Happy to go. Sad to leave.

I'm excited about going to America. But I'm sad about leaving Ireland. For many reasons, but seeing as this is my film blog, lets talk about the film side of things.

I had hoped, and indeed tried, to get another film made before I left. Wasn't to be. Another little boy arrived, my wife got sick and had a recovery ahead of her and of course, we're immigrating, which is coming up fast! I started packing up the house a month ago, my god I'm glad I did! SO much stuff it's ridiculous! So, with all that, the idea to make Ghoster, do one short or another and shoot a documentary, all fell by the wayside.

This was probably a good thing. Films are ALL consuming and will always, without fail, take more time, money and soul than you planned to give. But I am sad I wont be making another film here, at least not for a while. I have so many ideas, ready to go scripts and the hunger to do it. Plus there are so many great and talented people I wanted to work with and those who I have and wanted to work with again. Actors whose faces pop into my head when I think of an idea, "That's a good idea," I think, "With this actor playing it, it could be great!" I get excited and I start writing. But recently, I've had to stop myself.

On the set of DERELICT
with John Lawlor.

Today I sat in a cafe in town, Stockwell Artisan Foods, a lovely place run by lovely people. The kind place you can sit for an hour over the same cup, watch the world pass you by. Of course, Drogheda is the kind of town where I'm guaranteed to meet at least 10 people I know in the space of that hour (while I'm at it I have to thank the guys, especially Gwen, for showing there support for my films over the years. They've donated cash, spot prizes and always had a word of encouragement to give.) So I suppose it's fitting that while sitting there today I hashed out the idea for a new film, possible my next film, and began to think of it as an American film.

Me and Patrick O'Donnell
Late one night on DERELICT

Of course it was hard not to mentally put Patrick O'Donnell and Steve Gunn in the two roles of the first scene, getting annoyed with each other, pushing each other's buttons and delivering awesome performances. Followed by - "Well maybe, if I just..." but no, I can't (sorry lads) it's just not possible. I mean, it's July already! September is going to come around fast! I barely have time to pack!

I'll be very sad to leave behind the kind of talent I've gotten to know over the years here. The friends and associations I've made. It's been an interesting journey these last few years. I started out this naive dreamer, and somehow, I think I've managed to remain that! I've always been a dreamer, since day one, that wont change. Perhaps the naive part will, but it's still in there, getting me into trouble!

Rehearsal with Patrick O'Donnell for DERELICT

A brief run down of the last fews years, it start in 2000 with graduating animation college and then going to Australia. I wont go into too much detail, chances are your heard it before! It was on the flight to Australia, via LA, that I decided I would no longer pursue animation and instead go back to my first love, film. So coming back to Ireland I had a feature script I wanted to make. Never did make it, but it lead to a writing partnership with Thomas Kennedy, a partnership that taught me a lot, but more than anything, allowed me to write. Practice!

We had been writing for a couple years but hadn't made anything, didn't really know how. So I went off and made a short film called The Girl in the Window, it was terrible! It wasn't really a film, I never wrote a script, just storyboarded it. It was only ever meant to be an experiment. It was a ghost story, and I wanted to try and get some scares. So it was a mechanical piece, which is why it failed, lacked heart. But the scares worked! So a worthwhile experiment I thought. It was after doing that Thomas said, "Well, if you can do that, why can't we make a film?!" And Emily's Song was born.

Emily's Song has been my most successful film to date. Screening at nearly 30 International Film Festivals. Winning several awards and being sold to RTE and Channel 4. We shot that in 2005, finished in in 2006. 7 years on it still pops up on TV once in a while. We hit a wall after Emily's Song. Even though it was good, and doing well, we were still getting rejections on other projects and doors were not opening, as we naively thought they would.

I got bored of this so set out on my own. Still writing with Thomas all the while. But I made Bill, For Short, a personal documentary about my grandfather. It was never meant to do anything, it was just for me, but it really connected with people. Screened at 5 film festivals and was picked up a sales agent. Then came Slán agus Beannacht, that was a film that was close to my heart, but it didn't do too well. However, it eventually sold to RTE and was broadcast. Then came 140. A film that took over my life for a year or more.

140 was a fantastic project to work on. It was exciting. A great feeling to get such positive feedback and to see a little idea I had grow into something so big. I'm really proud of that one. It was an experiment, yes, but a successful one I think, that really taped into what people were thinking and feeling at the time. It started to do well, it was getting into festivals, had won the Bronze Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival, and people really seemed to dig it.

Then Ridley Scott announce Life in a Day! Basically the same idea, but with Ridley Scott. Kinda stole my thunder, and right after that all interest died.

Q&A at Droichead Arts Centre in Drogheda for DERELICT

Me writing Ghoster in Indianapolis
First draft wrote in one week.

I set out to make my first feature film. I started with Ghoster. But the interest wasn't there. So I moved on to Derelict. While I was getting Derelict up and running I made a film called Raise My Hands with Elliot Kotek and Scott McDermott. Hands went on to screen at 15 prestigious film festival around the world and is still going, a surprise project that did really well. So then Derelict came along, my first feature. And that almost brings us up to present day.

Derelict was shot in a week. A tough week. I wont go into it because it's well covered in this blog. But it took a long time to finish and as I type I'm still trying to get it out into the world. Meantime, just when I thought I wouldn't get to make another film here, I got an offer to help a local group called Ablevision to make a short film. It turned out to be one of the most positive and rewarding experiences I've ever had making a film. That was Joe & Sarah and I was so lucky to be a part of it.

