Director's Cut

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What was the first thing that you said? "Hello."

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I don't think right now that there's anything else that would make me happier.

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Welcome to Director's Cut. Tonight, one of our favorite shows of the year, the Wisconsin Film Festival episode. In just a couple weeks, thousands of people will descend upon Madison to see one of the best collections of film offered anywhere. At this year's festival,

which runs April 4th through the 11th

Alexa fights back, Inquiring Nuns want to know, There are Bathtubs Over Broadway, and we are graced with the hilarious Betty White. And we kick it all off opening night with a Woman at War. And those are just the films. Throw in an opening night champagne toast, Golden Badger Awards, entertaining Q&As throughout, and as many Afterglow parties as you can possibly handle, and you've got the Wisconsin Film Festival. Over the next hour, we'll talk about this year's festival, see some great clips, and meet some of the film's directors. My first guest, as always, is Wisconsin Film Festival's Director of Programming, Jim Healy. Jim, welcome back. - Thank you, Pete. I think you've been on the show more than anybody, just by way of this episode. That's great. - I think, you know-- Sidekick? - It's an honor. Moving forward, you could be like the... Anytime. I'm always happy to be here. You always say that. Okay, so, Jim, before we jump into the film festival stuff, I saw recently a post of yours on social media that said you watched 750 films last year. Feature films, yes. - Feature films. And that's ones I count from start to finish. There are a number of others I watch a part of and can't go any further. - How-- how do you-- And then short films, too. - How do you navigate your-- did you just not take out the trash or clean the house? I mean, what do you-- how do you do that? There are some things that get neglected, but I-- you know, I try to make family not one of them. Okay, all right, good. So you know you stuff, I guess is the point I'm trying to make. Give us an overview of this year's festival, how you would describe it. Well, you know, always the best of the newest films that are available to us; uh, a great chunk of films made right here in Wisconsin or by Wisconsin natives who are dispersed all over the country and the world; and also a healthy selection of restorations, rediscoveries. We have silent films from 1923 and 1924, and movies from the '70s that have been restored and are showing throughout the festival. Talk about-- every year, I love the restored films you guys show. What are you offering this year? Okay, well, they're kind of in two sections. There are movies that, uh, have been recently restored that we're bringing. Like, for example, Joan Micklin Silver's film, Between the Lines, which is a great film about an underground news-- well, not an underground newspaper, but I'd say an alternative weekly newspaper that launched the careers of a lot of actors like Jeff Goldblum and John Heard. Uh, we're screening that. We're-- we also-- and we have everything from that to, uh, silent films from 1924. We have Ernst Lubitsch's Forbidden Paradise and Rosita, which are being shown with live piano. And then we have films that have been restored that premiered last summer in a festival in Italy, uh, known as Il Cinema Ritrovato, or "The Cinema Remembered" in Bologna. And they are an all-retrospective festival. So we have a number of films throughout the festival that, uh, were screened there last summer, including a Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren film that was rarely shown in the U.S. called Lucky To Be a Woman, uh, and a number of other movies from the film festival as well. This also made you bilingual, I think, watching all these films, which is nice, so... I know how to pronounce Italian anyway. Let's take a look at our first sampling of films that will be at this year's festival.

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Whoa!

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Whoa! If someone just came to you on the street and just said to you,

uh

"Are you happy?" What would you say?

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Good afternoon, sir. Can we stop you to ask you a question? What's the question? Are you happy? Groovy. -

laughs

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Yeah, 'cause I went to communion this morning. Well, right now I'm not. Oh, I think I'd be happier if the war in Vietnam were over. I am happy in the United States. Why are you asking? I'm happy in my work. In my personal life, not really. I don't think right now that there's anything else that would make me happier. Well, there are three big things that make a person happy

or are responsible for happiness

the sex, social life, um, what's the other? What is it? Um, your work. How about you? Are you happy? -

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or are responsible for happiness

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or are responsible for happiness

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or are responsible for happiness

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or are responsible for happiness

