The District's film scene is alive and kicking, as our interviews with these four filmmakers show.
With a plethora of new film festivals, an uptick in local residents grabbing cameras, and dozens of award-winning films made here in the District, the silver screen is grabbing the spotlight. The advent of the web series and new ways to crowdsource films are giving filmmakers new ways to package, fund, shoot, and pursue their creative passions in this difficult visual medium.
We sat down with four filmmakers to discuss the independent filmmaking community in the D.C. area and whether or not the struggle to produce eye-catching content is one worth pushing through the red tape. Whether discussion included conflicts with the park service or innovative crowdsource funding and social media marketing campaigns, these four local directors covered all bases in our Q&A below.
These interviews have been edited and condensed.
Saaret Yoseph, age 29, is a multimedia storyteller, born and raised in the District. Her first, short documentary,
SEE / LINE, explored the relationship between graffiti writers and Red line Metro riders, against the backdrop of gentrification in Northeast D.C. In January 2015,
Saaret was honored by the Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, as their Filmmaker of the Month. Her next documentary project,
iEthiopia: The Round Trip will focus on the Ethiopian diaspora's complex relationship to identity and "home." Yoseph is an alumnus of Georgetown University's Communications, Culture and Technology Graduate Program.
Saaret Yoseph, a D.C.-based independent filmmaker, says D.C.'s demographics " make for very interesting questions to pursue"
Where are you from?
Saaret Yoseph: D.C. Born and raised.
How did you get into filmmaking and what are your current projects?
Red Line DC (which became
SEE / LINE) was an open-ended project for my graduate program (Communications, Culture and Technology at Georgetown University). From there, the project evolved into an independent documentary in its own right, so I got a portion of funding from the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C. and kind of expanded my network, contracting other filmmakers to get involved as well. And it really was just my entryway into filmmaking and into storytelling as a whole.
The project I'm pursuing with Docs in Progress is called iEthiopia: The Round Trip. I'm interested in interviewing Ethiopians who emigrated, particularly in this area, but potentially in other cities in America, during the 70s in early 80s, and capturing their immigrant experiences. And then I want to have a second phase where I interview my peers, who despite being born and raised in America, are increasingly making the move to plant roots in their parents' native country.
Is D.C. fostering independent filmmaking? Why or why not?
D.C. is probably not the first place that people think of film, independent or otherwise. The demographics here make for very interesting questions to pursue as a documentary filmmaker, and I think opportunities are starting to boom now more so than ever to support work that promotes that kind of inquiry.
What are the major pitfalls of independent filmmaking and what would you tell people interested in pursuing it?
I think it's just really important to walk that fine line of pursuing your individual passion and taking initiative. And
Red Line DC Project was very much that case where I was, for the most part, a one-woman band, and I appreciate that for what it was. The steep learning curve and all the lessons that I learned. I think that any filmmaker risks feeling off-balance, which can often happen when you're siloed into doing your own documentary.
Anthony Anderson (center, holding Emmy), created the award-winning web soap Anacostia
Anthony Anderson is the director and writer of the web series Anacostia. The web soap series features an impassioned cast of Southeast D.C. locals and puts a strong focus on LGBT issues while highlighting characters' struggles in faith, love, and daily life. After two seasons, soap opera-veteran Martha Byrne joined the cast, helping
Anacostia win its first Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Performer in a New Approaches Drama Series in 2015 (for Season 4).
Where are you from?
Anthony Anderson: I'm actually from Anacostia. Southeast, D.C.
How did you get into filmmaking and what are your current projects?
I wanted to be a hiphop dancer, and that didn't really go too well. After my first video job, I fell and hurt my knee. So my agent was like, 'We have to make some money. You have the personality, so I'm going to send you on some auditions.' So I booked the auditions and I discovered the talent. I just started working on small things in the area that were filming. Then, by just watching what was going on behind the scenes, I became fascinated with the people and what they were doing.
I just started doing my own stuff and it turned into an independent movie. And after that first independent movie, I started another movie and started breaking it down into segments. And it turned into Anacostia, surprisingly enough.
Is D.C. fostering independent filmmaking? Why or why not?
I think while we support each other in that circle of independent filmmaking, I don't think the powers that be have been that open to supporting us as far as the Mayor's Office, Film and Television Office. So some of us just decide to go the renegade road of saying, 'We're not going to shoot with a permit, and we're not going to go through these chutes and ladders.'
