never be bored and would learn a ton about life, and as a result I’d learn about directing.

Q: In what ways did film school prepare you for your role as a director? Is there anything you would have added to your curriculum?

A: Film school (at Columbia Graduate Film School) was a great experience. It was like an artist residency in which I didn’t have to work a job and could dedicate all my time to making films, watching films, giving and receiving feedback and practicing directing. I made four short films and wrote a few screenplays while I was there and learned how to work with actors, and what shots can mean. So I was practicing what I was learning constantly.

Q: A horse plays a key role in your film, what was it like directing an animal?

A: They say you shouldn’t direct kids and/or animals and I ended up doing both. The kids were teenagers and were totally awesome to work with and the horse we ended up with (after firing two other horses) was an old horse that was really sweet but really, really old. Sometimes we’d have to push it to get it to move. Our horse “Pro” actually died this past year. He had a good life at the dude ranch! R.I.P. Pro.

Q: There are incredible urban landscapes in I am John Wayne. Please describe your process for scouting and selecting locations for your shoots?

A: I had the image of the horse riding through an urban ghost town from the very beginning and knew that it would have to look like some of neighborhoods you can find in North Philly, that have rows and rows of abandoned houses. Though the story takes place in Brooklyn, I couldn’t find anything in New York that looked like North Philly, so we ended up shooting there, which for me is the most iconic shot of the film. Also we originally tried to shoot at the Black Cowboy Federation of Brooklyn near East New York but when we couldn’t get the permission and money to shoot there we found a small stable in North Philly that was really great but too small. Through those stables I met a cowboy, June who had his own private stables in West Philly, where we ended up shooting our stable scenes. I also found out that Philly used to have a thriving urban riding culture with hundreds of stables all over the city, though in the past decades most of them have been shut down.

DIRECTOR:  KIARA JONES

FILMS: AMAZON WOMEN (UW 2009), THE ROE EFFECT (UW 2009), MEN OR MICE (UW 2010), PARAMOUR (UW 2010), REFORM (UW 2011), BARBASOL (UW 2012)

Q: Which filmmakers/films have impacted you most?

A: When I was young my mother used to send my brother and I to the movies on Saturdays to get us out of her hair. She’d normally drop us off and come back in two or three hours and we’d spend the afternoon hopping from theatre to theatre and ducking the theatre guy who actually enjoyed this game as much as we did. One week she decided to come in with us, which was odd as this was normally her mopping time and rarely interrupted. She got her ticket for a movie called “The Color Purple” She asked me to watch with her, but I opted out for some animated blowing up something or other. Time later I popped in to check on her and her eyes were wet with tears, another rare occurrence for my mother who always held a gracious face, especially in public. I looked up at the screen and saw a brown woman in white bubbles laughing on the screen. My child’s mind thought, there’s nothing sad about this. I looked back at my mothers face, tears still streaming, and knew there were powerful forces at work here that were beyond my youthful comprehension. I also knew that I wanted to be able to move people like that. It was years later before I actually watched the film and years after that I began to understand the power and the impact that my mother had felt in the theatre that day. With each film I make I try to get closer to that moment.  As I’ve now become a film lover and student of the craft there are many great artisans that delight and enlighten me, Ang Lee, David Fincher, F, Gary Grey, Spike Lee, Wong Kar Wai, Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Champion, Kasi Lemmons. However I am equally if not more inspired by my young contemporaries who are telling new and exciting stories like, Cary Fukunaga, Dee Reese, Lucy Malloy and Rashaad Ernesto Green.

Q: One of the greatest challenges in independent film is financing, how did you raise the money needed for Barbasol? What did you learn along the way?

