INTERVIEW: Filmmakers on Filmmaking

We pose the questions plaguing budding filmmakers to the maker of HAPPY FACE, director Franklin P. Laviola.
How did you go about raising the funds for the film?
Like most independent films, especially in the US, it was all privately funded; self-funded for the most part.

What would you say is your greatest challenge as a filmmaker and how did you overcome it?
It’s just shepherding everyone together – getting everyone committed and passionate about a small project, because obviously no one is going to make large amounts of money out of the endeavour. I wanted to produce this as if it was a feature – not with the budget of a feature, but with the same kind of crew talent and acting talent as a feature. Our female lead dropped out four days before the shoot and we really had to persevere and focus our energies into remedying the situation. My producer and I made a list of actresses that were realistic contenders and just started calling managers to see who was available.

Which filmmakers and films do you most admire?
I’m a huge fan of David Cronenberg, from his low budget first features which are unapologetically genre horror, to his key masterpieces like DEAD RINGERS and THE FLY. I love SPIDER for the tightness of that film; there’s not a wasted shot – it’s so perfectly executed. Apart from SPIDER, I’d say Lodge Kerrigan’s CLEAN, SHAVEN; Roman Polanski’s REPULSION; and George Romero’s MARTIN. All of these films are made on tight budgets, especially CLEAN, SHAVEN and MARTIN, and they’re able to create this disturbing subjective horror experience through just the bare essentials of the film making medium. There’s a beautiful minimalism to all of these films.

What do you feel are the pros and cons of filming on digital and on film? Which do you personally prefer?
I shot on HD the Arriflex D-21. Apparently it’s used a lot more in the UK than the US. I loved the result with that camera, but there’s something about film – especially the texture of film and the way film registers the natural colour and lighting scheme that makes me, on an aesthetic level, prefer it to HD. Hopefully my eventual feature will be shot on Super 16 or 35.

What advice would you give to budding filmmakers and script writers?
Work hard and persevere, I guess! And don’t be too grandiose on your first film.

FIONA SCOBLE

HAPPY FACE is screened with WE ARE WHAT WE ARE on Wednesday 22 September at 10:30pm