Me with the Charming and Talented
Philip Reeve

That's seven films in all. During all this time of course Thomas and I wrote several feature length scripts, a TV show we worked on with a production company for a while, and a feature film too. They all fell through and we eventually stopped. I myself have written countless short film scripts, a couple more features, even a novel or two! I've also had the chance to make bigger films with well known people. During that time I met some lovely people, and some not so lovely people, who then tried to make the lovely people not like me very much, but the lovely people stayed liking me, even though the chance to work with the lovely people went away. All that experience taught me was not to try and make other people's work, stick with your own! So, a decades work, 90% of which was rejected.

PUCA - Rejected Short Film

It's always been a struggle and it's a struggle to face so much rejection. But I feel very lucky to have been able to make the films I have. I guess it's part of the game and to survive and thrive in this business you have to role with it. I think could spend and equal amount of time bemoaning my station and attacking those that have turned their back on me or rejected me and my work, but I don't want to. I guess they don't deserve it and I don't want to be that person anymore.

I have let me frustration get the better of me in the past and maybe that has harmed my chances. I don't know. I certainly know my enthusiasm has harmed my chances! Jumping the gun from time to time. So, stands to reason it should work both ways! But I've always worn my heart on myself, and sometimes I forget that this forum, and others, are public and people do indeed read them, and perhaps some of those are the right, and indeed the wrong, people. I'd like to make a change if I can, and start afresh in the States by not doing that.

ANGELINA - short script I love that
hasn't happened (yet).

I will always wonder if I'd stayed would that chance have finally come in. Would I have got the chance to make a bigger budget film. The type that gets a theatrical release, that has the support and funding of a production company, and by the powers that be. Or a chance to direct some TV? Or just get to make some of my short films, or indeed, feature films. I don't know. I'll never know. After the last year or two, the answer has been a resounding NO, and it has been the fuel behind me leaving (as well as family). But I think - no, I know, if I was getting to make my films I probably wouldn't be going.

My dream has been a very pure and simple one, and it's been one I've had since I was 9 years-old. To make films. That's all. Let me make my films. I've found out that for every person wanting to make a film there's a committee of people trying to stop them. I don't know why that is. Is it the universes way of saying only it creates, not us? So it sends all it's force and might to stop us! But we push through anyway. We fight and sometimes we get it done. Sometimes we don't. Then of course you come up against the everyday and practical preventors. Bills. Rent. Life in general.
We have to eat.

As I've gotten older my dream has decreased in size. I once wanted to be the next Speilberg, Tarintino, Scorsese... those days pass quickly, like a train you were too late for, or perhaps never meant to catch. Instead, after a while, your biggest hope is that you just get to keep making films, whatever size they are, that they remain and they don't fade into memory or pass-time. That somehow, they pay the bills. And in end all you want to be able to do is pay the bills, so you can create your art, tell your stories and make your films. But again, the world in its wicked wisdom, conspires.

The Wolf of Nevermore
Potential for production in USA

That's my hope for the future. I haven't been able to make it work here. I hope I can in America, for it was America that gave me this dream. It was American films I grew up on. Back to the Future lit the spark that became the hearth of me. Tell me, is it a coincidence that my greatest acting hero was, and is, Jimmy Stewart and that my first film award for my first film was presented to me by his daughter? And at that same festival, I met my wife. And it's with my wife I'm now going back to America, with two beautiful children in tow. I don't know. Makes you wonder. Makes you hope.

So here's hoping. I know I wont be able to do it straight away. I'll need to pay the rent and look after my family. For those that don't understand the film thing, please know that my family always come first, no matter what. It's just that I have this thing that's made me Me since I was a child. It's so deeply a part of who I am, how I think, what I'm about, that it simply can't be taken away or stopped. It's in there. Like my bones are. Try and take my bones out, see how I operate - not that well I'd imagine. Think of it the same way.


It's been a great journey thus far. Ireland has proved to be a hard place to make films. I don't know that America will be any different. I just hope I've built something here and I'm able to leave a bit behind, and carry some with me too.

To end I would like to say Thank You to everyone who has helped me make my films here in Ireland. To all the Crew members, to the great Actors, to the people who have donated time, money, equipment, food and belief. To the town of Drogheda for letting me play in your streets. To the local press and media for always giving me coverage and making me out to be more interesting than I am! To the people who went above and beyond the call of duty based on some mad idea that sprang out of my head. I truly do hate to leave you. I truly do wish you could all come with me and we could keep making films together. I had so many films I wanted to make with you. Thank you all for putting up with me, thank you so very very much. I simple cannot repay you, except with eternal love and gratitude.

And most of all, thank you to my family, for always being there and for being my greatest supporters, no matter what, they've been through it all, since I was 9 and they had to sit through Back to the Future 500 times (I'm not joking either, FIVE HUNDRED TIMES).

Me writing on the porch of the Meade Hotel in Bannack Ghost Town in Montana, USA.

Shadows

About making a film In The Dark.

by Frank Kelly

All photos by Fiaz Farrelly.

Derelict is a dark crime thriller, it tells the story of a group of desperate men who kidnap a bank manager and his family. One of them takes the manager away to rob the bank. The other stay behind, we stay with them for the next hour and a half. It should be simple, sit and wait, but as they start getting on another's nerves, tension rise and when they realise their is someone else in the building, watching them, things become very complicated.

The film was shot in Ireland, for a budget of €7000 over 7 night in a filthy 200 year-old abandoned mill. Frank Kelly directed a cast of eight and crew of eight through a week a high tension and pigeon droppings. You can see the film now by renting or buying at Distrify: muvi.es/w3149

DP John Lawlor (left) and Director Frank Kelly (right) discuss the next shot.

