On the Fringe: A conversation with other micro-budget filmmakers.
So I’m going to try and start something here that will hopefully take off a bit and be a cool experiment in keeping a conversation going. In the last few years I have had the pleasure of not only making films, but talking to others outside of my upstate new york bubble about indie filmmaking and the state of DIY art making. One of these souls is Donnacha Coffey, an Irish filmmaker and lover of all things indie. Donnacha saw my first film and tried to get in touch with me…but I never got the email. (which is the total truth…scouts honor.) He tried again…and thank goodness…we have now been in constant contact about film and life. He’s a graduate of a film program similar to the one I experienced. He’s made several festival shorts in Dublin since graduation, and he’s now finishing the touches on two feature films. (which I haven’t seen yet…unfair…he’s seen all mine.;-)
We were chatting via Facebook the other day and Donnacha made the comment that it simply sucked we couldn’t just grab a pint together and hash out all the problems and triumphs of indie film. We can Donnacha…a virtual pint. (until the day comes when I’ll be in Dublin again and we can get a real one then…)
That’s what I want this experiment to be. An on going conversation about film, music, and life from some of us on the very fringe of this film culture. The ones who aren’t in the magazines and spirit awards, and studios. The ones working hard to make every dollar count because we simply know no other way to express ourselves. So this is a call…to those of you who read this and have something to say…say it…and contact me with a response…I’ll keep the conversation going. (name5026@yahoo.com)
Donnacha will start it up below…I will follow up today or tomorrow. Welcome to a conversation on the outskirts.
“I’ve never met John Yost, but that is not to say that I don’t know him, because I really feel like I do. We’ve chatted a few times via email, and on Instant chat but not really enough to exclaim that I know him as well as I do. I’m sure many of my friends and family would balk at the fact that I would happily put John up in my home any time he should be in my neck of the woods considering we have never formally met (offer is still open JY)
I first came across John, when I saw his movie Every Good Thing to Rust was available for free download, low budget? Minimal characters? Snow? I’m in! I remember watching the movie late one night, and finding myself unable to sleep after, at last I had found someone who was in the same boat as me, I had to make contact. So I sent a rather impassioned (verging on the stalkerish) email to him, explaining I too was a filmmaker on the same path as him, albeit a bit behind him in terms of getting content out there, and I waited for a reply. And waited.
I was legitimately heartbroken, I thought I had found a veritable filmic soul mate, and I knew that if someone had sent me such an email I would have been excited to respond, but alas weeks and months on there was no such response. Had I been mistaken about John?
Well not really, the email apparently got lost somewhere among the vast infinity of the interwebs (well that what John said anyway) and eventually we got in contact and had a lengthy session of emails getting to know one another, and with the exception of a few minor details I was pretty bang on about what kind of person he is. It’s a testament not only his skills as a director, but to the medium itself if a director can distill so much of their personality into a ninety minute sequence of images, sounds and words.
So circuitously this is what I’ve been trying to bring up here, it is the number one reason I respond so strongly to film. As a kid who spent probably a little too much time by himself I’ve always felt a little different to everyone, so the day I realised there was a hidden code in films coming from the director was a big day. Your eye starts looking for these messages in every movie, the best directors are able to make them very clear but also hide them to the untrained (or unwilling) eye.
I can never feel alone in the world when I’ve found so many directors who share some kind of sensibilities and experiences with. To me that’s the power of film, if we really want to get down to it, that’s the power of art (whatever the word means anymore). So where does this (extremely bizarre) need to pour your personality into a film come from? Are we trying to make some document of ourselves, to prove that we once existed? Are we looking for admiration? Respect? Validation? Attention? Or are we simply trying to add to the 100+ year long dialogue that is the movies? ”
Tags: art, conversation, DIY, Donnacha Coffey, filmmaking, indie, Irish, The brave and the kind, video
February 20th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Ahhh… as John’s wife and web master, I feel the need to explain — or apologize — for the email mishap. I remember that the info@ address for John’s movie was set up wrong for awhile… hence the lost email. So sorry! But I’m so glad that you wrote again, Donnacha, and that the two of you connected. John’s passion for film is unwavering… and I love that the internet allows people like you guys to start a conversation that might otherwise have been impossible. In fact, it’s this kind of dialogue that brings about real change. I’m looking forward to reading what comes next…