I’ve been enjoying the FIND writer’s lab so much. It’s been great to get feedback in a group setting, and I really like the people in the lab. The teacher, Meg LeFauve, has been giving us some really interesting exercises to help us dig deeper into ourselves/the characters. I’ve done many exercises like this in the past, but hers are particularly interesting because they are personal, meaning they really get to your own core. They are great exercises that pull from family history, psychology and a lot of other things. Sometimes, these exercises can really fuck with you, because as you start digging into various layers of yourself and your characters, you find things that you really don’t want to. I was brooding all weekend over the realization that my main character is a version of me, and that on many levels, I can be a pushover. I’m a pretty strong person, and I believe I come off that way, but I realize that subtextually, I get pushed around a lot, especially by moody people… Sounds like a therapy session, and sometimes writing can serve as that. When you start peeling away layers and exploring, it can really take you to some interesting depths. I’m pondering all of the feedback, and really taking time to flesh it out, rather than just jumping into revisions. I’m sure that if I had done this five years ago, I would have been in panic mode, and trying to make the script as perfect as I could, right now. But I’m older and wiser (supposedly) and I’m really taking the time to parse through all of the feedback and take it as I see fit. When I wrote Raspberry Magic, I took so much of everyone’s feedback, I lost sight of my goals. It was very confusing and overwhelming. But that was many scripts ago….
My hubbie and I recently did this video for mapquest. It was a fun project, a nice break from the indie film grind!
I was so excited to learn that a new project of mine, Dandekar Finds Home was recently selected to be a part of the FIND Screenwriter’s Lab. It’s a 5-week lab where ten projects are selected to be workshopped and refined. I’ve applied many times and never been accepted, so it was really wonderful to hear the good news. Some people ask me, when did you have time to write another script? Well, this is the life of a writer/director/indie filmmaker, you’re always working toward the next project. I’m always writing a couple of things, pitching a couple of things and developing some things to write next. I find it surprising when people say they once had an idea for a movie, because I think most writers have many ideas, all the time! The workshop is a great forum for polishing the script, and talking through what parts might work/might not. Having lead many such workshops as a teacher, I’m very excited to now work on my project. Dandekar Finds Home is a story I had in my mind for a very long time, about a retiree who basically gets laid off from his job, and is sad about what is next. Then, his daughters trade in his old Volvo for a brand new one, and he is even more upset. He goes on a day-long journey to find this car, only to realize it’s always just out of his reach. I’m excited about this story, it’s really visual, and is a wonderful metaphor for the “journey of life,” we’re all on… It would be great to work with an Indian/South Asian actor who can really make this part complex and interesting… But first, I’ll work on polishing the screenplay…
Distribution for a film like Raspberry Magic is challenging no matter what, but we have some very exciting things on the horizon, including a partnership with Cinetic Rights Management. Cinetic is the brainchild of legendary sales agent and lawyer John Sloss, who has shepherded many indie films to market. They are a traditional sales company, but they are also working in the digital/VOD realm, and are doing some exciting work. Raspberry Magic will continue to tour the festival circuit over the next few months, but we’ll be planning for some sort of VOD/digital release towards the end of the year. We will also do a small theater run, most likely in my hometown of Raleigh, NC and a couple of other places like Dallas and/or Atlanta. It remains to be seen what kind of returns we’ll make, but we are employing a combination of working with sales agent and doing some self distribution. We are also seeking out a good rep on the foreign side. We shall, it’s an interesting process all around, as always.
John August recently posted this video on his blog with a discussion about why the state of women in film is as it is… It’s an interesting and annoying discussion in some respects, because as a female writer/director who many times writes screenplays with female protagonists, it’s a very frustrating state of affairs…
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been very angst ridden about everything. Where is the movie going, when will it be released, how will I be a mother and a filmmaker, when can I work, blah, blah, blah… I’ve been going in circles with my anxiety, and I seriously think I’ve made myself ill from it. This weekend, we got away to LIB, and it was really nice to decompress, spend time with friends, and really/truly reflect on the past few months. After going in circles on a lot of things, I feel like I can sort of say where I’m at pretty clearly:
> Raspberry Magic is still touring the festival circuit. We will be in NYC this summer and we’ll be announcing some other fall festivals as they come. But, we just signed with a sales agent, and we’ll be doing some sort of very small theatrical run, combined with a VOD/TV plan. All of these things will be rolling out over the next couple of months in a slow, clear and steady stream.
> Being a mother is getting better everyday. Amani’s consciousness is increasing, and it is so cool to see her notice things. It is like she is more and more awake everyday, which is truly amazing. I’ve decided that in terms of childcare, I am going to do group/family daycare. I found a lovely woman near my house who has a few kids in her care, and I think it will be really good for Amani. We’ll start with a couple of days this summer, then more in the fall once I’m teaching again.
> I’m always stressed out what I’m doing next creatively. I always have new project in the works with writing, but I’m always like, do I keep writing more indies, or do I do some TV spec, etc? I have a new indie film that I really, really want to make, and I’ve gotten a lot of interest in the script. So, while trying to put that together, I’m writing a couple of new projects—one very commercial, fun road trip film, and a couple of other more indie projects. Then, I’m also going to write a couple of TV specs. I always say I’m going to do it, but then I get too caught up in filmmaking. It may happen again, but until then, I’ll keep it on the list!
photo courtesy of asianamericansinmedia blog
Now I know there are perfectly good movies and some classic films made using the below elements and I don’t doubt that there are stories to be told that would implement said elements, after all, these are universal themes that we all have…
Inevitably, every filmmaker whose work gets out there will have to deal with both good reviews and bad reviews. With Raspberry Magic, it’s been interesting, because the people who like the film think it’s sweet, charming, etc, which is fine, because it is after all a film about a young girl. But in some ways, this notion of it being sweet, charming and a family film are also what people criticize. One reviewer mentioned that she didn’t believe it belonged in the Cinequest film festival, and that she wouldn’t pay to go and see a family film. I think it’s interesting how films that appeal to a wide audience, like Raspberry Magic, are cornered into the “ABC Family” box. I guess this is because Disney/ABC have captured this market and exploited it into a money making machine. I was feeling bummed out about this, but I grew watching a lot of movies like Gremlins, ET, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Secret Garden and more which are really good films, but do appeal to wide audiences (even all of the Pixar movies). It’s annoying to me that the festival circuit kind of turns its nose up at these kinds of films, as well, because I think a lot of audiences want to see these films. It’s a weird duality as a filmmaker because a studio probably wouldn’t make this movie about an Indian family, and many festival people turn their nose up at it because it’s not edgy enough. I don’t know, I guess in the end, it’s all about finding an audience for the movie and continuing to make good work.
Screening at the Indian Film Festival was great fun, here are we are in some interviews. We around minute 6, check us out!
It’s been an intense few months juggling teaching, movie making and motherhood… I’m taking the next couple of months of from teaching, but will def hustling the movie pretty hard. We are still touring the festival circuit, but we are signing with a great sales agent and are going to start working on a push to sell the movie. Like every part of the filmmaking process, it’s will be slow, but something good will happen. So… As we work on the sale of Raspberry Magic, I’ll be getting to know my little one Amani a bit better, and working on other projects. I have a new movie I really, really want to make. It’s another character driven piece which I believe could be very fun. I’ve written the script, but I’m going to spend some time this summer making revisions, and thinking through some of the visual ideas. Next time I make a movie, I really want to have an even more clear idea of the shots and overall visual palette. I’ve also other screenplays I would like to work on. There are two in particular that I’m ready to hash out on paper, and one that needs quite a lot of research… We’ll see how those come together…
