Socially Conscious Film Directors Share their Views on Validation #atozchallenge #IndieFilm

On the set of the documentary 'TEN9EIGHT' directed by Mary MazzioWhat does validation look like -- an award, critical acclaim, audience favor, film festival acceptance/laurels, distribution offers, being charted at the box office, artist representation? I wonder how much is validation worth if we don't get it? Two thumbs up from the late Roger Ebert held a lot more weight for filmmakers than a pat on the back from our parents!

I too was among the filmmakers banking on those reviews, and when the Ebert Era came to an end, my hopes for success went out the window. I’ve since looked at Ebert’s passing as a gift that also changed my definition of what it means to succeed with one’s work.

For Mary Mazzio, director of the robotics and immigration documentary “UNDERWATER DREAMS”, that image of success is found in the level of social impact she has with her films. “What I love about our projects is the ability to impact someone’s thinking -- whether that’s a young child growing up under the most adverse of circumstances, where there is no opportunity, they can’t see opportunity and they don’t see role models; if you can present the piece of media that they feel speaks to them, and gives them a different outlook – that’s social change, which is really exciting,” says the former Olympian.

Mary Mazzio's film 'THE APPLE PUSHERS' examines the obesity crisis, immigration, entrepreneurship, and what it really takes to achieve the American Dream.She continues, “’THE APPLE PUSHERS’ was all about food deserts and the lack of access that poor Americans – mostly the urban poor, but also the rural poor –have to fruits, vegetables, lean meats and skim milk, etc. and they often don’t have supermarkets within a mile of their home. Consequently, they face, as somebody phrased it, a junk swamp – they can get all kinds of fast food, quickly, cheaply and easily but from a health standpoint, it’s totally unfair.”

 It was through Mazzio’s film production company 50 Eggs, Inc. that she organized screenings of “THE APPLE PUSHERS” in different cities with different federal and health organizations, and noticed the impact her film is having. “We saw really interesting brainstorming with all kinds of different people coming together [asking] ‘how do I solve this in our community? Well, maybe it’s a mobile food truck, or maybe it’s a mobile food bike, or maybe it’s something else altogether; how do we infuse these food deserts with fresh fruits and fresh vegetables. How do we do that?’ and that’s incredibly exciting to see,” says Mazzio.

Mazzio’s film “TEN9EIGHT: SHOOT FOR THE MOON” was also well received by audiences and blessed with a huge number of favorable reviews, despite having its detractors within the critics circle. “Tom Friedman who writes for the New York Times called on President Obama to put that in every school in the country. The Village Voice, on the other hand, said that I had invented a terrifying new genre called capitalistic porn! How hilarious is that?! They hated the film,” she says while stressing that her film was made for the kids in disenfranchised poor communities, not for movie critics.

Rahfael Gordon On Location in Brooklyn filming 'TEN9EIGHT' directed by Mary Mazzio

If anyone’s opinion validated her work, it would be the students that packed AMC Theaters in eight-ten cities where “TEN9EIGHT: SHOOT FOR THE MOON” opened free of charge to schools.

“On the first day of the run, I go to New York, I’m standing at the back; These buses are coming in and these kids are coming out – almost all of them African-American teenagers, some Hispanic, Latino, and I’m thinking ‘Oh God, Oh dear!’ My heart was beating out of my chest because I was like ‘Boy, is what I have to say even relevant to these kids?’ They’ve got jeans down to their knees; These are full-on teenagers with very limited attention spans,” says Mazzio – a self-described ‘blue-eyed hockey mom’.

She continues, “So the movie starts and I feel like I’m going to throw up because it was jammed. All of a sudden, you could hear a pin drop with these kids, and then, three-quarters of the way through, people start shouting at the kids on the screen in the movie. Like ‘You go Anné!’; ‘Rodney, Rodney!!!’ – OMG, the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stood up! I was like Oh-My-God, this is such a privilege that you can put together a piece of media that can slide through space and time.”

Audiences at Henrico Theatre swarm the merchandise table for TROOP 491: THE ADVENTURES OF THE MUDDY LIONS.Like Mazzio, audience response is what “TROOP 491: THE ADVENTURES OF THE MUDDY LIONS” director Partrick “Praheme” considers as the ultimate approval of his movies. “That’s what I live for – people being able to see my work. Making money is a great bonus to that, but seeing people have emotional reactions to my films – whether it’s laughing or crying – that’s where my validation comes from because it lets me know that what I was trying to put into the movie actually worked,” he says. 

