Month: June 2024

What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

It’s been a gradual step-by-step process. It is a short film and I have experienced no real difficulty. So far, it has been a joy.

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?

I don’t think anything can damage the core of the film industry, it’s a force of nature. It may have ups and downs, but like the Sun, it will rise in the morning.

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

Apprentice, like Mickey Mouse in Fantasia. I have studied the I Ching, Tarot, Mystery School, Mythology, the Secrets of the Shamans, Folklore, Archetypal Fairy Tales, and Sacred Geometry, all of which have led me to the Genre of the Fairy Tale. My stories have always possessed a mystical undertone but The
Girl Made of Earth and Water is my first true Fairy Tale. Using the tools of fantastical enchantment and the language of metaphors, the viewer (child or adult) is introduced to contemplating their thoughts, which aids in finding meaning in their lives, a greater sense of self, and how they fit into the world.
It extracts the mind from the mob mind.

-If you could ask a question to a great director from the past, who would you like to talk to and what would you ask them?

At this moment, although I would love to speak with Frederico Feliini or Ingmar Bergman, I have to go with a man still walking among us – Alejandro Jodorowsky. Watching the opening scene of El Topo, with Jodorowsky, dressed in black leather on a white horse, walking across the desert, to in your face, full screen, his ten-year-old naked son burying the portrait of his mother in the sand – I was knocked out!
But, I have always been especially inspired by his Graphic Novel illustrated by Artist Mobius, The Incal.
The great Taiki Waititi is currently adapting The Incal and will direct it for the big screen. I can’t wait to see it!

-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?

The Wild Filmmaker is a gift to the Indie Film Industry. Indie films are essential for creatives to explore, innovate, and take risks. Wild Filmmaker champions those efforts that benefit the mainstream Industry in the process

The Sicilians

BEST INTERNATIONAL SCREENWRITER & BEST ORIGINAL FEATURE SCRIPT

Union

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST INTERNATIONAL CAST & BEST SOUNDTRACK

The Dancing Spies @Goddess

BEST INTERNATIONAL BOOK/MANUSCRIPT

The Electric Cycle Racing League

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE & BEST ORIGINAL DIRECTOR

Chronicles Of Art-Tech Fusion

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM & BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILMMAKER

Hot Afternoons HaveBeen in Montana

BEST INSPIRATIONAL PROJECT

THE EDGE “Into The Past”

BEST TV PILOT

Always Unfinished

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING

Emergency Musical Response: Part 1 – Journey to Netherworld

BEST INDIE NARRATIVE SHORT, BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Short Film) & BEST CASTING DIRECTOR

An impossible secret

BEST HUMAN RIGHTS FILM & BEST ARTHOUSE NARRATIVE SHORT

Atlas Of Uncertainty

BEST VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECT & BEST SOUND DESIGN

Ragzi & The Danseuse

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Jessinton Cole Where Are You Nowadays

BEST INTERNATIONAL SONG

Dojo

BEST ACTOR, BEST ACTION MOVIE, BEST INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORT & BEST PRODUCER

Searching for Camelot

BEST DIRECTOR

Be Prepared for What?

BEST TELEVISION SCRIPT

Alta California

BEST AMERICAN WRITER

Not Without Gloves

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA

4 Estações

BEST INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, BEST SCREENWRITER & BEST EUROPEAN PRODUCTION COMPANY

The Forest Of The Honey Bees

BEST INTERATIONAL ANIMATED SHORT FILM

The Stones of Rome

BEST ARTHOUSE SHORT FILM & BEST INDIE ACTOR

The Pathos of Hamlet

BEST INSPIRATIONAL SHORT FILM

Prima del giorno dopo

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE FILM, BEST EUROPEAN DIRECTOR, BEST INDIE CINEMATOGRAPHER & BEST SCREENPLAY

Michelangelo and Me + Da Vinci and Me opener

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE SCRIPT

Brothers of Babylon

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENWRITER

Omnipotent Resolution

BEST INTERNATIONAL MUSIC VIDEO, BEST ORIGINAL SONG & BEST DANCE FILM

Luzinete

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY SHORT & BEST INDIE SHORT FILM

Niki Pilic- The Legend

BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

The Broken Road

BEST FEATURE SCRIPT

Night Terror 2 The Awakening

BEST INTERNATIONAL HORROR

The Maiden Tower

BEST INTERNATIONAL WRITER

Monument to Love

BEST DIRECTOR (Category Documentary) & BEST EDITING

Trouble In Paradise

BEST ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR & BEST EXPERIMENTAL CINEMATOGRAPHY

Bat Sheva (The Daughter of 7even)

BEST INTERNATIONAL ORIGINAL SCORE

Soul

BEST ORIGINAL SHORT FILM & BEST EDITING

Halloween (Rabbit Well Episode 6)

BEST COMEDY & BEST ANIMATION

Sinestesìa

BEST EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC VIDEO & BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Music Video)

I like to think of love

BEST INTERNATIONAL SUPER SHORT FILM

The Dead Ringer

BEST ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA

Giulietta e Romeo?

BEST ARTHOUSE FILMMAKER & BEST EUROPEAN NARRATIVE SHORT FILM

-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

Producing a film involves orchestrating a complex symphony of details whilst holding onto the vision. From coordinating things like food and transportation between locations, and checking in with the team during intense scenes, felt like I was both a conductor and caretaker. I was constantly thinking of the people above everything else on set to ensure a safe passage for all, and at the same time I was checking in on scenes as it was my story being filmed and holding the authenticity was important to me. In post-production, the editing process demanded meticulous attention to detail, stitching together scenes, refining pacing, and maintaining my overall vision was exhilarating and exhausting. My festival strategy evolved as I had to be adaptable in my approach to film festivals after a number of knock backs. Then as the awards started flowing in, it became an addiction in many ways and then it was hard to know when to stop.  Filmmaking, for me, is an artistry of balancing so many things all at once in the air, and not letting one ball drop. 

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?

The film industry, like any cultural sphere, grapples with the impact of political correctness. While sensitivity and inclusivity are essential, there’s a find balance to strike. The only thing I had to grapple with was “trigger warnings”. As someone with lived trauma experience and work in the area of mental health, I’ve encountered this firsthand. ‘Say My Name’ delves into addiction, abuse, violence and suicide, each carries immense emotional weight. Providing trigger warnings can be well-intentioned, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Trigger warnings suggests that we might exacerbate mental health struggles, but the latest research and I would agree, by desensitising viewers, we risk hindering healing. As filmmakers, we must approach this with empathy. Balancing artistic expression with audience wellbeing is crucial. Perhaps, rather than warnings, fostering post-viewing discussions or providing resources could be more effective. Healing lies in acknowledging pain while allowing space for growth. 

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

This short film is based on my younger life story and book ‘Sleeping Under the Bridge’. This is the first book in a trilogy series that I want to be turned into feature films. The short film was to enable the start of this long-term vision. I always had the dream to have a film depicting the trauma I lived through as a child to shine as a beacon of hope that anyone can overcome any battle in life. My inspiration is if my life can give courage and change to other people’s stories, then it is worth sharing. It is why I have dedicated this short film and my books to all those who have walked in these shoes. As a survivor of horrendous trauma, I’ve transformed pain into purpose. Sharing this narrative is not just a story or a concept, it is a lived reality. The feature films will expand on this impact, as there is far more to tell of my story, more healing to offer the world.

-If you could ask a question to a great director from the past, who would you like to talk to and what would you ask them?

Given my background, I didn’t get to see much films as a teenager, but one of my early graphic design jobs was creating movie posters and VCR covers that drew me into film. I soon learned that I loved films that make you think, that doesn’t give away every detail but allows you as the viewer to walk through discovering what you need about the characters and yourself. I wanted my short film to do precisely that, and to not have much dialogue but to drive the message through visual and sound. As a team, I think we did this extraordinary well. There was one particular movie that was a cinematic innovation that struck me in my late teens that I watched many times over my lifetime, ‘Metropolis’, the 1927 German expressionist science-fiction silent film. Directed by Fritz Lang and based on Thea von Harbou’s 1925 novel, ‘Metropolis’ immerses viewers in a futuristic urban dystopia. If I could converse with Fritz Lang, I would ask him about the delicate balance between revealing and withholding details. How did he craft a film that invites introspection without spoon-feeding the audience? How did he hold the silence, and yet add depth? The film’s art direction that was inspired by opera, Cubism and Futurism, melds seamlessly with its Gothic undertones. Perhaps Lang would share how he wove these influences into a tapestry of human struggle and hope. 

-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?

Being recognised as an award-winning film first by 8 and a Halfilm Awards opened doors to the Wild Filmmaker platform. It allowed me then to expand our network and awards portfolio. Recognition is both validation and motivation for indie producers. The platform’s evolution from awards to events is a positive shift providing networking opportunities and exposure for indie creators. Thank you for making the platform affordable for indie creators and your vision in providing prestigious names that reflect the entire film industry is enlightening. Balancing opportunities while maintaining focus is an art, especially when receiving frequent selection invites. Supporting indie filmmakers is vital, and platforms like Wild Filmmaker play a crucial role. Thank you for championing our work, and my vision to captivate hearts. 

-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

Michelangelo and Me hasn’t been produced yet.  I only actively started submitting to festivals a little over a year ago though I came up with my novel concept of the same idea over twenty years ago.  The published book version is called Heaven’s Rogue and was published by Dorchester Books’ Millennium imprint in 1999 to launch their imprint celebrating the turn of the millennium.  I’ve altered the storyline quite a bit to make it fit screenplay format better but the basic romance and many of the character arcs are very similar.  lt was requested by my editor but she liked it so much she asked for a trilogy.  I’ve begun the second story and the beginning is attached to the end of the Michelangelo script.  

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?

Yes.  And also by the proliferation of online free video sources.  It’s hard to get traction in this noisy world and we’re all jaded from too many boilerplate stories that get altered a bit and then told over and over.  I consciously try to create stories that are fresh and have a large reading/viewing audience because I want to create characters and worlds that span religion, ethnicity, gender and age.  A curse/blessing kind of goal I guess because we all know franchises, in both book and film form, are most popular with readers/viewers.  However, every billion dollar franchise began as an idea somewhere that savvy people in the industry risked a lot of money on.  Something I hope to achieve someday. The curse part is my ideas tend to be way too expensive for me to produce alone.  

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

Trying to come up with an idea that tied humanity’s fates in the past, present and future, largely what we create ourselves along the way by the daily choices we make, into a meaningful throughline with a moral, philosophic core, much more than mere romance.  After all, very few people ever live to see the turn of a millennium and the subjects celebrating it should be thought provoking.  When I came up with the idea of Michelangelo’s David as the symbol of all three of those times yet in an immortal way only Michelangelo could have created, everything else fell into place.  

-If you could ask a question to a great director from the past, who would you like to talk to and what would you ask them?

Probably Alfred Hitchcock.  I already know a lot about him having researched and written an original script about him (Full Circle) which has also done well on the festival circuit.  I don’t know if asking a few questions would help me much.  I’d rather just follow him around for a week during filming of, say North by Northwest, to better understand the challenges of creating film stories that will, like the David, also live forever. I particularly admire the genre bending ideas he found interesting enough to bring to life.  Very few directors today can combine true suspense, great, interesting and flawed characters who get thrust into situations they don’t know how to handle but have to rise to conquer, in absorbing plots with brilliant cinematography, directions and dialogue.  I went over the top a bit with my Full Circle villains deliberately (the Cohen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino are also great at combining humor and suspense in their antagonists) .  I also tried to add a lot of the dry humor Hitch loved to use.  I’d challenge anyone who loves film as much as I do to tear apart and study the dinner scene between Eve and Roger and tell me it’s not one of the most interesting, sensual sex scenes ever written though it’s all done with dialogue.  Hitch knew it:  in one of his interviews he said he was the first to bring an X rated sex scene to film past the censors.  He was referring to the last scene where the train goes into a tunnel right after Eve and Roger join on the top bunk of their sleeper car as newly married.  Hitch was also smart enough to say when questioned, that the script, the script, the script was the most important part of a film. As a writer, I obviously agree…

-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?

I love the black and white look but am not very familiar with the format and distribution as of yet.  But I know this is a fairly new venture.

What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

Because I have no budget, I have to do everything myself. For example, I have to be both an actor and an actress for all the characters. This is obviously a problem. I cannot even play a female character. My English is terrible with heavy accent. I have to admit that I don’t fit as an actress; but, I have to play all my animation characters. This is not the only problem. There are other difficulties if you do not have a team.

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?

Ha, ha, of course. Not everyone has the courage to come forward or to push envelope. Not everyone is willing to risk being back fired by the public or special interest groups. It would take a lot of courage to stand up and step up. It is c considered rude in our society to speak out or to be different. We have become conformists, as society conditions us. I think it is important for us to re-learn self-love and make worthy of ourselves.

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

I was a computer programming nurd. I worked with many Silicon Valley nurds, who just like me, wanted to be un-nurd. I am writing and making my animations to tell my younger self what to do.

-If you could ask a question to a great director from the past, who would you like to
talk to and what would you ask them?

I saw Titanic four times in movie theaters. It is one of my all time favorite. I love Titanic theme song written by Horner and sang by Celine Dion. I would like to ask Titanic director James Cameron if he believes true love exists? I am fifty-four and never been kissed. I had many many crushes on people whom are out of my league. But, I don’t want to just settle with anyone that I don’t have chemistry with. I would like to ask James Cameron that if someone as me can still find love. I am financially broke and is
an aspiring artist who barely makes the end meets every month. Do you think it is selfish for someone as broken as me to want love? I feel that I don’t have the ability to love.

-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?

Of course I only have good words for Wild Filmmaker. Ha, ha, I’m just kidding. Thanks to Wild Filmmaker magazine, I get to express my opinions to the public. With the popularity of Wild Filmmaker magazine and many critic reviews, artists gain public attention and get to tell the world not only how they make their films, but also express their opinions and ideas publicly.

-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

Producing movies in Brazil is always difficult, but we fight bravely against this barrier. The greatest difficulty I faced in producing Doctor Hypotheses was undoubtedly the social isolation during the pandemic. This period forced us to delve into our feelings and emotions. The need for distance and the restrictions imposed completely changed the dynamics of the creative and production process.
This adversity also brought a unique opportunity for emotional recycling and new creative forms, forcing us to reinvent other ways of telling stories. It was a period of intense introspection which, although difficult, turned out to be extremely enriching.
During the pandemic period, I reinvented myself. I’d long had the desire, inspired by Clint Eastwood, to act and direct. I put together a minimal team and went for it. Anyone who has managed to overcome adversity and think of alternative paths for the creative process has made a leap forward in terms of innovation and originality. In my particular case, I rethought alternatives for writing the script, introducing puppets instead of actors and using the actors individually for dubbing, as well as the production process. This reinvention was crucial to the execution of the project and we achieved a surprising and impactful results.

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political
correctness?

The issue of political correctness in the film industry is complex and multifaceted. Some might argue that concerns about political correctness can restrict creative freedom. However, I believe that the real challenge and beauty of the creative process lies precisely in the ability to find new languages and ways to address sensitive and diverse issues.
The film industry reflects its time, and we are in an era where diversity and inclusion are valued more than ever. Being politically correct in the midst of all this transition? I don’t think it’s necessarily a limitation, but an opportunity to explore richer and more varied narratives that might not have had space in other eras.
Political correctness can be seen as a tool that forces us to be more careful and conscious about the stories we tell and how we tell them. It challenges us to be more creative and to find innovative ways of expressing our ideas without disrespecting or excluding groups or people. Ultimately, art is a reflection of society, and embracing these changes helps us to create movies that is more representative and meaningful for everyone.

