-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?
This film was made with unused footage from a previous project. In this particular case there were no particular difficulties. I was presented with this idea while reviewing all the footage in the archives.
-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?
Political correctness is a contrivance contrived with the specific intention of not telling things as they really are. I am not politically correct, I am politically correct ( in the etymological sense of the word ) and the film industry should return the art of film to the hands of artists.
-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?
The feminine universe and the depth that lies beneath it.
-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 think it would be interesting to reverse the parties. I am sure that a filmmaker from the past ( Tarkovsky for example ) addressing a contemporary mainstream filmmaker would give him a giant question mark.
-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?
Wild Filmmaker represents one of the few realities able to give voice to independent and extraordinary artists ( there are many ) who otherwise would have no way to express their creativity freely and without pressure. One of not many opportunities to reaffirm that filmmaking is not dead and that, indeed it still has a lot to give.
-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?
The greatest difficulty I faced in producing my project was finding the right balance between creative vision and my x always telling me to stop dreaming and tell everyone, I was a wanna be and an epic failure… It was challenging to bring my artistic vision to life while managing limited resources effectively. From being put down every day… Telling me I am going to go no where… This made me more determined to succeed… In My vision and go forward.
-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?
I believe that the film industry today has been influenced by political correctness. While there is a push for more inclusive and diverse storytelling, there are instances where excessive political correctness may hinder creative freedom and authentic storytelling. Finding the right balance is crucial for the industry’s growth and evolution.
-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?
The greatest source of inspiration for creating my project was personal experiences and emotions. Drawing from real-life stories and human connections fueled my creativity and gave depth to the characters and narrative. I have been blessed to have actors that go and went far beyond my expectations. My actors , Tony Nicholas, Jenny Meehan, Hayden Clarke, Alice Benfer, Brian Jewell, Tina Currah , Marcel AG, Sue Dobbins , Tarynn Roach, Murray P and Mark Wainwright…
Have brought Catalysm Down Under to life with there amazing skills of acting… And have fueld this feature film with plenty of action and suspense.
-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 would like to talk to Stanley Kubrick. I would ask him about his meticulous attention to detail and his unique approach to storytelling. Understanding his process and creative decisions would be enlightening and inspiring.
-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?
I think the Wild Filmmaker platform is a valuable resource for filmmakers at all levels. It provides a supportive community, opportunities for networking, and access to resources and knowledge sharing. The platform fosters creativity, collaboration, and growth within the filmmaking community.
-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?
ALTA CALIFORNIA, an Award Winner in the Wild Filmmaker Competition, is a challenging script that explores the history of the “Mission Era” in California. The idea for my exploring this topic developed soon after my immigration to the US. Born and raised in Cardiff, Wales, I had a preconceived European way of studying historical events. History was not just a series of unquestionable and unquestioned facts. Those “facts” were often as interpreted by the “victors.” As such, they were open to a challenge by later ages. I expected warring plots, domination, and the political rivalries that dictates history. After emigrating to the US, I took at class on American history. It comprised solely of manifest destiny and the Constitution. Nothing more. And so began my exploration of the clash between the Spanish conquistadores and the indigenous peoples of California, which resulted in ALTA CALIFORNIA. Despite the script’s many national and international awards, I am often confronted by that niggling reality that some critics may not be willing to confront the topic. My answer as of this writing is that many are willing, but some are not.
-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?
Historical scripts such as ALTA CALIFORNIA must find that sweet spot, that exists between truth, such as it is, and entertainment. Some of the critiques I have obtained reveal the reader’s unwillingness to confront truth, saying instead, very well-written script but is the film industry prepared to accept the topic: a script that confronts the honest treatment of the indigenous peoples by the Spanish padres and soldiers?
-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?
I wanted to know, to really know what had happened. What was the truth behind the sanitized story, the fiction, between first contact between the indigenous peoples and the European invaders. What I found, and what my script speaks to, is that those men and women who seek an alternative, humane treatment for the native population are hidden beneath, even obliterated, by the chosen “truth.” And so, the history of this period is dominated by the “Good Padre” Junipero Serra. Captain Felipe de Neve who challenged Serra’s dictum by presenting an alternative vision for the future of California’s native population is forgotten. My central character, Paco Palido, in ALTA CALIFORNIA is not, however, either of these figures. Instead, I created a fictional character, a semi-indigenous young man ripped from his mother and tribe. His is an existential journey, trying to discover who and what he is in this radically evolving, historical period? All safeguards for attempting to live a life worth living have been stripped from him. These new ways of seeing place him as “the other.” The script is divided into three sections.