But it's odd. What really pisses me off is that you'll have these projects from Hollywood come into D.C. and they shut down roads, and they roll out the red carpet for them. And then you go see the movie and the exterior shots aren't even of D.C. They're of places like Boston and Chicago, and people are saying, 'That's not the Metro.'
How have you funded your film projects?
It went horribly wrong. There were days that I didn't have money to do anything. I remember my car being repossessed; twice.
And people hear that and say, 'Why didn't you just stop? Why didn't you just concentrate and try to wait to do it?' Because I think with all filmmakers, when you have a passion, it doesn't matter what is going on. When you have that fire inside of you, and that burning, you have got to get it out. And I've always been the type of person where anything I start, I have to see it through. I knew at the end of the tunnel there was going to be a bright spot, somewhere, something that was going to make it all seem worth it. And at this point, looking back on it four years later, and two Emmy nominations later, it was worth it.
How did you market your film project?
Word of mouth. I think were were fortunate to come in during the very beginning stages of Twitter. When Twitter started to catch fire, we were also very fortunate to have a strong LGBT community fan base that would tell their friends to watch it. It just sort of caught on, little by little. People watched it and they started to become engrossed by the story, and it sort of caught on really quickly.
What are the major pitfalls of independent filmmaking and what would you tell people interested in pursuing it?
Whatever the initial vision was, stay to that initial vision. Don't let anyone detour you from that vision, because they feel like this is what people will want. Don't be afraid to be hated, because a lot of times you're the person in charge, and everything falls on your shoulders. You can either roll with the punches and take care of business, or you can allow people to walk all over you. Put your fist down.
Most importantly, if you can, try to use someone else's money to fund your project. Even if it's family and friends, businesses, just try to work it out to where you don't drive yourself crazy. Because I know for a fact that's why a lot of people will start their series, and they'll never finish it because the money aspect can overwhelm them.
Anything else you'd like to add about filmmaking in D.C.?
Don't sit back and wait for the powers that be to come and bless your project with whatever you think they're going to bless it with. Sometimes you have to go out there and just film it.
Brandon Russell's web series follows the "disastrous" dating culture of city residentsBrandon Russell, 32, is an up and coming independent filmmaker as the director of the The Beat & Path: Walk of Shame. The American University graduate started the web series with a successfully-funded Kickstarter Project.
The Beat & Path follows several D.C. characters all while documenting the disastrous dating culture of mid-20s city dwellers. After debuting his first season this year, he won two awards at the D.C. Webfest and an award for editing from the American's School of Communication.
Note: The author and this filmmaker are friends.
Where are you from?
Brandon Russell: Silver Spring, Maryland. Born and raised in Delaware, been in the D.C. area for six years.
How did you get into filmmaking and what are your current film projects?
Right now I'm working on The Beat & Path: Walk of Shame. It started off as a Master's thesis for my degree at American. Basically it's a modern coming of age tale that is told through the lens of DJ culture. We follow the story of an aimless young woman who is trying to figure out her life, who is a bit of a fashionista, and an up and coming DJ who is on the cusp of superstardom, and how their paths cross. It's every man's tale.
Is D.C. fostering independent filmmaking? Why or why not?
There's so many different municipal organizations. You got the park police, you've got the MPD, and then you have the federal side. And so what happens for a lot of filmmakers is, they choose not to film here because it's very difficult to get through all that red tape in order to shoot your small budget project.
If you have a huge budget [like Transformers], you can work through all that. It sometimes works, but honestly it has not been a big filmmaking community for fictional films. Documentaries? Yeah. But if you're trying to shoot something on location, it's just very difficult. We actually shot a lot of stuff in Maryland for that very reason, because in Montgomery County you can shoot without a permit.
What festivals have you entered?
The first one was D.C. Webfest. We actually won two awards there--Audience Choice and Local Hero, which was a great honor. It definitely meant something to get it from the people that are right here in your own city, so that was cool.
And we won an award for editing from the AU School of Communication, which is a great honor to get it from your own peers. We also applied for New York Web Festival in November, and the big one coming up is the Miami Webfest.
How have you funded your film projects?