"When you’re writing these scripts and making these movies, you never know whether people are going to ‘get it,’ whether people are going to like it, whether they’re gonna connect with it. So, when you see it, hear it and feel it in the audience, that lets me know that I did a decent job,” says the Howard University graduate whose film was well received in London, Houston, Richmond, and most recently in Tucson at the Arizona International Film Festival.

If Praheme and Mazzio’s experiences are any indication, all of the reviews in the world are no match for what a movie’s target audience has to say. “I felt like it was almost a religious experience; here are these kids responding to something that I tried to make for them. For me, that’s what it’s all about. So, the guy from the Village Voice can write what he wants, but I got calls from across the country -- the same thing was happening in Detroit, in Chicago, in L.A. – I mean, all of these school children filled the theaters, and they were teenage students primarily from inner-city, low-income schools. That was unbelievably exciting that they could see the kids in “TEN9EIGHT: SHOOT FOR THE MOON” in a way that they had not been used to seeing themselves on film,” adds Mazzio.

Production still from 'TEN9EIGHT' directed by Mary Mazzio“By and large -- there are lots of exceptions but I’m totally generalizing -- the portrayal of Hispanic and Latino teenagers in movies, and in the African-American community as well, is so stereotypical with very few positive, aspirational, authentic stories. So, I think that’s what these kids were reacting to – they saw kids in the movie overcoming issues that are just like what they had to overcome. They were so mad that the narrator of the film, Rodney Walker, didn’t win – he came in second. I think everybody thought he’d win and when they announced the places, it was like ‘What?!!!!’ That was awesome,” she says.  

Although Mazzio doesn’t judge a work solely by reviews, she does take multiple sources of reviewers into consideration when it comes to watching films. “I think reviews are key but oftentimes, you’ll see movies with terrible reviews that get big audiences,” says Mazzio before also pointing out “Certainly, there are many more movie critics, with bloggers and web and easy accessibility; you don’t just have the big movie reviewers – the Siskel and Eberts – I don’t think they’re given quite as much weight. With that being said, critics are important – they can influence audience goers. So when I go see a movie, I will actually go look at the reviews; I’ll look both at the critical reviews and then I’ll look at the audience reviews, because the critics may have a very different take than the audience.”

Film director Praheme with audience members at Saint Paul's Baptist Church.The disparity in movie reviews by critics and audiences alike is exactly why Praheme does not think they hold much weight at all, now that “everybody is a movie reviewer.” “Everybody can go on Twitter and tell you what they think about a movie, and that’s almost just as valid as the newspaper. I’ve never really believed that reviewers or critics were reviewing the movies in the same way that the audience member was -- as a regular, just average Joe Blow movie goer, and that, to me was always a disconnect when I used to read reviews, because it’s like, they’re grading it on this sophisticated, kinda snobbish movie standard – the acting, directing, dialogue – when most people are like ‘hey, did I enjoy that movie? Did it entertain me for that hour and thirty minutes? -- and that’s the way I look at movies,” proclaims this former Boy Scout.

“I don’t care whether the writing was great or all of that other stuff. Was I entertained? Did you make me laugh? Did you take me out of my thought process [that I had] before I walked in here? So, fuck the critics!” - Praheme

While Praheme values audience reactions over reviews, this still doesn’t impact his filmmaking choices. “I try not to think about any of that stuff while I’m making a movie. I’m making a movie purely based off of what I see in my head, in hopes that people will like what they see, but I’m not making anything expecting people to like this automatically. I’m not doing it with the hope that ‘hey, if I put this in then all of the Mexicans are gonna like this!’ you know, because I have no idea what people are going to like. So, I try to make stuff that I like and hope that there are enough weirdoes like me out there that will like it too. I think that my sensibilities are pretty common,” he says.  

There is much to be learned after discussing validation with Mary Mazzio and Praheme – both who have succeeded in gaining audience favor, in their own right, which can obviously be worth more than critical acclaim. The former narrow-minded thinking that told me I needed a movie review from none other than Roger Ebert, as my form of legitimacy, continues to teach me a lot about the importance of not relying on a specific person or entity to validate your hopes and dreams. Being flexible with your objectives is vital because that's when new doors start opening and exciting things beyond your wildest dreams begin to happen.

What does validation mean to YOU?

How much influence do reviews have on YOUR decision to see, or not to see, a movie?

