Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast21 Tammi 2022

IFH 548: How I Wrote a Sundance Film with Chloe Okuno

Well Sundance 2022 has begun and so has our coverage. Today on the show we have writer/director Chloe Okuno.

Chloe is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a masters degree from the American Film Institute Conservatory. There she received the Franklin J. Shaffner Fellow Award, and directed the award-winning horror short film SLUT. Her recent work includes writing a remake of “Audrey Rose” for Orion Pictures and writing and directing a segment of the anthology series V/H/S/94.

She's the director of this year's Sundance feature film Watcher.

Julia joins her husband when he relocates to his family’s native Romania for a new job. Having recently abandoned her acting career, she finds herself frequently alone and unoccupied. One night, people-watching from her picture window, she spots a vague figure in an adjacent building, who seems to be looking back at her. Soon after, while alone at a local movie theater, Julia’s sense of being watched intensifies, and she becomes certain she’s being followed — could it be the same unknown neighbor? Meanwhile, a serial killer known as The Spider stalks the city.

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In making “Watcher,” I wanted to capture a kind of constant, uncomfortable dread that accompanies many women throughout their lives- one that is expressed through the character of Julia. Julia moves into this apartment building with her husband and quickly begins to believe she is being watched.

She recognizes that the Watcher is a threat. She feels it very clearly- even if it’s difficult to articulate the extent of that threat to the people around her. It’s a situation that’s probably quite familiar to most women. We experience the world in a different way than men and then when we try to express that experience, we’re often doubted- written off as paranoid, irrational, or overly sensitive… which in turn can make us begin to doubt ourselves.

This has always been at the core of a story that in other ways has evolved greatly since I was first hired to direct it in 2017. Initially, the script was set in New York City, but when it became clear that we would be shooting the movie in Romania, I decided to rewrite it to take place in Bucharest.

There are times as a filmmaker where practical limitations end up being creatively very freeing- unlocking something great when you’re willing to embrace the unexpected. This was one of those times. Suddenly, Julia’s experience as a foreigner in this new city heightens all her other feelings of unease and uncertainty.

She finds herself increasingly isolated- largely unable to speak the language and therefore alienated from everyone around her. There were of course natural (sometimes uncomfortable) parallels shooting the movie on location in Romania: unable to speak the language, oftentimes sequestered in a hotel room amidst the raging pandemic, and occasionally fighting against the doubt that surrounds you as a woman working in a male dominated profession.

Fortunately, life didn’t fully imitate art. I finished the movie without any nightmarish descent into Watcher-style darkness, content with the hope that all of the tension found its way on screen.

The filmmakers I admire are the ones who are able to create a language for emotion through their craft, translating what they feel into a form that other people can see and experience for themselves.

For Watcher I was inspired by the work of David Fincher, Sofia Coppola, Satoshi Kon, Roman Polanski, Krzysztof Kieslowski, and Mary Harron- filmmakers who have excelled at translating fear, loneliness, and alienation. The hope is always that there will be someone else who can empathize- telling stories so that we can take comfort in the recognition of ourselves in others. As a person filled with seemingly endless anxieties, making films is the best- and possibly the only- way I’ve found to confront them.

I’ve done my best to portray them honestly in this film, and I can only hope that those who have experienced similar fears and anxieties will find solace in the knowledge that they are not alone.

Enjoy my conversation with Chloe Okuno.

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IFH 052: The 5 Lies of Film Distribution

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23 Helmi 201617min

IFH 051: Are the Oscars Too White…Again? #OscarsSoWhite

So the question of the moment is"Why are the Oscars® so white again? #OscarsSoWhiteThe 88th Annual Academy Awards haven’t even aired yet, and there is a hurricane of drama surrounding Hollywood’s most exciting night. Celebrities like Spike Lee and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have called for a boycott due to a lack of minority nominees.If you look at the graphic below (Courtesy of www.mirror.co.uk) you see the Acadamy doesn't have a firm foundation to stand on.Courtesy of www.mirror.co.ukI usually don't discuss topics like this on Indie Film Hustle but when the opportunity to have a sit-down with RB Botto from Stage32.com and talk all things Oscar I jumped at the chance.Related: Filmmaking Hacks: How to Shoot and Market Your Indie FilmWe discuss not only "Why are the Oscars® so white again? #OscarsSoWhite" but we discuss this year's Oscar races, surprises, snubs and we talk about the current state of the film business. Take a listen!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

17 Helmi 20162h 17min

IFH 049: How to Pitch Your Film Like a Pro with Stephanie Palmer

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11 Helmi 201647min

IFH 048: What to do when people DON'T BELIEVE IN YOU!

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9 Helmi 201619min

IFH 047: Yancey Arias - How to Make It as a Working Actor

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4 Helmi 20161h 10min

IFH 046: Film Festival Hacks: Secrets on How to Get Your Film Accepted

Getting into film festival is getting tougher and tougher everyday. Indie filmmakers can end up spending thousands and thousands of dollars submitting to every film festival around, and there are a ton. At last count there was over 3000 film festivals around the world. That’s a lot of submission fees.When I was doing my rounds with my films I learned a few things. A few tricks that I put into a FREE eBook: “Six Tips to Get into Film Festivals for cheap or FREE.”This eBook was such a success that the Indie Film Hustle Tribe kept reaching out to me to create some sort of “master class” on film festivals. Well I heard the call and teamed up with arguably one of the leading voices in film festivals Chris Holland from FilmFestivalsSecrets.com.We got together and create a one of a kind resource for any filmmaker even thinking of submitting to a film festival. We call it Film Festival Hacks!In this episode I give you a SNEAK PEEK at Film Festival Hacks and let you listen to a FREE lecture from the course. So get ready to take notes and have a taste of Film Festival Hacks.Oh, before I forget Chris Holland is also giving you another FREE sample of the course on his podcast so when you are done listening to this head over there for more FREE content. Click here: FilmFestivalSecrets – PodcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

2 Helmi 201620min

IFH 045: From Film Geek to Online Media Empire with Todd Brown

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28 Tammi 20161h 8min

IFH 044: How to Create Multiple Revenue Streams for Your Indie Film

The one thing more difficult than actually making an indie film is marketing and selling that film. I get asked all the time the same question:"How can I make CASH, MONEY, DINERO with my film?"So I decided to put together this very dense podcast with suggestions on multiple revenue streams for independent films. This podcast is probably one of the most info packed episodes I've ever done.So get your iPad ready to take some detail notes cause this episode is worth MUCHO DINERO for the filmmaker who wants to put in the work.LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEIFH 023: How to Crowdfund Your Film Like a Pro w/ Emily BestIFH: 025: How t Get a Theatrical Release for Your Indie FilmIFH 017: Guide to Selling Your Film to VODIFH: Filmmaking HacksTwitter Hacks: 10,000 True Fans in 10 WeeksUSC Film School's ONLY On-line Course: Directing the ActorFreeFilmBook.com (Your FREE Audio Book)Six Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!Kung FuryTurbo KidVimeo ProVHX.tvSeed and SparkTuggIndie RightsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

26 Tammi 201624min

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