John Lawlor was the first person on the project, he came on a year before we shot. We've been friends long before we ever worked together. John was a down hill mountain biker, who competed at international level. When he retired from competitive racing he picked up a camera and started filming races. Later teaming up with california based Clay Porter the two would start creating documentaries together, including 3 Minutes Gaps and the forth coming Wont Back Down, about the life of Steve Pete, the sport's most successful rider. For me, John was the only choice to shoot this film. I wanted a documentary style, and I wanted someone with an eye for movement and someone who had the strength and stamina to shoot a feature in 7 days. Having someone with such energy, and a having a close friend on set, really made my job a lot easier.

Steve Gunn as Davey-boy has some tea in between takes.

This was a difficult night. We were shooting a rape scene. With dark material everyone's a little bit nervous about it, a little bit freaked out by it, but we're also professionals and we all know it's not gratuitous, it's serving the story. Steve is an actor who breaks the scene up into beats, he looks at the mechanics of a scene first and then brings the emotion. I found that very helpful, especially in this scene, it took the focus off what we were shooting, made it a bit more mechanical, at least when blocking. But in the end you have to bring the emotion to it, it has to be truthful and between himself and Elaine Reddy, who played the victim, we got there.

Director Frank Kelly adjusts the light.

I designed the lighting set up myself. We played in one large room at the top of a 200 year-old mill. It was cold and dirty and suited the film perfectly. I decided early on that the kidnappers have scoped this place, they've set up the lights and they've made a safe hold for themselves. Being painters, they have workers lights, so that what I used to light the main area, then off to the sides I lit the dark space with shaded 150 watt tungsten bulbs, which gave a very stark direct light. It was quite a theatre like set up, set the lights, play under them. But it lead to problems, shadows on the walls if we moved in front of them, which we did a lot because it was hand-held and we were following actors around. Then lighting continuity on characters was a problem, when cross shooting you would have one face in shadow and the other washed out. So there was quite a lot of tweaking involved. But in no-budget filmmaking you do what you can with what you have!

I Bless This Gun - Gerry Shanahan as Daniel.

I've worked with Gerry on three films, he always delivers. He was also armorer on the film. On films of this scale everyone will work several jobs, usually you leave the actors to the acting and not distract them, but when armorers were looking for silly money to rent weapons Gerry stepped up with his collection of blank firing weapons. They made quite a bang! 

In the first draft the gang were all crocks, despicable people. Producer Elliot Kotek suggested making them regular guys, down on their luck, looking to make a quick buck. I liked that idea, so went with it. There were several more drafts and I landed somewhere in the middle. But Gerry as Daniel, remains the regular guy, in way over his head.

Catherine Wrigglesworth as Louise.

Catherine came highly recommended from a director friend, Jason Figgis, he had worked with her on his version of A Christmas Carol he had just completed and a film entitled Railway Children. I met with her and really like her energy so cast her without rehearsing her.

It was a case of bring your own costume, so when she pulled out leopard skin pjs and polar bear boots I knew she was going to bring that energy into the character! Both of the women had to sit tied to the chairs for the entire week. Because of the way I shot, all handheld, long takes and following the characters around the room, they would always be somewhere in shot, even if sometimes the edit doesn't show it, so they had to remain seated for the duration. It was a tough week for them.

Actor Michael Bates as J talks through a shot with Frank and John.

John and I were shoulder to shoulder for the entire movie. I like to be beside the camera and right up looking at the actors faces, rather than at the monitor, though I will of course check the shot. This was the climax of the film we were preparing for here. It was extremely tough because it involved all the cast, several weapons and a lot of back and forth between the characters. All the dynamics that had been created individually were all now landing in a group. So it was tough for all of us to keep that balance. Plus, this was the first thing we shot, before we'd found our rhythm. We were all ready for bed at mid-night, but still shot to 6am. Emotions were high that night and I wondered at the end of it if I hadn't bitten off more than I could chew.

Shooting a feature film in 7 days is an intense experience, one which I would not hasten to repeat. We had a week of rehearsal before hand and looking back now, if I could change one thing, I would probably have made the rehearsal time shoot time and spent more time blocking and rehearsing on set, so we weren't so rushed. The thing about shooting a feature in 7 days is that, yes, you have a feature film in the can in just one week, but you don't get to spend the time you might need on certain scenes. My advice, if you can, push for more time on set. Spend an extra month getting the money you need to rent the space and equipment, because when you're in the edit, you'd pay more if you could go back and get the coverage you missed.

Setting up the final shot.

Luckily this shot doesn't give anything away! But it gives a good idea of the space we were working in. It was dusty, cold at night, muggy in the day. It smelled bad. The day before we filled 35 refuse sacks with pigeon droppings, as well as a few dead pigeons. We didn't realise, but in the windows, which were blocked up, there had been placed sacks of droppings from a previous clean up. So when the sun came out in the day it would bake the contents and omit the most fowl odour you can image. This pungent, stale, old sock smell would permeate the air! It was bad. But I supposed it all leant itself to the discomfort the characters were supposed to be feeling.

Otherwise it was a great space to work in, it was perfect for the film and brought with it a great deal of atmosphere and production value. When you're shooting on such a low budget you really have to find clever ways to elevate the film. One thing I find where a lot of low/no-budget films fall down on is production design. People tend to just film where they can, in their own apartment, in a space a friend of a friend has access to. But you have to ask yourself, does it fit the character? does it make sense in the story? and does it look good on camera? Elevate your film where you can. Go the extra mile, even if that means literally walking an extra mile to get to a better location. Always ask yourself, Is this the best I can do?

Elaine Reddy as Mom, Kate and Catherine Wrigglesworth as daughter, Louise.