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La, la, la, la, la, la -

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Ahh. -

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It makes me even more exciting for opening night. Um, so, this year you have your first 3-D screenings, as I understand it? - Yes. You want to talk a little bit about that maybe? Tell us what's up? - There are new films in 3-D. There's a new animated film called Minuscule, which we're showing in 3-D. We're showing Ralph Breaks the Internet in 3-D with the UW alum Phil Johnston; the film's screenwriter and co-director is gonna present it. - Oh, nice. We have two restored 3-D films by-- from the founder of the 3-D film archive, Bob Furmanek, who's gonna be with us in person. One is a, uh, action-adventure film set on the Amazons, called Jivaro, and another film set on the Amazons-- set in the Amazon, Creature from the Black Lagoon. The original. - Oh, nice. And then we have a new Chinese film called Long Day's Journey Into Night, which we always have to say "No relation to the Eugene O'Neill." But the last hour of the film, which is directed by Bi Gan, is a single take in 3-D. So at a certain point in the film, we're gonna have you put 3-D glasses on... Huh. And they'll take you into a dream world. That kind of leads me to my next question. We have about 30 seconds. The big attraction, the best thing about film festivals, to me, are the Q&As. Yeah. - Is Ralph-- what was it? Wreck-It Ralph? - Yeah. Ralph Breaks the Internet. It's a sequel, right. Now, will the filmmaker be here to do the Q&A? Phil Johnston will be with us in person to discuss the film... - Great. Instruct you when to take your 3-D glasses off. And then there's a behind-the-scenes look at Ralph Breaks the Internet after the screening. Any other big attractions for Q&As this year people gonna look forward to? We have the Oscar-winning editor Bob Murawski, who is gonna be with us to show The Other Side of the Wind, Orson Welles' long uncompleted film, which Bob Murawski completed from mostly unedited footage that Orson Welles directed. Fantastic. That's great. Well, um, thanks Jim. We'll talk to you again at the end of the show for some last-minute thoughts on this year's festival. Up next, a clip from a feature film shot in the woods of Lone Rock, Wisconsin.

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Hey, little lady. I can show you a good time. All right, but I'd have to charge you. Flying all alone We can't both be hookers. Sorry, I don't really have time. I'm trying to find "Life on Mars?" on my iPod, 'cause it's the perfect song for leaving, and I can't frickin'--

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Thank you.

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No worries. You, uh, you skipping town, bug? Don't call me "bug."

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You have plans for today? No. - You got a job? Nothing permanent. I'd like to welcome now Carol Brandt, who is the director of the clip we just saw, Pet Names. Uh, great movie, can't wait to see it. Tell us a little bit about the film and about your anticipating seeing it with an audience here. Uh, it's great to bring it home to the state where we filmed it. I mean, um, I've been doing some traveling with it, so it's wonderful to be able to show it very close to where we filmed it. Um, and the film follows this young girl named Leigh, well, 20-something named Leigh, who drops out of grad school to take care of her mother. Um, her mother tells her to go on a camping trip to kind of take a break from taking care of her, and she ends up bringing her ex-boyfriend along. Uh, which, you know, is rather ill-advised. -

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So they kind of try to repair old wounds, kind of re-open them, um... Quite a ride. Sort of a "therapy camping trip" type thing, cathartic? They try. They try. It's-- it's a very funny film. Talk about that. 'Cause you got a lot of heavy stuff going on here. But you have this nice comedic relief throughout the film that I assume was a conscious choice or did the actors bring that out? Was it already written into the script? Uh, all of the above. - Yeah, oh. I mean, the script had a lot of great, funny moments in it. The actors were so familiar with each other by the end that they were able to just riff and make funny moments happen. Um, as a director, I found that, uh, if you want to make someone cry, you have to make them laugh first, 'cause then you've got their hearts. Yeah, and you have that going on with your actors in a couple scenes, too, where they have these releases, which is so great. So, your background, Carol, is in editing, and now you've directed a film. Um, what's your favorite hat to wear when it comes to the filmmaking process? I assume it's an indie, you've done a lot of other-- worn a lot of other hats as well. What's your favorite part of the process? Directing. - Yeah. I mean, just being on set with the actors and working with them creatively. And there's never a problem that, uh, you've run into before, usually. Uh, everything's new every day. - Yeah. Um, the problems can be as ridiculous as, like, "Why isn't the sun over here instead of over here?" Like, things you can't change at all. Um, and so, constantly problem-solving. It's very good for your... your brain up here. Makes you think on your feet. - Yeah, yeah. What kind of crew did you have for-- you were in the woods, you only had really two actors and a couple supporting actors, but what kind of numbers are you looking at for crew on something like that? It was the epitome of a skeleton crew. We had our DP, Dana Shihadah. We had our sound guy, Ryan Meunier. And then we had a PA, and then our craft services guy, and that was it. Wow. - That was the entire crew. And me, I guess. I was there. So you all kind of pitched in and did everything. Yeah. - And your lead actress, Meredith Johnston, wrote the script... Mm-hmm. You directed, was it hard for her to turn that over? Did you work together well? Is that-- it's gotta be difficult directing someone else's material, unless you've never written your own, I would assume? I have written my own, so this is one of the first forays into really kind of "adopting"--

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Excuse me-- a script as my own. - Okay. And we were just very lucky in that we, uh, we worked very, very well together. We had very similar tastes, similar ways that we would problem-solve scenes if they weren't working correctly, 'cause you're always at the mercy of the weather and the location and budgetary constraints. Right. - And so a lot of the problems were solved together, which was great. And we'll probably continue to work together. We have about 30 seconds left. I just want to know, in so many bios or synopsis I read of films, they mention the location. - Mm-hmm. Is that almost like a character? Does the geography affect your sensibilities in any way as a filmmaker? 100%. - Huh. I mean, I would definitely call this film my love letter to Wisconsin, especially in the summer. We really tried to encapsulate that beauty and that, uh, coziness, I guess, of the Wisconsin woods in the summertime. Yeah, well, you did a great job. Thanks for being here. - Thank you. Appreciate it. Good luck with the festival with the screening. Up next, the winner of a Golden Badger Award and a Film Festival alum. -

crying

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What up, fool? - Buddha, Buddha. What's up, baby? Yeah, G. You know what time it is? It just came in, the

...

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and I got it, I got your CDs. I got the place booked out tonight, G. What's going on?

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Huh? Well, it's... I'm worried about these kids, man. Come on, the kids? They tore up the goddamn crib. They tore this bitch up. Come on, man, get it together. I didn't say nothing. All right then. We gonna get it right, then.

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00, right? Yeah, whatever.

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Hello? I ain't get

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all day. Alicia finna come home and kill my ass.

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Telling you... Hello? Hold up, G.

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Goddamn, man! Knock it off, leave him alone! Welcome to McDonald's, can I help you? Yeah. - I'm sorry. Yeah, can I get two fish filet sandwich and a ice water, please? Thank you. - You say-- This bitch slow as hell, G. I'm already at the door. Straight up, bro.

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Hold on right quick, G. Hold on, somebody calling me on my other line. Hold on, I'll be on my other phone, G. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Hello? What's the deal? You know, I'm just cooling and doing what I do. You know what I'm saying, kicking it. Trying to kick back right now with these badass kids, man Well, I'm really just calling to try to get some smoke off you tonight. Hey! Buddha?

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What y'all doing? Teach you I-- - Boo. What in the hell happened here today? That was a clip from Pl ayed Out. Joining us now is director, James Runde. James, welcome back to Director's Cut. Thanks, Pete. - You are also an alumni. Yep. - Um, an alumnus. So tell us a little bit about what's going on in that clip and give us some background for Played Out. Yeah, so, um, Buddha's the character's name, who's on the phone in the bathroom. Um, it's his day off work, and his kids tore up his apartment-- or the house that they're living in. And his buddy calls to tell him to go out to celebrate his rap album being pressed and released. So he's kind of a hip-hop artist on a low scale. Um, and he's kind of trying to navigate, like, "Okay, how do I keep things rolling smooth with my family, "but then, like, also try to make this work for my buddy who clearly has put a lot into this?" So that's kind of what's going on there. And then I'm coming in, wrecking it up by like, you know, taking up his time also on the phone, so. That's kind of the set up of the movie where it kind of, like, springboards from there. This is your fourth year with a movie in the film festival. You're pretty prolific. How do you-- but now you also said when we were watching that clip, this one took it out of you. - Yeah. It's longer than your previous efforts, but why would you say that? Why is that the case? Because it was really personal, and then I just... It was a really personal film in that Tim, who plays Buddha, and Leslie, who plays her-- Leslie, um, are both very good friends of mine. I play in a band with Leslie and I've made music videos and Tim's, like, one of my best friends. Um, so it was just getting them to buy in and give their families and their all. And then also have me in there with my family and some of the tension that that sometimes can create, just made for, like, a really exhaustive editing process when I ended up having to go to the cutting room, because I just kept, you know... When something's so close to real life, it almost kind of... - Crosses those lines? Yeah, it kind of starts to get a little hard to deal with sometimes. You seem pretty comfortable-- But it just took a long time to make it as well, so. Yeah, is that difficult when you know them so well? Would it be easier just to have actors where you say, you know, you actually just direct and not-- whether weird... I think it was easier on set to have that familiarity, and I think that's why we got really natural performances. - Okay. But in the long run, you know, when you get to releasing it to the public, you start reconsidering all these things, because, you know, I don't know. Are people gonna be comfortable with this? Or are they gonna be comfortable with how they're shown? And these are my friends-- I don't-- you know what I mean? - Yeah, yeah. So I kind of, um, especially with my family, kind of was playing around with that and a little worried about it, but I think everybody's fine with what's in the cut, so I feel good about it. You're obviously okay being shirtless and having a lot of weed in your films, so...

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Yeah, right. Are you kind of speaking to a generation? 'Cause you did White and Lazy, too, we've had. Yeah, yeah. And you kind of capture that time in someone's life. Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that, actually, because, um, yeah, I think maybe, I guess, that I'm speaking to a generation. I guess I do see a link between those two films in that, um, White and Lazy was, like, when I was in college and it kind of was like, the disillusionment with my, you know, hipster roommates kind of like, wanting to be all cool, but not really paying the rent. - Yeah. And then now you kind of get another level beyond that, where my character in this film has graduated college and is kind of stuck in what a lot of 20-somethings will find is, like, sort of a tough time. And I guess what I-- from my angle, what I really wanted to hit on for my character's story is how that time can sort of be confusing in that you don't necessarily know what your priorities are. And sometimes, like, your family can be neglected or some-- you know, you're not really sure where to put your time yet... - Okay, yeah. Because you're still kind of becoming an adult and figuring out what you're about. So I guess in that way, you might be onto something. Well, it looks great. I wish you luck at the screening, and I think you should be the voice of your generation. -

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That's awesome. Thanks for being on Di rector's Cut. That makes one of us. - No, both of us, I think. We'll talk more with Wisconsin filmmakers in just a moment, but first, here's a look at four more brilliant films featured at the Wisconsin Film Festival. -

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Rosenthal, just stand in the shadows, and when I say "action," then walk out into the light. Okay. Step out of the shadows and into the light. Got it. Let us know try it. It's just a rehearsal. Action! Who's there? Don't be frightened. No, but you need to say it exactly as you're emerging from the shadows into the light. Who's there? Don't be frightened. - Cut, no, no. First...

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Wait five seconds. Okay, sorry. And you step, do not just walk out. Don't. - Step out. So, one step? A solitary step out of the shadows and into the light. Okay. - Can we try it?

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And what exactly am I doing? I'm just asking to get a feel for the whole thing. See? Acting. Why am I standing in the shadows? -

speaking Russian

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Ooh, ah Ooh, ah Ooh, ah Oh Ooh, ah Ooh, ah Ooh, ah Ah Ooh, ah Ooh, ah Ooh, ah Ah Ooh, ah Ooh, ah Ah Oh

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Ah

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It's a beautiful day here at the state capitol. Great day to be a Satanist. I believe it, and I'm very excited about it.

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Hail Satan! We're not what you think we are.

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Satanic Temple was an idea between a handful of people directly confronting authority. This makes life fun. State officials have put up a Ten Commandments monument on government property. Satanists are demanding equal rights. I am a taxpaying member of Arkansas, and I don't want that there. They just want to irritate. And the Satanic Temple says, "Then you also need to put up our monument to Satanism." As a Satanist, I believe that confronting injustice is an expression of one's Satanic faith. You see Christian Theocracy just creeping itself into our government, and it is our duty to stand up to this. We want people to evaluate the United States being a Christian nation. It's not.

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We are supposed to be a nation that doesn't allow the government to dictate what is appropriate religious expression. Satanists sue Missouri. If we're being sued by the Satanic Temple, we gotta be doing something right. It's our goal to shut down their agenda, which is to bring death and destruction. You guys are horrible people! Is this how everyone that's different is treated? It is out of not only Satanism... but patriotism that I am motivated. Hallelujah Satanism is looking out for the other, because we are the other. Hallelujah I am following a code of ethics, having fellowship with brethren. Why can't that be a religion? We do indeed invoke Satan. We have gone from three people to 50,000. There's no doubt that this is my life's work. Hail Satan. - Hail Satan. Hail Satan. Hail Satan.

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The Wisconsin Film Festival takes place in Madison from April 4th to April 11th. With over 150 films to choose from, it is a movie heaven. The festival attracts more than 30,000 moviegoers that watch films on several screens around Madison. Go to the 2019 Wisconsin Film Festival website and start picking your movies. We've got more directors and more movies coming your way. Here's a clip from a powerful and unique short film called Hoan Alone. I'm a Deputy Chief on the Milwaukee Fire Department. I'm a Marine Corps veteran, live in the city of Milwaukee, Bay View. My path of going home was little different that day, and I saw a woman on top of the Hoan Bridge. Bright red hair. No one breaks down on top of the bridge. You could see that she was in distress. And just reached out a hand and sat and talked to her and listened to her. What was the first thing that you said? "Hello." It's uh... "Hello" can... It can start anyone to...

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Taking the time just to say hi to someone can make a difference. The more she was talking, the less she was thinking about jumping. All I was doing was listening, and I think that's key, is just to listen to what they have to say. But when the FBI agent got there, we were able to pass on some information, and then he took a step up and I took a step back. If not me, someone else would have been able to do the exact same thing, and it wasn't just me. This was from the first battalion chief that showed up to all the fire crews that showed up to the sheriffs, police, the FBI agent. We all came together that day, and we all saved this woman's life. And she was a part of it as well. She stepped back over the side. She saved her life as much as anyone else did. All I had was a "hello." It worked.

That was a clip from Hoan Alone

Personal Stories from the Bridge. And joining me now is the film's director, Aaron Johnson. Thanks, man. - Aaron, welcome. Yeah. So a lot going on in that clip. Tell us-- give us a little overview of your film. This is a short animated documentary that deals with a bridge in Milwaukee, the Hoan Bridge. This is-- for people who are familiar with it, it's a blue and white bridge that kind of goes over the top of the Summerfest grounds. And this is a film that deals with that bridge and its issues with suicide. And I had commuted over this bridge for 10 years and never thought of it as a destination or a place where these kinds of things happened, until in 2017, I drove over the bridge on two separate occasions and saw somebody on the edge of the bridge, contemplating ending their life. Wow. Okay, so is that when-- one of my questions was gonna be, what-- what is your connection to the bridge and what made you decide you have to tell this story? Was it a moment like that, or? When you drive past something like that, it's just feeling hopelessness, or helplessness, because, you know, you're here and that person's right over there and you're kind of going by them. And so after those two instances, I did have a little bit of guilt about not stopping or doing anything. There were already people there helping these people out, and I figured there was just nothing for me to do. But then as time went on, I thought, well, maybe there is something I can do. I'm a storyteller. I'm a filmmaker. And this is a good opportunity for me to explore these issues and learn more about mental health and depression and suicide. And so that was kind of my motivation for making this film. It's interesting because, I've been in that situation as well, where you think, "I should have done something." And here's how I rationalized it-- honest to God. Later, a couple days later, I'm like, "What if I was the one that made them do it?" 'Cause I don't know what I'm-- - Right. These guys are experts. They know what they're doing. You kinda-- right-- you kinda have to leave it to the people That was a thought that was in my mind, like, it happened to me twice, and I kept on thinking, what if there was a third time where I drove past it, a situation like this, and then what would I do? And I felt by doing these interviews and exploring this topic further that I maybe did equip myself a little better, as far as understanding what some of these people are going through. A better understanding for myself. So you went with... for your doc, it was not just live-action. I guess, I don't know if they call it that during-- in a documentary, but you used animation. Absolutely. - Really interesting choice. And were you-- what were the challenges of that? Were you worried that it might impede, somehow, your message? It's hard to see emotion, sometimes, but somehow, in that clip we just saw, you could see the emotion even though he was an animated character. Talk about your choice a little bit to animate this. I thought the animation would lend itself to a level of anonymity. There's a lot of people out there who have very powerful stories to tell, but they may not be comfortable of being in front of a camera. Oh, interesting. Yeah. And so this would give me the opportunity to go in and sit down with a person one-on-one, and then walk away and recreate them in any way that was appropriate. So I think some of the challenges I had were these are real people with real stories, and how do you design a character and how do you portray that doesn't come across as being cartoonish, or that diminishes their story in any way? I-- I thank you for the compliment on the emotion-- No, it really-- I was surprised, because I saw him getting choked up, and the first thing I thought was "Are we gonna be able to see the emotion on this guy?" And you could. He took a beat and he did a-- You will not be animated when this airs, by the way. You're gonna be there full live-action. Is there a Milwaukee sensibility? So many filmmakers we have on from Milwaukee have this kind of laid-back, chill, social justice kind of...

stammers

That was a clip from Hoan Alone

Can you expand on that? You seem tied in pretty well to the community. They all have sort of a-- unique in their own way, but is there a vibe in Milwaukee that is kind of works its way through all the filmmakers there? There may be that kind of distance from the coast. We're not LA. We're not New York. And so maybe there is a little bit of-- an attitude there, for better or for worse. Yeah. - Um, but I-- yeah. I can't speak to-- I made the film that I wanted to see about something I wanted to know more about, so. It looks great. I can't wait to see it. And good luck with the screenings at the festival. I hope it goes well for you. - Thank you very much. Thanks for being here. - Appreciate it. You got it. Next, two shorts from two talented Wisconsin high school directors.

line trilling

That was a clip from Hoan Alone

This is me. This is Sophie. This is Laura. We know each other. We are friends. But we live far away from one another. And I am alone. I am in my room. It is September 27, 2016.

Sophie calls me at 9

06 p.m.

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Sophie calls me at 9

I let the call go to voicemail. Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. At the tone, please record your message. When you have finished recording, you may hang up, or press 1 for more options.

tone

It is now 9

30 p.m. I listen to the voicemail. Hi, Maya. Um. I'm-- I don't really want to tell you this, but um... Laura committed suicide today, so she passed away. And I-- I really didn't want to be the person to tell anyone this, but I'm really sorry. And I don't want to upset you, but I think you should know, so. Yeah. Goodbye. I do not replay the voicemail. Speak of the devil. Your guy's moving. What? Will? Yeah, he just posted something about it. That's it. It's over. Remember when he used to wear that red hat? Yes. He looked so cool in that hat. Damn it! He's having a going away party later today. What? Yeah, he invited all of his followers. Followers? He has his own cult now? Yeah, it's called "incel." No, for his page. - What? Never mind. - Hey, wait a minute. You can take me. - Dude, no. I'm not going to that kid's party. You're never gonna find it, dude. It's a lost cause. Joining me now is Maya Castronovo, who directed Laura, and Joe Schwaba, who directed Lost Cause.

And full disclosure here

one of these filmmakers is my child. Although I like to look at everyone in the world as my child, so, welcome, Maya.

laughs

And full disclosure here

Welcome to the family. So, you guys, this is both of your-- is it your first film festival experience, Maya? No. - Oh, it's not? Okay. So talk a little bit about what you're anticipating. When you make a film like that-- pretty heavy-- tell us a little bit about what's going on there. Yeah, so this film for me was really a coping mechanism. It was really about grieving the loss of my friend. I didn't think I would show it to anyone except my art teacher, but then I kind of realized that this was an important story to tell. So that's what led me to submit it to the Wisconsin Film Festival. Wow, that's so-- so it's kind of a tribute to your friend, as well? Yeah. - Wow, that's so great. Are you nervous to see it with an audience, or? Yes, definitely. Um, I think it's always nerve-racking seeing your film on the big screen, but especially a film that is so personal to me, so. Yeah, but a great thing about film festivals, too, is that you're allowed to do it on a big screen. What a great thing. And Joe, tell us-- you are my son. I've already disclosed that. You're related, whether you like it or not. Tell us about where Lost Cause, where this story comes from, and what-- what inspired you? Well, out of the comedies I've seen, my favorite ones are the ones with kind of a simple or pointless kind of story. I think those are the best ones, so I just wanted to give it a try, I guess. Well, it's not pointless. You have a goal there. And it's-- but it's very-- - Or a pointless goal, I guess. Yeah, but it's-- okay. And you worked on it-- with other films we've seen here, when you do a short like this, or an independent film, you put a lot of your friends to work, too. Was that a good experience for you? Yeah, it's nice knowing the people you're working with. Yeah. - So, made it easier. Yeah, and, Maya, what-- okay, so where did you get the idea to use these things you find in a medicine cabinet to represent your friends? And I-- I love the bar of soap with the phone, by the way. That was great. So what gave you that idea? I actually saw a short film on Vimeo where another filmmaker used ordinary objects. And I think the use of inanimate objects kind of helps tell that story, the personal story. It's kind of about conjuring a memory. Hmm, that's interesting. Um, Joe, you wore a lot of hats, as many independent filmmakers do. You were-- directed it, wrote it, produced, and acted in the film as well. What did you-- what was your favorite part of that process? Well, I think acting's really fun. Yeah. - But it was really cool seeing something that you wrote and you created kind of come to life. So I think directing it and writing it was also really cool. This will be your first experience seeing something you did on a big screen. Are-- talk about your thoughts about that. Well, I mean, obviously I'm a little nervous. I hope people will laugh. -

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And full disclosure here

Right. 'Cause if not, you know, then, that'll be-- Just tell them it's a drama after the end. Yeah. - "It wasn't a comedy," yeah. So, Maya, do you have plans to pursue filmmaking? You guys are both high school seniors. Let's start with Maya and then Joe. Tell me what your plans are moving forward in the film biz. Yeah, so I don't know what my exact end career will be, but I'm excited to hopefully pursue a Film and Media Studies major, and also just, in general, keep creating content. Excellent, well, good luck. That's very cool. What about you, Joe? - I'm kind of in that same boat. I don't necessarily know what I'm gonna do, but I know I probably want to be in this world somehow, whether that be directing and creating or something behind the scenes, so. Yeah, well, it's an exciting time for both of you because you got a lot of choices in front of you. And for whatever you decide, that's great. So I wish you both luck. And I hope your screenings go very well. Congrats on getting into the festival.

both

Thanks. - Great. Next, a comedic sci-fi film titled Singularity Stories, Volume 1. What is happening right now? - Well, Colleen, approximately 27 minutes ago, an unprecedented phenomenon occurred, a miracle, by some definitions, or-- equally valid-- a random confluence of events leading to a nearly improbable outcome. Three independently operating algorithms on opposite ends of the globe gave rise to sympathetic input and output loops... - Uh... That began feeding back into each other

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a focused machine-learning network in Zurig, designed to gauge real-time political data; a student project running on servers at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, created... - Nebraska? To assign and rate mood markers to Twitter and Facebook feeds; and a botnet designed by a Russian teenager to skim credit card information, which had spread into the wild, its code iterating with a slight glitch, evolving with every new copy made. As the information loop created by these three equations began to surge, the algorithms could suddenly, for lack of a better term, "see" each other.

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That's everybody's worst nightmare. Joining me now is director Asa Derks. Asa, welcome to Director's Cut. - Thanks for having me. You're welcome. Tell us what's going on in-- You've got the very talented Colleen Madden as your actor there. What's going on in that clip? Well, Colleen's character, conveniently named Colleen, asks her Amazon Alexa to play Bruno Mars. -

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The Alexa refuses. And, uh, that leads to her discovering that all of the networked computers on the planet have become a single, sentient being, and, uh, they don't like Bruno Mars. We're at least a couple of years away from that happening, though, right? I don't know. I don't know. It could happen any time. I don't expect you to be the expert there, but... That's Volume 1. I assume-- are you gonna have-- gonna keep the story going or is that just sort of... So initially the "volume 1" was kind of a joke. Yeah. - Just to make it seem bigger. But I've actually come up with a couple more. Oh, cool. So, you know, if this is going well, and... Siri, Alexa, you got a whole ensemble there. Well, it's all of them, you know. Yeah. They're working together. They're all one being now, yeah. Your background is in theater. You were with the American Players Theatre for years and years. And they're a very respected theater company right here in Wisconsin. You also attended film school. - Mm-hmm. What-- talk about the differences between stage and film, and what do you prefer? And what's more invigorating, watching your film with an audience or being at live theater? That's a lot of questions, sorry. Yeah, that's a lot. I'll come back to 'em if you forget one of 'em. Yeah, so I grew up at American Players Theatre. I was like a child actor there. - Yeah. And then I got interested in film pretty early on though, and kind of started moving in that direction. Um, so from a director's standpoint, there's a lot of differences. Film is a little more controlled by the director, whereas stage is a little more of the actors' medium, because once the show opens, you kind of give it over to the actors, and they have the run of it at that point. Yeah. - You walk away. But, uh, so filmmaking really hits the OCD part of my brain, the obsessive, controlling part of me than... