Phillip and I made a quick trip to Tucson to experience a couple days of the 27th annual Arizona International Film Festival (AZIFF)!

My time at AZIFF kicked off at The Screening Room with a panel of short film directors and actors talking about their craft.

It was moderated by Liam O Mochain (seated at the far left), whose feature film Lost & Found was also screening at the festival.

Here’s an introduction to the rest of the panel and their films, followed by their thoughts on a few recurring topics.

Anita Abbasi made Mariah ¡que baile! with her film partner Martin Baena (who couldn’t be at the festival). It’s about a Latina ballet dancer at a crossroads, feeling some of the same tensions Anita felt growing up as an artist.

Anita’s mother is from El Salvador and her father is from Pakistan.

She had always wanted to be a writer, and being “raised by television” drew her to telling stories through visual media.

Both Craig Dean Devine and Colleen Donovan were there from the film Levi, a drama that shows a day in the life of two opioid users.

Colleen grew up in the Phoenix area, moving to Los Angeles after high school to pursue her film career.

Craig became interested in film after watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The director of Jungmin’s Adult Comics, Kwak Seung-min (곽승민), wasn’t able to fly in from South Korea, but he did prep lead actor Howon Kim to answer to questions on his behalf.

The comedic short is about an artist who draws for popular adult comic books, despite the fact that he has no sexual experience.

Sevgi Cacina’s first name means “love” in Turkish. She made her film Ghosted in a class at UCLA. It’s about a woman seeing a therapist to find out how to get rid of a ghost that’s in love with her. “It’s a horror/comedy, like my love life,” she joked.

Her two passions are storytelling and changing the world, even if it’s in a small way, like challenging norms through film.

Clay Haskell, director of Last Dance at Johnson’s Barn was a surprise addition to the panel. The title says exactly what the documentary is: a look at the end of a 60-year tradition of dances at the Johnson family’s barn outside of Fargo and its impact on the community.

He runs a film program, teaches, and works on many documentaries each year.

Collaboration

“[Films] are inherently collaborative experiences.”

– Clay Haskell

Sevgi used to work with as many different people as possible in order to see their different visions and better understand her own. Now she typically finds herself working with the same group of people.

For example, the lead in Ghosted is someone whose performance she knew she could count on, since they had worked together previously.

Craig was a bigger believer in the concept of auteurship when he was younger but has since realized how the different people involved in the filmmaking process can contribute.

“Directing…is just communication with crew and team. It’s about language and how you work with people.” And when you work with the same people over time, you can rely on their expertise.

He’s developed a shorthand in communicating with his focus puller, because they’ve worked together for several years and share a similar aesthetic and approach.

Clay agrees that working with more people gives you an insight on how different people think and can lead to more ideas.

“Films are really just an expression of thinking patterns, and the way people see the world.” Since they’re not made by just one person, they’re “inherently collaborative experiences.”

On the other hand, working with new people has its challenges too, since you may not get along with them. When he has a difficult project or tight schedule, Clay would rather count on teammates he’s worked with before.

Anita brought up the fact that, because there are so many people involved in making a film, you need to be comfortable relinquishing some control. The actors may move differently or the DP may shoot differently than you expected. The end product may be different than you originally envisioned, while still meeting your goals.

It’s not until you’re actually working on a set – and outside of the film school bubble – that you can see how everything works and can apply what you learn from other people’s successes and mistakes to your own independent filmmaking.

Howon always tries to work with people who are easy to communicate with, since actors always have to be collaborators on set.

The focus should be on making the film together – not making money. “The most important part is the passion of the filming…It’s the power of the short film.”

Wearing different hats while producing Levi, as well as past work in various aspects of filmmaking (production design, writing, etc.), has helped Colleen better understand how important each person’s job is and how much work it takes.

Short Films

“Short films are a good place to figure out what your filmmaking identity is.”

– Anita Abbasi 

Anita recommends making shorts to see how you work together with your team.

“Short films are a good place to figure out what your filmmaking identity is.” They also force you to plan more, especially if you’re trying to take visual chances, like filming the dance scene in Mariah.

Producing shorts could be your career or a step to other things.

Clay likes making shorts. They can be made in less time than features with a very similar artistic payoff and reward.

It depends on the story you’re trying to tell. “The short form is perfect for some stories, and some stories require a longer form.” The longer form takes a longer time and more money. It’s harder to get them done. If you want people to see your work, he says, start with shorts.

Craig said an advantage to making short films is that you can call in favors to ask people to be involved for a couple of days. It’s harder to ask them to work for free for several weeks.

Once a short is finished, it can be your calling card to help you get features made.

Howon mentioned that, because of commercial films taking over, only a few South Korea theaters show short or independent films.

Other ways to see them there include the web, other film festivals, and even indie film channels.

Funding

“Realize what you have…and make that movie.”

– Craig Dean Devine, paraphrasing Robert Rodriguez

Howon pointed out that, instead of relying on sources like government funding or Kickstarter, anyone can just make a short film right now on their phone.

Clay, who teaches film studies, is concerned that the democratization of media leads to people making movies about nothing. A film should express something. It’s important for filmmakers to know why they do what they do.

Craig and Colleen funded their film by each putting in $1000. The crew worked for free or cheap, and they had connections for getting an ALEXA camera, lenses, and other equipment they needed. They were able to use of her parents’ house in Phoenix and old cars. Her dad even appears in the film!

They really wanted to make something, so they took stock of the resources they had available to them and let that dictate the setting of the film.

Anita and Martin didn’t have the same type of connections. They received some funding from Ontario Arts Council. Otherwise, they self-funded the project with their day jobs.

Several people mentioned the importance of providing plenty of good food for people helping out on your film. As Sevgi concisely put it: “Feed your crew!”

The festival goes through tomorrow (April 29). You can see other filmmaker panels and Q+A sessions on their Facebook page.

I was a guest of Arizona International Film Festival.