As I mentioned, Elaine and Catherine were tied up to the entire shoot. Elaine showed me her arms at the end of the shoot, they were covered in bruises from the chair. I know it was tough for them, and Elaine was called on to perform some highly emotional scenes, often after having been sitting for hours! The schedule chopped and changed so much. So the experience for both of them was a lot of waiting and sitting around and then suddenly being called on to scream and shout. But I think it went that way for everyone. 

Patrick O'Donnell for example, came in at the last minute when the actor playing Tone had to pull out. The other actor had been on the project for months and we had lengthy discussion about the character. He was working stunts on Asterix 3, which ran over, so he was forced to pull out. Steve Gunn actually suggested Pat, he came in on day 3 of rehearsal, and arrived on set on the Sunday, expecting to have a relaxed day of blocking, but instead got handed 30 pages and told to learn them we were shooting in 2 hours! He pulled it off. 

Michael Bates, who plays the lead character of J, booked a job in the middle of the shoot, so I pushed in back to the Sunday and forward to the Saturday. But Michael still came to set, he would go shoot his commercial, then drive 50 miles to our set and shoot through the night. That's how committed everyone was to the project.

The AM - Michael Bates, Gerry Shanahan and Steve Gunn in between takes.

Yes, Steve is in there, if you look under the white blanket in centre shot. While everyone was committed, people still got tired. This shot was taken at 3am. We were all upstairs shooting, I seldom saw the break room, the actors probably saw too much of it. By that I mean there was a lot of hanging around, not that they were taking it easy! Here Michael has finished up, he's relaxing with a coffee, Steve and Gerry are waiting to be called. I felt terrible all the time leaving the guys wait, and knowing that hours were drifting by. But I also knew I had no choice. I just had to concentrate and focus on what was right in front of me. That's all you can do as a director. As Oliver Stone said "You make a movie an inch at a time." It's so true. And on shoots like this, take Steve's lead, grab some shut eye whenver you can!

The stage.

In the centre of this shot we see what the whole story is about, a sack of cash (actually it was a sack of movie magazines! I could find fake cash. And we certainly did have real cash.). I would often come up here on my own, just to go over the script. When the cast and crew weren't there it suddenly became a very quiet, even dead, space. But there was something creepy about it and I had nightmares long after the shoot about it. In the dream I would go up to get something I'd forgotten and suddenly the lights would go out. I would be plunged into darkness, and there would be this presence, a feeling I wasn't alone. One night a week after the shoot was done, while still asleep, I reached out and turned the bedside lamp on. My wife asked me what I was doing, I answered "We need more light for the shot," and went back to sleep.

All The Best

It's been a little slow around here lately. Not much going on. Both by choice and necessity. I'm moving to the States in three months time. So, I can't really start anything new. Unfortunately I Am Ireland didn't garner much interest. Some people got in touch, but no one followed up, nowhere near the level of interest I had with 140. It's disappointing, but I don't have time to push it right now. It's a boat that sank on the launch. I guess it happens from time to time.

Right now I'm packing. I've just put all my old scripts into a box to be stored in my parents attic until I can either, a: retrieve them and have them shipped to America, or b: they are eaten by mice. I'm going to miss them. I mean that. Most of my work is going into storage. I'm going to miss being surrounded by it and being able to access it at any time. But I'm also looking forward to the clean out, and to starting anew, with all new ideas.

I've always been someone who responds to my environment. My stories spring out of my surroundings. So it will be interesting to see what stories await me in the States. I would still like to bring some scripts with me, work on them and see if they will translate to an American setting. I do want to make The Wolf of Nevermore. And I think that will actually work better as an American tale. I also have Float, which I think could work anywhere. We shall see what the future holds.

I've had a good run of it the last few years. I've struggled, yes, but I've still manage to get my films made and I've had the freedom to tell the stories I want to tell. I know I bitch and moan about not having money, not getting funding and backing, but I can't complain about the generosity of those who have rallied behind me to help me make my films. I will never forget that, and if I get to America and don't ever find that again, I will always be happy and grateful that I had it here.

In the meantime I'm still pushing Derelict out. Just entered the Austin Film Festival, so fingers crossed for that. We've also had some press this week, a six page feature spread in Digital Filmmaker Magazine. I'm very excited about it, I won't lie. It's great publicity for the film, but it's also my first ever film magazine feature! I've been collecting films mags since I was 11, I actually still have some old Film Review magazines in the attic. I've always wanted to see one of my films in a film mag! A little geek dream come true!

Pick it up if you can, it's a cool mag, and not just because I'm in it... well, maybe a little bit!

That's all for now, and the foreseeable future. No more films for a while. I'll keep writing as much as I can. I'll keep thinking up new ideas and look for ways to turn those ideas into films. I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to make another film. It's always a privilege to be able to do that. And one I'll never take for granted. This isn't the end mind, I'll still be blogging here and I'll keep the updates on current projects coming. Hopefully Derelict will start rolling soon. Meantime, look after yourselves! Thanks for reading. See you soon, with some news films for you to watch!

All the best
Frank

Joe & Sarah Premiere

The premiere of Joe & Sarah happened on Friday night as part of the first annual Ablevision Ireland Film Festival. It was a great night, and a great event. The day started early for me as I was the first workshop of the event too. I held an hour long talk about making films with little or no budget. There was a good crowd in, with some other groups setting out to make their own films. So hopefully it was informative.

Later was the main reception at the Droichead Arts Centre, great to be back there so soon after screening Derelict. There was a great crowd in, nearly a full house. Great vibe in the room too. First screened the 6 finalists, which were great, all from different parts of the country. Then Joe & Sarah. It got a great reaction, really did, in fact probably the best reaction to a film I've ever had! Which was nice. Seeing your film on the big screen is always a thrill, but for me, this time, is was more of a thrill to sit beside Stephen and Anne and watch their reaction to seeing themselves up there! Amazing.

There was a Q&A with me, Stephen and Anne! And a presentation of framed posters of the movie (above), which was an unexpected surprise. It was truly an honour to be part of this project. I think everyone involved did a fantastic job. The fact that we pulled this together from scratch in 6 to 8 weeks is phenomenal! Proud of everyone.

Great night!

Drogheda Leader Article

Addition:

The Trailer for Joe & Sarah.

I AM IRELAND - The Relaunch

I AM IRELAND is a project that is close to my heart because it asks something I'm constantly struggling with - What makes us Irish? I struggle with my connection to this country. Am I Irish? What makes me Irish? Is it just the fact that I was born here? Why do I get angry when I see what successive governments have done to this place? Why do I feel let down, betrayed? What do I feel when I think of our culture, literature, art, and am I part of that? What gives me pride? Hope?

As I plan to immigrate later this year these questions, and many more, run through my mind. So I wonder if the same questions, thoughts, are going through the minds others, both here and abroad. When Irish people think of home, what goes through their head?

I launched this project a couple of months ago. But did not have a huge response if I'm honest. And then my life went crazy, my wife got sick, our son was born prematurely, all while I was in the middle of making a film... so I couldn't give it the time it deserved. But I haven't given up on it. I would still like to find out what's going on in the hearts and minds of the people of this country, in a simple, straight forward way.

Of course, I made it way too complicated by asking people to shoot on HD, expertly filmed with expert sound. I see now that was a mistake. Especially as I'm planning to put the film online as soon as it's complete. And it defies what this project should be about, People, from all walks of life, everyday People. And the everyday people of Ireland aren't all filmmakers with access to this kind of equipment.

This should be a shared experience, available to everyone and accessible by anyone.

So in this relaunch I am asking you to answer the same five questions, but film it how you want, where you want, with whatever device you have available. Shoot it on you iPhone, DSLR, whatever you have. I would ask one thing, that you try and email it to me, I'll share a dropbox if needed. Just because I may be changing address soon and it's much easier for me to work that way. If you have trouble with that though, let me know.

So get on your phone, your camera, your computer, rant, rave, scream, shout, let it out, speak in hate, speak of hope, tell me your dreams, talk from your heart about your disappointment and let the confusion that describes you relationship with this country of ours spill out. Give it socks lads!

The 5 Questions:

1. Describe where you grew up?

2. What is your saddest memory?

3. What is your happiest memory?

4. What does family mean to you?

5. What does Ireland mean to you?

Answer these today. Send me the footage.

I've scrapped the deadline too. Get it to me when you can. When I feel I have enough, I'll call a halt to it. But I'll probably just let it run through the Summer, but we'll see how it goes.

Let's talk about what makes us... well, us. Go to it. Shoot yourself in the head... with a camera. And send me what spills out!

I Am Ireland, are you?

Ablevision Film Complete

Joe & Sarah

The Ablevision film 'Joe & Sarah' is complete. I finished the edit this week. Then a sound mix, music and grade. I'll go back in for some tweaks before the premiere, I got the final music mix after I was finished, which I do want to put in, because it's good! Dermot O'Mahony pulling it of the bag again! But it's as close to finished as you can get. I'd be happy enough to sign off on it now, but while I have the time I figure I can make it that tiny bit better.

A challenging, interesting, enlightening and highly enjoyable experience. One which I would definitely repeat and recommend any other filmmaker to do the same if the opportunity came their way. In fact, if you are interested in getting involved and offering your services to Ablevision, you should drop them a line via the website: http://ablevisionireland.com/ great group of people and a great opportunity to do something different.

The premiere of the film is part of their own film festival, the Ablevision Film Festival, taking place on May 17th in the Droichead Arts Centre in Drogheda. It's an all day event, a mini-fest of sorts, with workshops in the morning, screenings in the afternoon and an award ceremony to finish. Tickets are only €2 and you can book here.

One of the talks will be by yours truly. I've entitled the talk 'From Script to Screen Without a Bean: Secrets of no and low budget filmmaking' and I'll talk for an hour or so on how to get a film up and running when it seems impossible. It will be aimed at first-time, independent, student and amateur filmmakers. Come along if you're able.

Some Images:

Daddy's none too pleased!

Has Joe made the right decision?

A helpful stranger.

Out in the cold.

Rent or Buy Derelict.

Exciting news - Derelict is now available to Rent or Buy from Distrify.

Derelict Online Tonight Only.

You are invited to the Online Premiere of my film Derelict tonight at 9pm GMT on Vimeo. Right here: https://vimeo.com/51991449 I will open the link just before 9PM. I will also be live tweeting a commentary on twitter @frankwkelly and will be taking questions and responding to comments. Please come watch, and join in the conversation.

Derelict is a dark crime thriller about a group of men who kidnap a bank manager and his family and hold them hostage in a Derelict building while robbing a bank. It should be a simple job, but as the night wears on things become very complicated.

Current Bun

This is the poster for 'Joe & Sarah', the film I made for Ablevision Ireland. We have a day of pick-ups to do next week and then the edit begins. This one was a pleasure to be a part of. Premiering in Drogheda at the Ablevision Film Festival on the 17th of March.

Putting this one out there. Asking people to put their thoughts to camera and answer five open questions that should give a real sense of the mood in Ireland at the moment. So far six people have joined. Thinking about do a local thing too, so rather than have people have to tape themselves, I'll do that part.

This is a side project I have going. Currently working on the proposal, so I'll be able to talk in detail about it when it's done. But it's a simple project to promote local filmmakers doing local things. 