-In the pre-Santa Barbara (Chumash) section, we learn of Paco’s past: village destroyed, mother murdered and life in the Franciscan school. We also witness the attitude of some Spanish soldiers to natives, especially the women.
-Chumash period. Paco is captured by the Chumash. Here he learns the truth of his people and their beliefs.
-The post Santa Barbara section explores the future, post-Spanish era, for the mission Indians (“neophytes”). Serra has one vision, Neve (supported by King Carlos) another. Only one can succeed. Paco learns of the subterfuge Serra adopts to assure his vision succeeds.
-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 love to meet any director who has struggled to bring an historical past, particularly a meaningful, controversial one, to a contemporary audience. For example, what thoughts went through Werner Herzog’s mind as he filmed “Aguirre, the Wrath of God”? How did Martin Scorsese decide upon “Killers of the Flower Moon”? What obstacles did he face, historically and artistically? How did he overcome them? Did you consider the audience’s reaction to your interpretation of a particular historical moment when making your movie? What were the obstacles?
-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?
I am delighted there is a Festival that recognizes many writers seek truth and meaning in their work. As Horace advised in his “Ars Poetica,” artists should strive to both delight and instruct. In ALTA CALIFORNIA I explore the question, What is historical “fact”? Is it only, as many historians note, the version presented by the victors? I thank Wild Filmmaker for recognizing I was dealing with a transitional moment in history. I am not an historian; I am a dramatist, exploring that historical moment through my characters. As the quotation says, “Before Columbus, your god did not exist in America!” Thank you, Wild Filmmaker, for recognizing I was trying to explore that moment in ALTA CALIFORNIA.
I’m an architect, composer, guitarist, pianist, visual artist and award winning filmmaker. I work as a professional in various fields of visual arts and film since 2008. My work has been showcased at many festivals over the years, including onedotzero Adventures in Motion, Ars Electronica, SIGGRAPH, Interfilm Berlin, SICAF, FICUVAQ, The Lovie Awards, MTV, Vimeo Staff Picks, The Webby Awards, the 23rd Saatchi New Directors Showcase and many others.
-What inspired you to become a visual artist?
I had a solid musical formation in my youth and a definite creative attitude since a very little age. Parallel to my studies in piano, composition and vocal music I graduated in architecture, where I developed a great passion for 3D graphics applied to architectural design first, and pursuing it on my own after. While completing my studies, a strong inspiration to specifically pursue a career as a visual artist came to me from two works of the early 2000s: Gantz Graf, famous music video of an Autechre song created by Alex Rutterford, and Sometimes, a short film by the French collective Pleix.
-Do you think the cinema can bring a change in the society?
I believe that cinema has the enormous power to make the spectator identify with the most diverse situations, to make him experience profound emotions and stimulate countless reflections. So yes, cinema has the power to strongly influence its audience, the public and in some way society, and not only for the good. I also see a lot of bad cinema, which creates bad consequences for the public. That’s why I think filmmakers and the whole industry in general should feel a stronger sense of responsibility towards the consumers they create for.
-What would you change in the world?
I will respond with a series of cliches, but I would love to see the world as a safer, more cooperative place, with more equality and prosperity for all. Unfortunately, in today’s world, new walls and iron curtains are being put up. Unfortunately, I am not optimistic when I think about where this will bring us.
-Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years?
I think this is an impossible question to answer, especially considering the speed at which technological innovation moves today. I think we will be in a very different place than we are now. Perhaps some forms will retain a resemblance to what we have today, but many things will be totally different. I would certainly be very curious to be here in a hundred years and see what has happened!
I am a Dutch cinematographer and I took documentary courses for 3 years before going to Art School for 5 years in Amsterdam The Gerrit Rietveld Academy. Graduated at the Audiovisual Department. My themes are broadly: seemingly insignificant rituals/actions of everyday life. Here I literally zoom in on human actions with my camera.
-What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
For me it is very important to look differently at the world around us as it were in micro format to zoom in on human actions and execute it macro. Film is about time and movement which I find exciting. It’s magic. Inspired by Ingmar Bergman, Agnès Varda, Jeanne Dielman, Tarkovsky and Chantal Akerman
-Do you think that cinema can bring a change in the society?
Cinema can definitely have a lot of influence on the way we think and act. The ability to touch souls in the briefest of moments and contemplation.
-What would you change in the world?
I would like to change the world in its speed and amount of stimuli and information. So being more aware of the small.
-Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years?
I hope the film industry will develop more attention to Art Film but for now I don’t see it happening so soon. There are no less cinemas in the future. Which I regret. Everyone watches at home with a laptop or projector. And in The Netherlands there is less money to make nice productions.