A: We’re still looking for money. Raising money is the worst part of filmmaking for me because I haven’t been able to find the art in which degrades the process to work and I hate working. We raised most of our funds through private donations, crowd funding and grants. What I learned is that you can not make films for free. It is a very expensive art form. Your best option is to constantly reevaluate the necessities and keep cost as minimal as possible. The most important thing is to keep remembering how important it is to tell your story and that if you don’t tell it that no one else will. The fear of silencing these valuable and valid voices is what gets be up before dawn to try and find a way to ensure that they are heard. With that belief, you can convince others to join your crusade and lend their support if not financially then through the use of their home, or car, or office, or cooking skills or facebook blast, or professional talent, or recommendations, or family pet, or old clothes, or efax account , etc, etc. It takes a village and every little bit is paramount to the success of the production.

Q: What was the collaboration process like with your team on Barbasol?

I met Ralph Scott as I was releasing my first film Basura, and he was Executive Producer on the Best Shorts for BET. Over the years he has gained respect for me as a Director and Producer and admired and supported my work. A few years ago when he told me he wanted to make a film, I told him I’d support him in any way and would be willing to produce. Ralph had a great story and was looking for a writer. I said send me your synopsis and I’ll take a swing at it. I think I sent him like 4 or 5 pages, which he graciously accepted and let me know he was seeking other writers. I just waited… He came back. I knew this was a very intimate and personal story for Ralph and I felt that I was the type of writer that could articulate the nuance he was pushing for in the characters. As I was writing, a very talented actor that had been in my previous films, Stephen Hill, stayed in mind for the lead character, Harper. When it was time to cast he was our first call. He then recommended an amazing Director of Photography, Eric Branco, who he had recently shot a feature film with. Ralph had been admiring Ebbe Bassey for some time who had done some other work with Stephen which made a great fit. Talent beget talent and the team was born.

Q: Shadow and Act recently did an article about the lack of Fan Boy/Girl Culture in Black indie film, would you agree there is a lack? How would you address it?

A: I’m not sure if that’s true. I will say that Blacks in general are less likely to co-sign or hype up unproven work and that may be a cultural thing. I mean who doesn’t have a cousin that’s a hip hop artist, or an uncle that’s a painter? Art is what we do. Our challenge is we don’t get a lot of opportunities, therefore we are unwilling to put work out that’s unfinished or lift the skirt on our next big project. Honestly, I’m stuck on this question because I’m guilty of it too, but lets end the cycle now. The next big project from Cultivated Films is a film by Director Kiandra Parks entitled Black Girl in Paris which we just filmed on location in Paris, France. We shot on Panavision’s Penelope, 35mm camera on beautiful Kodak film. The film stars the lovely Tracey Heggins (Medicine for Melancholy, Twilight) and the amazing British Television starlett, Zaraah Abrahams and was filmed by award winning Director of Photography Shlomo Godder. The short is based on a novel by the same name by author Shay Youngblood, which we have acquired the rights to and intend to shoot the feature of next year. You heard it here first!

Q: Some content creators have passion projects that they work on for years before the project sees the light of day, do you have any of those on your desk right now? How do you select the projects you get involved in?

A: We all have our Jurassic Parks. The project that no one believes in but us, but I don’t fret that because that’s how you get a Jurassic Park. I’ll be much better equipped to create the epic period piece, that no one wants to hear about right now, 10 or 15 years from now. I tend not to select projects because projects change and die. I prefer to choose collaborators. When I look at an option I ask myself, is this a person I want to spend the next 6 months or possibly 6 years with? That way when the short becomes a feature and the doc becomes a television show I ‘m ok with it because I believe in the artist and trust their commitment.

Q: What role do film festivals play in supporting your work? Are there any changes you would make to this dynamic if you could?

A: Film festivals are the BEST option for getting your work out into the world. It’s also a great and often the only reward for the cast and crew, to the work shown in festivals around the world. Urbanworld is one of my favorite festivals purely because of the venue. If you’re lucky enough to get a film into Urbanworld then your film will be screened in an actual AMC movie theater on 34th St in New York City. This is my 4th year at Urbanworld and that still blows my mind. We’re right there next to the big Hollywood blockbusters. Shorts blocks are awesome because you get to see so much in a short block and if you don’t like a film it’s over pretty quick. But, the QandAs after are always cut off. If I could add one thing it would be a kiss and cry area somewhere in the venue where the audience could spend more time with the filmmakers and actors.

