This week on BEHIND THE LENS we take a look at two films and three directors, each making their feature directorial debut. SOPHIA CASTUERA brings us the “mumblecore” narrative AUGUST AT TWENTY-TWO while GARY MATOSO and CAMERON ZOHOORI take us behind the lines of volunteer firefighting in the United States with ODD HOURS, NO PAY, COOL HAT.
First up is SOPHIA CASTUERA talking about her debut narrative feature – AUGUST AT TWENTY-TWO. A wannabe actress fresh out of school trying to make it in the Big Apple and filled with all the confusion and trouble that comes with being 22 from floundering in a career, making bad decisions, pushing away a BFF, jealousy, partying versus work, etc. Very much in the vein of the Duplass Brothers early “mumblecore” films, not to mention being very female-centric in front of and behind the camera, Sophia discusses the challenges and the joys of directing not just this film, but a feature film at that. Covering everything from collaboration and working with writer and lead actor Ali Edwards to the importance of having a primarily female crew to casting and performances (some real standouts are Lilli Kay and Jorge Felipe Guevara) to cinematography to editing and more. And how about what to do when a main location gets pulled from you after already having film in the can! (Here’s a hint – pivoting and thinking fast on your feet comes into play.)
AUGUST AT TWENTY-TWO is available on digital and VOD on July 25, 2023.
“august at twenty-two” Trailer from Lady Parts Productions on Vimeo.
Then things get hot when directors GARY MATOSO and CAMERON ZOHOORI join us live discussing their new documentary ODD HOURS, NO PAY, COOL HAT. An insightful and intimate look behind the lines of volunteer firefighting in the United States, Gary and Cameron hone in on this diverse community of firefighting brethren across the country meeting select volunteer fire companies and their members and getting “up close and personal” with these brave dedicated men and women. It may come as a shock to many that we have such a large number of volunteer firefighting companies in this country, but these firefighters are essential to the fabric of first responders, especially in more rural or very small communities without a municipal budget to sustain a career firefighter company.
A daunting undertaking from the start, Gary and Cameron dive right in talking about their initial interest in the subject and how they became involved in this project, developing the film, the research process, selecting firefighting companies and showcasing some very unique individuals and specialties of some of the brigades (not the least of which is rescuing a cow from a swimming pool which you’ll see in the documentary), filming interviews and on-scene events, editing approximately 300 hours of footage and finding the throughline, and so much more. An interesting conversation about a very interesting and eye-opening film.
ODD HOURS, NO PAY, COOL HAT is available on digital and VOD on July 25, 2023.
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