IFH 548: How I Wrote a Sundance Film with Chloe Okuno
Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast21 Jan 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.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

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IFH 014: Post Production Workflow - Understand it or DIE!

IFH 014: Post Production Workflow - Understand it or DIE!

I know I'm being a bit dramatic when I say "Understand Post Production Workflow or DIE!" but I've seen and been involved with sooooooo many independent films that just die in post production because of one simple thing, they didn't understand post production workflow.Post Production Workflow is not a black art that only a few understand, granted it is getting more and more complicated these days but you as a indie filmmaker can still understand the basics.Get Social with Indie Film Hustle:Facebook: Indie Film HustleTwitter: @indiefilmhustle Instagram: @ifilmhustleYouTube: Indie Film Hustle TVPodcast: IFH PodcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

12 Okt 201516min

IFH 013: Inside the Edit with Paddy Bird

IFH 013: Inside the Edit with Paddy Bird

I've been an editor now for over twenty years. When I was starting out I looked everywhere for some course, book, video, or anything that could teach me the black art of creative editing. There are many courses design to teach you AVID, Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro software but nothing on the creative process.One day I was surfing the net and found this site called "Inside the Edit." The site was boasting the it was the world's first "creative editing course," which I found very hard to believe. I took the course for a test ride and OH MY GOD, they did it, they cracked the code.LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEInside the Edit - 10% OFF email: IFHDISCOUNT@insidetheedit.comInside the EditBlackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Software for Mac/Win/LinuxAdobe Premiere Pro CCFinal Cut Pro XFreeFilmBook.com (Your FREE Audio Book)Six Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!Get Social with Indie Film Hustle:Facebook: Indie Film HustleTwitter: @indiefilmhustle Instagram: @ifilmhustleYouTube: Indie Film Hustle TVPodcast: IFH PodcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

8 Okt 20151h 30min

IFH 012: How to Turn Your Independent Film into a Business

IFH 012: How to Turn Your Independent Film into a Business

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6 Okt 201512min

IFH 011: Suzanne Lyons Pt 2: How to Produce Your First Feature Film

IFH 011: Suzanne Lyons Pt 2: How to Produce Your First Feature Film

Here's Part Two of my interview with Suzanne Lyons. This week on the show I'm excited to have uber independent film producer Suzanne Lyons. She has been living in the indie film space for over twenty years. Working on SAG Ultra Low Budgets to over $15,000,000 budgets she has seen it all.Suzanne Lyons takes you by the hand and walks you through what it takes to produce your first feature film. She goes over the pitfalls, legal concerns, deliverables, selling to foreign countries and most importantly of all how she gets her financing for her feature films.She laid out such amazing information that I had to break the episode up into two parts. I spoke at one of her famous indie film producing workshop and learned a ton while I was there. Suzanne Lyons also wrote an amazing book called Indie Film Producing: The Craft of Low Budget Filmmaking. I suggest you all pick it up. It's better than film school!LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:Suzanne Lyons IMDBSuzanne Lyons Production CompanyIndie Film Producing: The Craft of Low Budget FilmmakingFreeFilmBook.com (Your FREE Audio Book)Six Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

29 Sep 201551min

IFH 010: Suzanne Lyons Pt 1: How to Produce Your First Feature Film

IFH 010: Suzanne Lyons Pt 1: How to Produce Your First Feature Film

This week on the show I'm excited to have uber independent film producer Suzanne Lyons. She has been living in the indie film space for over twenty years. Working on SAG Ultra Low Budgets to over $15,000,000 budgets she has seen it all.Suzanne Lyons takes you by the hand and walks you through what it takes to produce your first feature film. She goes over the pitfalls, legal concerns, deliverables, selling to foreign countries and most importantly of all how she gets her financing for her feature films.She laid out such amazing information that I had to break the episode up into two parts. I spoke at one of her famous indie film producing workshop and learned a ton while I was there. Suzanne Lyons also wrote an amazing book called Indie Film Producing: The Craft of Low Budget Filmmaking. I suggest you all pick it up. It's better than film school!LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:Suzanne Lyons IMDBSuzanne Lyons Production CompanyIndie Film Producing: The Craft of Low Budget FilmmakingFreeFilmBook.com (Your FREE Audio Book)Six Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

29 Sep 201553min

IFH 009: Suki Medencevic ASC & the Art of Cinematography

IFH 009: Suki Medencevic ASC & the Art of Cinematography

Suki Medencevic ASC and the Art of CinematographyI have found over the years that is one of the biggest technical issues in independent film. Someone borrows a friends RED Camera or Arri Alexa and thinks that's all you need. Cinematography is not only a mystical art but imperitive in today's gluttony of indie films in the market place.Good cinematography can really make your independent film project rise out of the gutter of poorly produced indie films. Today on the show I interview Suki Medencevic ASC (American Society of Cinematographers).For all the show notes goto: http://www.indiefilmhustle.com/009Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

23 Sep 20151h 8min

IFH 008: Karl Iglesias Screenwriting Master Class & How to Create an Emotional Impact

IFH 008: Karl Iglesias Screenwriting Master Class & How to Create an Emotional Impact

This week we were lucky enough to have as out guest screenwriting guru Karl Iglesias. He has written award winning books including: The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters, Writing for Emotional Impact, and Cut to the Chase.I discovered Karl Iglesias' work reading Writing for Emotional Impact. It really transformed the way I wrote screenplays and created a bunch of new habits that I still use today.It was a major treat to interview Karl on the show. His work is so specific but yet broad. His one rule that can never be broken,"Always be interesting."I think most films coming out of Hollywood today should take that advice. Keep your audience engaged and emotionally invested. So many filmmakers and screenwriters today don't understand that basic concept.I really asked Karl the tough questions so we could fill this episode with amazing content for you. This is one podcast your won't want to miss. Enjoy!Right click here to download the MP3LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:Pixar's Emotional Core: The Essential Element in all Successful StoriesWriting for Emotional ImpactCut to the ChaseThe 101 Habits of Highly Successful ScreenwritersKarl Iglesias' Official SiteFreeFilmBook.com (Your FREE Audio Book)Six Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!Action Items:Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes,  Stitcher or via RSS.Get Social with Indie Film Hustle:Facebook: Indie Film HustleTwitter: @indiefilmhustle Instagram: @ifilmhustleBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

16 Sep 20151h 2min

IFH 007: Dov Simens - American Greatest & Quentin Tarantino's Only Film Teacher

IFH 007: Dov Simens - American Greatest & Quentin Tarantino's Only Film Teacher

I'm so excited to have on the show this week Dov Simens, founder of Hollywood Film Institute. He created the remarkable 2 Day Film School and has launched the careers of Quentin Tarantino, Chris Nolan, Spike Lee, Kevin Smith, Queen Latifah, Guy Ritchie & more.Dov's teaching style is entertaining, in your face and straight from the street. Real world, practical film education. Sit back and prepared to be schooled in the ways of Jedi Film Teacher Dov Simens.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

10 Sep 201557min

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