Amy Berg Interview

I did this interview with Academy Award Nominated documentary filmmaker Amy Berg, about her latest film, West of Memphis, late last year for a magazine. Unfortunately the magazine never published it, which I thought was a shame, but I'm sure they had their reasons. Still, I thought it would be a waste to just let it sit on my hard drive gathering pixie dust! So, here it is:

Amy Berg

West of Memphis

Interview by Frank Kelly

12/28/12

Director Amy Berg

I first met Amy Berg at the Dublin International Film Festival in 2007 for the Irish premiere of her Oscar-nominated debut feature documentary ‘Deliver Us From Evil’. It was a significant screening, as the film focused on Irish priest Father Oliver O’Grady, who had admitted to raping 25 children in California between 1970 and 1990, a subject that cut close to the bone in Ireland.

Around the same time, filmmakers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh became involved with a campaign to free three men; Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, known as the West Memphis 3.  Jackson and Walsh believed, like many others, that these men had been wrongly imprisoned for the rape and murder of three 8 year-old boys.  Echols, the so-called leader, was sentenced to death. The campaign to free them became a global phenomenon that involved thousands of people.

Jackson and Walsh began bank rolling an investigation in an effort to bring new evidence and testimony to light, and tackle what Jackson himself called “Institutional Bullying.”  It was when new DNA evidence discovered at the scene of the crime was refused as a reason to reopen the case, that Jackson and Walsh decided to make a film and bring this injustice to greater public awareness.

Being no stranger to controversy, and with a background as an investigative journalist, Berg was first choice for Jackson and Walsh to direct the film.  Stepping into the center of this infamous case, which had attracted the attention of Henry Rollins, Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder and many more, Berg did not quite know the scale of the project she was taking on.  But it was her distain for bullying and injustice that fueled an insatiable desire to find the truth.

Berg spoke to me on the phone from a New York hotel room just before she was about to record the commentary for the West of Memphis DVD release.  She explained that the journey of this film had been a long one.

Frank Kelly: You’ve had a busy year.

Amy Berg: Yes, it was full on to get the film ready for Sundance and it’s been full on since Sundance, so it’s been a pretty intense year.  Plus we opened on Christmas Day. So there’s been a lot of travel too.

FK: Last time I spoke to you was in Dublin five years ago at the Irish Premiere of Deliver Us From Evil.  Were you on the road much with that film?

AB: Deliver Us From Evil happened quicker. It went to the LA Film Festival and then to Toronto and then it was released, where as with West of Memphis there was a lot of waiting in between things.

FK: Were you on this project the entire time? Were there gaps while you were waiting for the case to progress?

 

AB: Not as much as it may seem. We were always following certain leads and if they led down the wrong path we would just go back to the start.  We had several leads going at the same time.  It was a really intense three years of investigation with so many moving parts and we had to make sure we crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s

FK: Were you prepared to follow the case until the end?

AB: I don’t know that you know what you’re getting into. I knew that I was taking on something massive. I also knew that I didn’t know everything that was going on under the surface. But I was very curious and just wanted to keep figuring it out.

FK:  I suppose your challenge then was to translate the shock and awe you were experiencing while making the film to the audience as they watch it?

AB: Yes, the film is a good measure of all the shock and awe we experienced.  Every time you see something you can’t imagine it getting worse and then it does because it’s all about lies.  People are not coming clean about what they know or mistakes they’ve made and those things just mounting up. And you want to believe that the justice system will work in a fair and balanced way so that something like this couldn’t happen but the more truth that came out, the less willing the officials were to admit culpability.

FK: It felt like the officials didn’t want to be embarrassed by admitting they made the wrong decision.

AB: I don’t think they were embarrassed. I just don’t think they cared. They regarded these three guys as just poor white trash and didn’t care about going back. I don’t think it crossed their minds.

FK: You would think the accused would be angry after going through what they did, but when you see Damien Echols in the film he appears to be very relaxed, calm and at peace with himself.  Was that something that surprised you when you met him?

AB: He surprised me on every level.  He has done so much work on himself and on protecting himself against the things that would generally take a person down.  So I was surprised that he was able to exist in such a positive mind-space knowing everything he’d been through.  It says a lot about him.

FK: You approach your films from a very personal standpoint – it has to mean something to you for you to take it on.  I know you didn’t know much about the case before Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh approached you, so how then did you attach yourself to the project? What was the moment that made you want to make the film?

AB: Peter says it in the film, he hates bullying and this is about institutional bullying. The most interesting thing to me is the systemic abuse.  I think there are similar themes in Deliver Us From Evil, where something is fundamentally wrong but kept being allowed to happen.

Producer Peter Jackson and Director Amy Berg

FK: All of Peter Jackson’s movies seem to have a similar theme – the characters go on a similar journey, in that they are trying to escape the darkness and find their way back to the light.  Your films have similar themes – the people you follow are trying to find their way out of very dark situations.  Do you think that’s something you both have in common as filmmakers?

AB: Not until you say it like that, but it makes a lot of sense.  It is a really important thing for me, it’s more about the gray area, so yes, I guess that is trying to find the light in the dark.  It’s about the journey from hiding to coming out.  And it’s not just the three guys, everyone in the story is on a similar journey, the victims’ parents and the people who gave false testimonies and are experiencing this shame for being a part of something that was so dishonest.

FK: You don’t appear in your films, though your presence as director is definitely felt.  Stylistically your films are very similar.  Is that something that comes from your past as a news journalist?