We funded it via Kickstarter. We raised $7,000. The goal was to fund a project that could elevate my filmmaking game. I was looking to move to my next step. I always just shot things with my friends. I've done little projects here and there, but it's never been anything substantial where there was a wide audience.
How did you market your film project?
We're trying to work it into a lifestyle brand. The Beat & Path is kind of an artists' collective; I'm calling it a digital collective. We're focusing on short web content, all forms actually--visual, audio, even of events. We're trying to throw parties that are themed based on this kind of culture, this do-it-yourself kind of culture. From a marketing standpoint, I feel like short films are not entirely marketable as, say, a web series today. So we've kind of adapted it into a web series.
What are the major pitfalls of independent filmmaking and what would you tell people interested in pursuing it?
Not to quote Shia LeBeouf, but just do it. I think the hardest thing for any filmmaker is to just do it and then try not to look back, because you're always going to constantly be doubting yourself.
I think the most important thing is to go with initial idea and just get the damn thing done. Because once you do that, you'll grow so much through that process that the next time you come back and do it, you'll have learned way more than you could have learned in a classroom. Be fearless.
Richard Fields, independent filmmaker, says D.C. has an "excitement" and "energy" unique to this cityRichard Fields is a 26-year-old DC-based filmmaker and photographer. He has dozens of short films, freelance projects, and documentaries under his belt and plans to move to Los Angeles with in the next year to continue the pursuit of his filmmaking career. He is the writer and director of
Courting Lewis Baker, a recently completed short film about young man who is trying to reconnect with his father. Fields received his MFA at American University and was the Class of 2015 Graduate Commencement speaker for the School of Communications this summer. He was the winner of McDonald's Lovin' Video Competition at the American Black Film Festival this past June, and the Winner of the Washington Film Festival for his documentary,
Revealing LeMoyne, in March 2014.
Where are you from?
Richard Fields: Maryland, born and raised.
Talk about some of your work.
On "Puppy Love," McDonald's held a nationwide contest where you had to create a short between 90 seconds and two minutes, and its question was, 'What does Lovin' mean to you?' That was all through the American Black Film festival. When I was named the finalist, they sent me to New York to the festival for the weekend. Sunday night at the awards ceremony, they announced me as the winner of that competition, and they played the piece in its entirety.
The Washington Film Festival, that was a film festival in Washington, Pennsylvania in which a short documentary I worked on called Revealing LeMoyne won first place for Best Documentary.
Is D.C. fostering independent filmmaking? Why or why not?
I think the city does a good job. D.C. isn't NYC or LA, right? So there aren't filmmakers walking around all over the place, so it's really tough to find other people. But I find that once you do locate other filmmakers that can be of use, although it's small, it's really tight. Everyone is willing to work together and since people here don't really see films being made very often, there's always this excitement, this energy.
The last project I worked on--Courting Lewis Baker, I did one scene on U St, so I had to get a permit for that. It actually wasn't [difficult]. The film office was really cooperative. Especially at the time, as I was still a student. They really want to push for students and getting new films in the city, I believe.
How have you funded your film projects?
Funny story. For this short film, I knew that I was going to make it for a while, so I did a bunch of different things. Saving portions of my paychecks when I was working internships/jobs; I was selling stuff on eBay, like a lot of my old sneakers, things like that. Different production gigs I would get here and there. I even did Uber for a while to get some extra money, and just like family and friends who had faith in what I could do or willing to donate money as well, or whatever they had.
Like this last film I did, the majority of my actors came from New York, so I had to get them places to stay for the weekend which could be very pricey, so I had people who were willing to donate their hotel points, so I wouldn't have to pay for their rooms.
What are the major pitfalls of independent filmmaking and what would you tell people interested in pursuing it?
The biggest advice I can give is to keep pushing forward. No matter how much you plan, or how much you prepare, once you get into production--the editing, the writing--it's never going to be perfect. Mistakes will be made, but it's one of those things you just have to adapt, roll with the punches.
At the end of the day, if it's something that you love, you just have to do it. And with each film that you make, you're going to see the improvement. Keep pushing forward and keep striving to make your next film better than your last film."
Anything else you'd like to add about filmmaking in D.C.?
I love it. Even though I don't plan on staying in D.C. I do plan on moving to LA by the end of the year. However, I love filmmaking in D.C. because it's not really an area of the country that's promoted outside of political, and there's so much more going on in this city that people don't know about.