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  BRADFORD YOUNG

FILMS: PARIAH (UW 2007), RESTLESS CITY (UW 2011), MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (UW 2012)

Q: What was the most memorable part of shooting Middle of Nowhere for you?

A: The jail scenes between Emayatzy and Omari were pretty amazing because we were in this environment that is sort of indirectly familiar for most of the people on the crew – whether they have a family member that has been incarcerated, have had to deal with the problematic nature of America’s prison industrial complex, or someone on the crew may have been incarcerated themselves. It is in an environment that feels familiar in a visceral way and then you are observing two really beautiful human beings on every level talk about things that we don’t really get a chance to see, hear or even assume that folks talk about in that environment. To hear those two characters discussing their future and what they want for one another was really freeing and liberating.

Q:  What is an important tip you would like to pass along to aspiring cinematographer?

A: Like everyone else, I am discouraged by the complexities of being who we are in an art form that was forged by Birth of a Nation, so I am always trying to figure out ways to stay grounded in my community and bring my own thing to the table. Film is a young art form in a sense and it is especially difficult for our community to look into the 100 plus years of American film history and reference cinematographers who they grew up admiring.

There are so many referential points within our collective history where we can find great examples of inspiration, especially in the image making capacity where we have made so many contributions. This inspiration doesn’t have to be outside of your own “house”. There are so many things you can reference to bring a unique voice to image making.

Q:  How did you get involved in shooting Restless City?

A: I’ve known Andrew Dosunmu’s work for a long time — I’ve been looking at his work since I was 19. Andrew was someone I hoped to someday collaborate with and while we know a lot of people in common, I was actually introduced to Andrew by my agent at the time. We met to talk about his feature and though I was extremely nervous, it all worked out.

Working with Andrew is a real honor and treat, especially because he is an image-maker. My mentors have all shot for him and I never thought in a million years that I’d be shooting with him and doing the projects we are working on now. All the filmmakers I work with are special and the entry points are all different – with Andrew I am working with a person who has probably singlehandedly inspired more frames than I have generated. Working with him as a cinematographer is really a dream.

Q: What projects are you working on now?

A: I just finished Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, directed by David Lowery. It is a thriller, western, love story set in Texas. We just wrapped a few weeks ago. About a year ago, I finished Andrew Dosunmu’s Ma’ George and he is locking picture on that now.

For the last 2 years, I’ve been collaborating with a sculpture artist and photographer named Leslie Hewitt. We just finished Untitled (Structures), the second part of a 4 or 5 part installation series. The installation opens at the Des Moines Art Center on September 22^nd. My journey into art within the last two years has got me very curious about bringing what I am doing in the film context into the art world. I am journeying out on my first solo installation; it is a mix of sculptural elements and large format film projection images based on Bynum Cutler, a character in an August Wilson poem.

Q: How has changes/advances in technology impacted the process of creating a film?

A: These changes made me a little bit apprehensive in a way and more precise than I like to be. Not only am I changing tools in moving from a film camera, but also frame of knowledge and the way my body works with the tools. I feel a bit more free and liberated with analog because I am more familiar with that format.

However, our shared ability to tell more stories in a short time frame is the beautiful part about these technological advances. They have definitely closed the gap on who will be able to tell their stories. If we were still using film as the dominant way to tell a story, I don’t know if I would have had as many opportunities to be a part of the filmmaking process.

Q: What made your Urbanworld Film Festival experience stand out amongst other festivals you have participated in?

A: There is a certain level of apprehension while at a festival where a dark frame would be more readily seen as an under exposed image than an homage to one of our masters. At Urbanworld, in a conversation about the film, I’m amongst folks who will understand my references. It is so easy to feel crazy in a space where there is very little representation of oneself.  It is important to have a safe space to be able to show your creative DNA and get a few head nods from people who can relate to your perspective.