What better way to get to know this year’s unique crew of Festival filmmakers than to pick their brains with a poll? We quizzed our filmmakers in the LA Film Fest’s Zeitgeist section, which features hard knock, coming-of-age stories, about the genre, their filmmaking ups and downs and Ferris Bueller. Here’s what they had to say.

 

What are you most looking forward to about the Festival?
My favorite part of any film festival is the opportunity to experience new films and filmmakers. Being an independent filmmaker can often feel like you’re walking a long and lonely road. The festival experience is such a great place to bond with and be encouraged by fellow travelers, fostering relationships that can last a lifetime.

What was the biggest obstacle you encountered in the making of this film and how did you overcome it?
There were obstacles every day but I’d have to say the biggest challenge was our own ambition for the film. We wanted to make an epic adventure film on an indie budget. We maneuvered around logistical limitations with rigorous planning, keeping a cool head, and surrounding ourselves with excellent people. This movie came to fruition due to the hardworking, brilliant minds of our crew and the unwavering support of our incredible cast and producers.

What classic coming-of-age story main character best epitomizes your own experience growing up?
Pee-Wee in Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure—Adam. John Connor in Terminator 2—Aaron

How much of the film is based on your own personal experience?
Even though the film is a true adaptation of Twain’s work, I think most young men have a bit of Tom and Huck in them, so in that way, there are pieces of us floating around in there.

Why are so many filmmakers drawn to the coming-of-age genre?
I think most of us are sort of confounded by our sudden adulthood. To me a coming of age story is a writer’s way of examining the high stakes nature of that chapter in between adolescents and adulthood. Young men and women are faced with decisions that can alter their entire future life when they’re still too young to make that kind of call. That’s a rich place to draw inspiration from.

Who would win in a fight: Chris Chambers (River Phoenix’s character in Stand By Me) or Ferris Bueller?
Is it a fight over who’s more delightful?

 

 

 

 

Adam Nee & Aaron Nee / writer-directors, Band of Robbers  

 

What are you most looking forward to about the Festival?
I am looking forward to being apart of a community of filmmakers and supporting their films.

What was the biggest obstacle you encountered in the making of this film and how did you overcome it?
Scheduling.

What classic coming-of-age story main character best epitomizes your own experience growing up?
Raising Victor Vargas

Why are so many filmmakers drawn to the coming-of-age genre?
I believe filmmakers love telling coming of age stories because it captures a moment in time that is pure, honest and universal.

Who would win in a fight: Chris Chambers (River Phoenix’s character in Stand By Me) or Ferris Bueller
They are both winners to me. Just different fighters. 😉

 

 

Ty Hodges / director-writer-actor, A Girl Like Grace

 

What are you most looking forward to about the Festival?
Seeing how a crowd reacts to the film. It’s never had a public screening. Actually, maybe that’s the thing I’m least looking forward to.

What classic coming-of-age story main character best epitomizes your own experience growing up?
I tended to exaggerate my own childhood experiences so, while not historically accurate, I connected most with characters like Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club and Jason Patric in The Lost Boys.

How much of the film is based on your own personal experience?
In actuality, none–thankfully. But emotionally, yeah, the feeling Lola has of being an outsider is one I was familiar with at her age.

Why are so many filmmakers drawn to the coming-of-age genre?
For many filmmakers the draw to tell emotions we’re familiar with is a strong one. Not many of us know what it’s like to save the world but we’ve all been hurt or embarrassed in the schoolyard.

Who would win in a fight: Chris Chambers (River Phoenix’s character in Stand By Me) or Ferris Bueller
Are you kidding? I like Ferris Bueller but he couldn’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag.

 

Rupert Glasson / writer-director, What Lola Wants 

 

What are you most looking forward to about the Festival?
I’m really looking forward to seeing some films and talking to other filmmakers in the industry. I’ve been so busy with graduating that I haven’t had time to watch a film in a while. I’ve also never been to LA, so we are all excited about doing some exploring while we are there. I’m obviously also excited about seeing the film and being with an audience for the first time.

What was the biggest obstacle you encountered in the making of this film and how did you overcome it?
We had a lot of police interventions. We never got in any kind of trouble with them and some ended up actually assisting us. Most of them just seemed confused about a film being made in Winston- Salem, in a car, while most of the city was asleep. It was also less than 20 degrees nearly every night. We overcame that with those hand warmer things.

What classic coming-of-age story main character best epitomizes your own experience growing up?
Initially I think of Paul Maclean from A River Runs Through It. The relationship of the two brothers in that film reminds me a lot of growing up with my brother. I think most of our true bonding happened silently outdoors.

How much of the film is based on your own personal experience?
Nearly all of it is based on personal experience. The events of the script are fabricated, but the characters are all based on people I know. Some of the locations are the actual locations from my years in high school. For example, the exterior of Alissa’s house is the house of the girl she is based off of.

Why are so many filmmakers drawn to the coming-of-age genre?
As I get older I keep asking myself how did I get here? I think film is a great medium to answer that question. It’s also very relatable since everyone goes through it.

Who would win in a fight: Chris Chambers (River Phoenix’s character in Stand By Me) or Ferris Bueller
Ferris. He’s a crafty dude.

 

Matthew Brown / director-writer-actor, In The Treetops

 

What are you most looking forward to about the Festival?
We are most looking forward to sharing the film and engaging with the audience and community.  We are excited to meet filmmakers working in the trenches and interacting with the independent film community.

What was the biggest obstacle you encountered in the making of this film and how did you overcome it?
The demands of the locations, actors’ availability and the story required that we shoot a high number of reverse splits. Shooting from 10:00 pm to 10:00 am or 2:00 am to 2:00 pm took a physical and emotional toll on everyone.

What classic coming-of-age story main character best epitomizes your own experience growing up?
Bud Fox in Wall Street.

How much of the film is based on your own personal experience?
None of it.  But beyond the veil of fiction, everything has drawn on our experience with American greed and the dangers of pursuing the American Dream.

Why are so many filmmakers drawn to the coming-of-age genre?
We did not set out to make a coming of age film, but were ultimately drawn to the singular beauty of the moment in a person’s life where they have an opportunity to think differently about their world.

Who would win in a fight: Chris Chambers (River Phoenix’s character in Stand By Me) or Ferris Bueller
Ferris would find a way to settle the matter before it came to blows.

 

Kaitlin McLaughlin and Michael Dwyer / directors, Pocha (Manifest Destiny)

Jade Estrada / Film Independent Blogger