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

The greatest source of inspiration for the creation of my project was an unexpected moment of illumination, literally. I was in the production company’s garage, reflecting on the times we were facing during the pandemic, when a bolt of light came through the garage vent and created a magical atmosphere in such a magnificent way that it inspired me to visually design the film. This “divine” moment made me think about how light and shadow can be used to tell a story, leading me to look for literary references that would complement this vision.
It was then that I revisited the short story “The Evils of Tobacco” by Anton Chekhov. The conflict and emotional complexity of Chekhov’s text inspired me to develop the script for “Doctor Hypotheses”. From this basis, I was able to script and produce a film that not only explores universal themes, but also uses photography to convey the intensity of human emotions.
There in the garage, in the midst of the pandemic, from that ray of sunshine, the most audacious project of my filmmaking career was born.

-If you could ask a question to a great director from the past, who would you like to talk to and what would you ask them?

If I could ask a question to a great director from the past, I’d like to talk to Federico Fellini, creator of a very particular creative process. Fellini is an icon of cinema who has always fascinated me for his ability to create deeply thought-provoking films. My question to him would be about his creative process: “Federico, how did you transform your ideas and visions into scripts and scenes that captured the essence of life and fantasy so masterfully?
Fellini had a unique gift for exploring the human subconscious and creating narratives that were both personal and universal. Understanding his working method would be an incredible opportunity to learn.
Marcello Mastroianni used to say that Fellini liked faces, and most of the time the face he liked wasn’t that of an established actor or actress for the character, but that of an ordinary person he met on the street who didn’t act and who couldn’t memorize lines, so he created a method to work with”. And sometimes he would ask the then actor to count numbers, so that later on in the dubbing phase he could fit in the correct text. Isn’t that great?

-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?

By embracing this evolution, the Wild Filmmaker platform is helping to shape the future of cinema, celebrating its rich heritage while promoting innovation and inclusion.
The great Brazilian filmmaker Glauber Rocha, an icon of “Cinema Novo” (one of the biggest film movements in Brazil, which began after the end of World War II and lasted until the mid-1970s), left behind, in addition to his prestigious work, a phrase that marked his career: “an idea in your head and a camera in your hand”. And don’t we all carry a camera in our hands these days? We have excellent quality cameras on our cell phones, and anyone with a cell phone camera can tell a story through images. Global connectivity allows these stories to go viral quickly, reaching audiences around the world. The key is the idea in your head and the knowledge of filmmaking.
Thus, Wild Filmmaker is an innovative platform that has come to add to and open up new horizons, especially for independent movies, where a person with a cell phone and a little cinematographic knowledge can tell a story through images. Global connectivity allows these stories to go viral quickly, reaching audiences around the world.

-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

My dreams and intuition give me the direction where to go and what to create. It all starts with a feeling coming to me. When I do nature walks, images start appearing in my mind. Then I do a meditation and start to develop a musical theme. I stay a few months with that and the musical variations of the theme. I play keyboards, piano, guitar, flute and sax. Then images start coming strongly to my mind, the archetypes of the images and the script to the video come with the images. After the music is ready, I do a draft and then the whole video starts taking life. The difficulty is to stay with the process until it is complete. I have a team work for Sound design, Pedro Tavares, Jeff Silverman  and Matthew Shell and for image design, myself and Marcio Alves , and my creative consultant is Suzanne Doucet. 

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

The greatest source of inspiration is the Transcendence in the Universe. As a Director I like  to have sounds , music, images in an integration of the senses, which is the perception of the moving universe which is impermanent and vibrates. -We need to overcome our limitations and open other galaxy gates on the Path of Evolution. But for me still remains the meaning of Existence by itself. I still have questions that are understandable only by the eyes of perception and feelings, not by the mind or intellect. Transformation through the vibration of Music and images gives harmony for the emotional movement of the movie and brings the audience an inner encounter of the Self. It is  the birth of civilization and of the Earth evolution with humankind.

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?

Yes. Art should be free of politics! Art is assisting the evolution of mankind as humans, facilitating Ascension to elevate the body vibrations : physical, emotional, spiritual and the evolution of senses and perception of the universe in motion. Fantasy is the most real aspect of the inner feelings of a person. The creativity and imagination work together to build other realities that translate an inner feeling that would be possible in what people call reality. We dive into mythologies, the archetypes appear and we work from that on to enhance humankind. The story of mythologies and archetypes are  present in all civilizations. What is real or not depends on the angle you are looking and from which dimension you are approaching them.

–What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?

Streaming services have disrupted the traditional distribution model of movies, challenged the dominance of theaters and altering the way films reach audiences. The rise of streaming services and independent platforms  has affected the film industry and content creators in several ways, influencing production decisions, creative freedom, and financial stability. As a result, filmmakers are increasingly drawn to long-form storytelling or episodic formats, impacting the diversity and scope of movie production. Streaming services can play a crucial role in supporting independent filmmakers and promoting diverse voices. Dedicated initiatives, funding opportunities, and curated sections for independent films on streaming platforms would encourage the production and discovery of unique content. If I didn’t exist, I wouldn’t have been able to fulfill myself as a filmmaker and have the opportunity to send my work to all continents. I’m very grateful to your platform organizers and the jury who are receptive to my work, thus providing the opportunity to reach the general public.

-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

I would say putting together the cast, coordinating the dates, and checking on everyone in the cast and crew to make sure everyone was taken care of and was doing their part efficiently.

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?

I would say at least the mainstream film industry but for independent filmmakers and anyone involved in the independent film market political correctness doesn’t matter and what matters more is making original films with great story telling that the audience seeks in cinema. 

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

My greatest source of inspiration for creating “Dojo” was a combination of my favorite films of all time, and its story; such as “The Last Samurai”, “The Matrix”, and “Blood Sport”, as well as my own background experience in martial arts training and competition, and to bring everything together to create a unique story of my own to recapture the cinematic mysticism that the audience wants. 

-If you could ask a question to a great director from the past, who would you like to talk to and what would you ask them?

I would talk to director Tony Scott and ask him how he would think and vision on how his movies would flow as he directs his films.

-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?

I believe the Wild Filmmaker platform is doing a great job by showing amazing independent films out there for the world to see and that they are expanding as a film festival network all around in many countries.

-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

When the late Emile Haris (who was my filmmaking partner for 20 years) and I began making the short concept film Routine (with the feature film sequel Staycation in mind), we had to begin to think how to raise the monies for such a feature film. We began with investing in a camera package, and then reaching out to investors who were receptive to our previous five feature films (P.J, Chasing the Green, The Legends of Nethiah, Occupants, American Wisper). We also devised an Indiegogo campaign to get additional monies and were fortunate to raise around 200% of our goal. But the main difficulty was we filmed Routine in April 2020 at the height of Covid and it was only one actress (the great Paige Laree Poucel), myself as producer/director, and the late Emile Haris (who was the cinematographer, editor and writer – he would go on to do the same for Staycation). Once we filmed and completed Routine (with the help of wonderful voice actors Bill Victor Arucan and Alan Courtright), around the Summer 2020, it convinced the investors to go onto doing the feature film Staycation, which we began filming in November 2020 with name actors such as Olivia d’Abo, Sean Kenney, Tracee Cocco, Laurene Landon, Kelli Maroney, Eileen Dietz, and because of the Covid restrictions, we had to film piecemeal until November 2022. We also brought back the original three wonderful Routine actors (Paige, Bill Victor, Alan), tying Routine closer to Staycation. Then Emile Haris passed away unexpectedly in July 2023, and it set the film back a couple more months as he was working on the visual effects and had the master files, as I then had to pick up the pieces and find a new visual effects artist and editor (Brian Barsuglia). Currently, it is in the final sound design stage with our sound mixer Sean Fahimian and is around 2 months away from completion. It’s taken 4 years and over 100 cast and crew members to make Staycation a reality and I will never forget each and everyone person who helped complete this lengthy journey.

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?

I think in some ways yes because one element of storytelling is to tell your story but if you are politically correct, you cannot always say what you want. In other ways, I totally understand the need for balance.

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

I think it was the Covid pandemic and all the trials and tribulations that came with it. In fact, both Routine and Staycation are about a global pandemic and how the world deals with it, but in a more horror genre-based way.

-If you could ask a question to a great director from the past, who would you like to talk to and what would you ask them?

What was their own inspirations for making their wonderful pieces of art.

-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?

I love it and thank you for having me throughout the years.

-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

I am not sure there was a ‘greatest difficulty’.  The challenges we had included making sure my home (our set) was ready for the 1 Day shoot. Clearing the living space to prep for the film.  Then challenges with post production had us re-do the VFX we wanted during pre production to make something else work.  Sound was a bit of an issue as foley done was not quite done the best way possible.

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political
correctness?

I think life around the world has been damaged by political correctness. We have gone from one extreme to another.  We worry about saying or doing the right thing that we have lost sight of what is the right thing.  We are more focused on doing rather than being… like being kind, being respectful, being grateful, being helpful.  At the same time if we do not focus on being politically correct (or put another way – respectful of all sex, race, creed, colour, heritage, culture, etc.), there is the chance we stay with our stigmatisms of hate, prejudices, phobias, etc.

I heard Viola Davis talk about how she has done some amazing things – that even top Meryl Streep… yet Viola does not get paid the money Meryl when she does a movie.  Why is that?  I am the old white guy – and according to my daughter my archetype (old white men) is the cause of the problems we have today … so I am not allowed to say anything.  But here is what I know.  The world owes each of us nothing.  We need to work for it.  Each of us need to go after what we want.  We cannot control other people only ourselves.  So we should consider letting people do them – while we do ourselves.

Specifically to the film industry, movies derive from experiences people have in life AND life experiences come about from things like we see in movies.
There should not be political correctness… this art.  It is very subjective.  We all don’t like the same things.  And that is ok. Keep creating and sharing your stories is what I say.  It will make a difference to somebody and hopefully get them to be their best.

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

Greatest source for me is my son.  I went to film school at the age of 57 in 2021.  My son was working at Toronto Film School after he had graduated from Video Game programming in 2019.  There I met my business partners and we created MARKD Productions.  This came after my son had left TFS and
decided to get a degree in comp science.  He went to Lakehead Univ and did what he did in college.  He was top of his class.  He got 2 part time jobs. The only difference was he burnt the candle at both ends.  On Nov 6 2021, he had a car accident and passed away.
My heart was crushed – but somehow he became my driving force in this industry. The Package was the first production outside of school that we all did.  It is a short silent film.  It was made to remind us to be careful what you wish for.

-If you could ask a question to a great director from the past, who would
you like to talk to and what would you ask them?

I am a real newbie in filmmaking and the names I know of are still alive… Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan. They are the most important to me right now.  AND my questions are really simple – What would it take for them to consider co-directing or consulting with me on a feature
musical that I have written with the music of a well know 70s band?  What would they do if they were starting out as a director in film today (and at the age of 60)?  

-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?

The first time I became aware of Wild Filmmaker was in 2022.  My team and I attended TIFF and had the privilege to help provide a story about what was happening.  I think the platform continues to grow and gain notoriety.  I like seeing how it shines the light on those striving to do good in this industry.  I am grateful to have been acknowledged and considered to share my thoughts and insights that I have learned and been exposed to.