What was the last movie YOU saw and loved despite it having negative reviews?

Also, be sure to check out yesterday's post about Understanding that the Future of Film is Up to Us.

Running on that Movie-Making High - The Rush #atozchallenge #MondayMovieMeme #IndieFilm

“The most expensive habit in the world is celluloid, not heroin, and I need a fix every two years.” – Steven Spielberg

Production slate during filming of NEWLYWEEDS directed by Shaka King.During a film podcast from 2013, Shaka King, director of the stoner comedy drama “NEWLYWEEDS” talks about how making movies caused him to wonder if he can take care of himself and be a filmmaker at the same time.

King, an Independent Spirit Award winner indicated that making this feature film debut threw his life out of balance.

“NEWLYWEEDS” is a Sundance hit that later played in theaters and is currently available on demand, DVD and iTunes. In between these milestones, however, King described being broke and feeling like his body was falling apart; concerned about the toll that filmmaking has taken on his health. Yet, despite these highs and lows, he’s eager to make the next one.

Shaka King‘s enthusiasm for making movies – even with all of the madness it brings, got me wondering if we’re all borderline crazy. Must we get a little crazy to be artists? After all, who in their right mind would willingly sign up for a second and third go 'round of the stress and debt that filmmaking brings?! It's like a drug -- trying to get that "high" again so bad that you'll do anything it takes, even if it makes your life more difficult in the process.

So with that in mind....

The theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme is based on the topic at hand: Adrenaline Rush.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies featuring people who are thrill seekers. Here are my selections, which are basically the first movies that came to mind when thinking about what would fit the bill for this week’s Adrenaline Rush theme.

Twister

It’s understandable that Jo was passionate about helping people get ahead of tornadoes as best as they could, in this adventure/disaster film. Some of her crew members, however, appeared to take great pleasure in being within seconds of danger, swept up in Mother Nature’s destructive, merciless, and potentially deadly storms.

Clockwork Orange

The group of friends in this movie get off on being delinquents; Hmm. Maybe they need a hug. Or, some jail time.

When was the last time YOU were excited to repeat an activity that previously caused chaos in your life?

Do YOU think art requires one to be crazy in order to pursue it, create it and/or deal with the rollercoaster of emotions that it brings?

What movies come to YOUR mind when you think about thrill seekers?

Just another Day on the Job – Why Directors Soderbergh and Tarantino Make Movies #atozchallenge #IndieFilm

As I seek out my place in the madness that is filmmaking, it’s been interesting to notice vast differences in how more well-known, successful directors view their career choice. Steven Soderbergh – the man behind movies such as “Contagion,” “Ocean’s Eleven” (the one with George Clooney) and “Traffic” seems to approach this path like he would any other job. On the other hand, Quentin Tarantino – the man who brought us “Pulp Fiction,” “Kill Bill” and “Django Unchained,” operates from another end of the spectrum where he’s made film his life.

“It’s a real privilege to make a living doing this job. It’s a great job — the best I can think of, actually. You walk into a room and say, ‘I’m imagining this,’ and they give you millions of dollars to go out and make it real. That’s a pretty good gig. I have certain standards — sometimes I hit them and sometimes I don’t.

I don’t think being precious is really good for any art form. So I believe in being really prepared, working hard, doing everything I can think of to improve it, but staying on budget, staying on schedule, and when it’s over, it’s over and I’m onto the next thing. I’m really dispassionate about it, in that regard. I haven’t seen a great benefit in my own work in agonizing over things. I’ve seen more of a benefit in my work, for moving quickly. It’s harder to be pretentious when you’re moving really fast.” – Steven Soderbergh

- VS. -

“I’m lucky enough to be in the position where I don’t make movies to pay for my pool. When I make a movie, I want it to be everything to me; like I would die for it….When you gotta go out and make a movie to pay for the kid’s private school and for the three ex-wives, don’t talk to me about your artistry. It’s their job. It’s not my job. It’s my calling.” – Quentin Tarantino

I used to view film as my end-all be-all because it was – and still is at times -- everything to me, before embarking on this exploration of what really matters in the grand scheme of things. Now, I find Soderbergh’s position to be more relatable in the sense that making movies shouldn’t consume us too much, for too long. It’s probably healthier to do what you can and move on when the time has come for putting your energy and focus toward new (or even different) work.  

Have YOU found your calling?

What are YOUR most favorite jobs (or gigs) that you ever had, to date?