AB: Yes, I don’t want to be in my films, I’m never going to do that.  It’s a challenge, I think it’s more difficult to do in terms of the edit and the storytelling, but that’s the way it works for me.  A friend of mine came out of the film and said to me that she felt like she was in very safe hands, as if I was guiding her through the story without having to be in the film, which was one of the biggest compliments I could have received because you put so much into the interviews, the process, the journey for all the people involved, but I think that it is their story and I’m just helping them to tell it.

FK: Do you spend a lot of time with them before putting them on camera?

AB: Yes, I do that a lot.  First of all, in this day and age with what reality TV has done to documentaries, you want to know that people are telling you the truth.  I also feel that after you build a level of comfort with someone over time the camera becomes invisible.

FK: Are the ever moments when you want to turn the camera off?  I remember one scene in Deliver Us From Evil when the father of one of the victims has a breakdown on camera, and it’s an intense, personal experience we, the audience, are witnessing, you almost feel like you shouldn’t be watching.

AB: For me personally it is difficult when the camera is rolling in that kind of situation.  But you really just have to remember that you’re doing this for the overall thread of the story.  If he had expressed he was uncomfortable with keeping that in the film it would have been difficult for me to put it in.  But there are these moments where these people are breaking out and you can’t stop rolling because that’s part of the process and part of their experience.

FK: I think that moment encapsulates the entire emotion of that film.  It really says in that single moment “This is what has been done to these people.”

AB: And the truth is, that moment happened every time I went to his place.  That was who he was.

FK: There was a similar moment in West of Memphis, when you show the footage of the discovery of the bodies, it’s one of the most unsettled and shocking moments in the film.  Was that a difficult decision to include those images in the film?

AB: Yes, it was.  But there was no question about it.  The reason why is that every single person that was called to testify on the stand saw all the same images.  Every person on the jury were given those photos, and there were much more graphic and disturbing images than were in the film, showing the postmortem effect of the animal activity that took place.  So I felt that it was important that we were seeing what the West Memphis 3 were being judged on.  Because every time you asked someone about something scientific that should counter balance what their decision was, they referred to those photos, “I saw those photos! What those boys did! I can’t get that image out of my mind.”

FK: It is a stark reminder of what it’s all about and how the jury was swayed away from the evidence, such as it was.

AB: Yes.

FK: We are almost out of time, so I wanted to ask about your next project.

AB: I’m actually shooting my first narrative.  We begin pre-production in January. It’s an adaptation of the book Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman with Frances McDormand and Anthony Brigman producing.

FK: Was narrative filmmaking something you always wanted to try?

AB: I wanted to try something new and this is a story that’s very important.  After three long experiences with my documentary films I wanted to work on something with more of a contained schedule, and on a project that I feel passionate about.

FK: I suppose with filmmaking, documentary or fiction, you’re always in search of the truth.

AB: Right.

FK: One of your DPs on West of Memphis was Maryse Alberti, who is know for her documentary work but has also work on The Wrestler and Happiness, which have a very documentary style to them.  Will you bring a documentary style to your fiction work?

AB: Yes.  Totally.  We’re shooting with a very free style, but I think we can still find a cinematic look, but yes, a very documentary style.

FK: I’m very much looking forward to seeing your first narrative work and congratulations on the success of West of Memphis.

AB: Thank you.

Amy Berg

Interview by Frank Kelly

12/28/12

West of Memphis is on limited release at selected theatres in Los Angeles and New York.

Get Out Of Your Box.

Here's an idea for you filmmakers looking to try something a little different.

Drop into a local community group; youth, disability, elderly, whatever it may be, talk to the person in charge and offer to make a film with the group over the next couple of months. Could be a short, could be a feature if you're ambitious and smart enough. If they're up for it, sit in with them once a week for a couple of hours, over two or three weeks. Get to know them. Talk about their interests, what's going on in their lives, what they like, don't like, what thrills them, angers them. Build a list of themes. Soon, a story will start to emerge. You'll recognise it when you see it, because you're the storyteller.

Your instinct might be to then just go off and write it, but resist it, instead remember that this should be their story, their film, you're just their to guide them. But like any good guide, you're not going to send them down a path that sees them walk off the edge of a cliff. But allow them to talk it out. Find what they want to tell. Make suggestions, pick up on the stronger themes. Guide them.

When there's a story there that everyone likes, that everyone seems excited by, then you can go off an put it into script form. At that point, you're just adding the structure, you're lending you technical ability and experience to their story so you have a structured screenplay to work from.

Set a date to film. Start moving toward it. Find out who wants to be in it. Who wants to be behind the came. Audition for the main parts. Let them get a taste of how every aspect of putting a film together works. Draft in some experienced actors, either people you know, or people from local Drama groups. Draft experienced crew. This will speed things up and give you a film that actually looks like a film. It be a huge learning opportunity for the group o see professionals at work.

Shoot it.

On the shoot, take your time. Set as easy and flexible a schedule as possible. Understand that these people are doing something they have no knowledge of. And again, you're their guide, so don't go wondering off ahead just because you know the path! Take it slow. Explain things. Suggest things. Listen to their suggestions. You'll be the director, but your job as director here is to stand back as much as possible. Set the scene, allow them to play it out. Trust them.

When it's shot. Have a wrap party. Go edit it. Keep it tight. Get it done. Grade it. Get some nice music. Hold a premiere on a big screen in the centre of their town. Get them to bring family and friends. Get it in the paper. See what happens.

Whatever happens, you will have a film at the end of it, a fulfilling experience you never would have had otherwise and you will most certainly have enjoyed yourself.

Just a thought. For a little something outside the box.

Tempting Fate, Making Plans and Losing Control

Three weeks since my last blog post, and what a three weeks it's been! Holy crap!!! Sometimes life just goes into overdrive and it's in those moments you realise you have no real control over anything, you just have to hang on as best you can and hope you don't go spinning off into oblivion and beyond.

I had my trip to the US, which I didn't really talk about. It was a mixed bag. The people were great. Lovely lovely people who I can't speak highly enough of. The weather, job prospects and animals, less so! I got stranded on day one, ignored by the film festival I've screened 4 times, won an award and met my wife at on day two, stood up for a planned meeting, having taken a bus out of town, on day three, oh, and bitten by a dog over breakfast that same day! So the week kind of went that way.

Over all, I don't know, I haven't really been able to process the week given then ensuing weeks, which I will talk about next. Let's just say I didn't run home saying, "We have to move to Indiana tomorrow!!!" No offense Indiana! There are some truly lovely people there. But Indianapolis, I don't know that I could do it for long. It's got a nice, if not somewhat quite, downtown, nice cultural centres, great museums. But I guess I just didn't vibe with the place. But we'll see. I admit I went during an ice storm in february! Might have been a completely different story if I'd gone mid-July!

So I get home and everyone's sick. My wife and daughter both have colds, high temperatures, aches and pains and just feeling rotten. This lasts for a full week. I get it for three days but it passes quickly. Meantime my daughter has to take an antibiotic, the first of her young life. My wife develops a respiratory infection and everyone just seems to be getting sicker and sicker.

Thankfully my daughter gets better, but my wife doesn't. She gets very sick. And two Wednesday's ago we end up in hospital. After a day of agony the doctors finally diagnose her with acute pancreatitis, a condition so rare in pregnant women that no one in the hospital has experience with it. After a great deal of consultation from various departments it's decided that the best course of action in the induce labour and deliver our baby early, 5 weeks early. We are completely unprepared for this. In fact, two night before my wife was worried that she would be sick for her labour and that the house wouldn't be ready, I laughingly said "Of course we will! It's five weeks away, you'll be better next week and we'll have loads of time..." we were in the hospital the next day. What is it they say about tempting fate!? Holy shit lads!

This happened on Wednesday, we get the decision on Thursday at 9 am, at 11am I have to be in the local Arts Centre to audition actors for the film I'm making with Ablevision TOMORROW. I've already blown a day off from sickness, so I feel like I can't blow this off. Auditioning actors and films are the furthest things from my mind at this moment. But I go down. See the actors. Make a decision and I'm back in the hospital in an hour and half.

My wife is induced on Friday morning. It goes off without a hitch. Best case scenario in a dreaded situation and our son is born on Friday afternoon. It's a happy occasion, the happiest, in the midst of a truly nightmarish week where everything we hoped would not happen, sickness in labour, induce labour, premature birth, happened, we're are overjoyed. But he's quickly taken off to special care, where he spends the next 9 days and meantime my wife is still recovering from the pancreatitis, as well as the birth now... oh and the respiratory infection which is still hanging around.

And again, I still have to think about the Ablevision first rehearsal on Thursday, while worrying for the entire week about getting my little man home. We get told on Wednesday night that we can take him home on the Thursday! Of course! Talk about timing. I go to the rehearsal. Goes well. I get out of there and on the steps of the building I get a call to say that actually he's not coming home today!

So we're back out in the unknown, and the shoot starts on Monday, tomorrow! And of course, par for the course, he arrives home today! Which is absolutely wonderful! I couldn't be happier! But I do kind of wish I didn't have to leave my wife alone with our 3 year-old and a new born the day after he arrives home from the hospital! I had planned to have the film shot and edited with 2 weeks to spare before he arrived! But you know what they say about making plans!

I'm not worried about the shoot at all. I think we're well prepared, we've spend a good while on the story and I have it visualised in my head. The schedule gives us plenty of time, so I'm looking forward to it. But the timing is just ridiculous! I'm looking forward to getting to the other side of it. I'm going to take a week off, relax, look after my family and then get down to editing. Phones off. Sign on the door reading: F&$@ OFF!!!

Meantime I'm looking into other projects. I Am Ireland is still a goer. Obviously I haven't had any time to push it. But I will. I'm thinking I might set up a booth locally so people can drop in off the street for a chat. I'm also looking at a couple of exciting projects for the summer, if I can find the time. There a short I'd like to do, a fan film I'd love to do and a feature that keeps popping into my head and nudging me in that direction! Like an old friend calling for a pint. It's tempting, but I know how the night's going to end! Plastered drunk and throwing up in a back alley on the way home! We'll see. I'll get this week over with a see how I feel. What's realistic!

I'm also looking at putting together an initiative to help local filmmakers. A community based filmmaker mentorship programme. Something to give young filmmakers in the town a bit of direction, advice and inspiration. So I've been talking to the local Arts Officer about that and there seems to be some interest. So I'll be working on that too over the next couple of weeks, putting it down on paper and then pushing it out. It's the kind of thing that could be rolled out anywhere.

So it's all go go go. Well, the ideas are! Life is getting in the way of the action part! But I'm sure it'll settle down... actually, I take that back, after the last four weeks I'm not sure of anything anymore! I'm hopeful, let's say!!!

I need to get back on Derelict too. I fear it's been set adrift and it feels somewhat dead in the water, I'm sorry to say. There just hasn't been any interest. Not from festival or distribution companies. Which is very disappointing and disheartening. I still think it's good and deserves the interest. But I just don't have the finances to push it! I'll have to find another way to get it out there. Otherwise it's just a waste of 3 years, €10,000 and the work of 20 good and talented people! Not to mention a crying bloody shame!!! If only there was some kind of national body set up to support filmmakers and help them get their films finished, marketed and seen... Oh well.

Alright. Better go check on my Son - My Son.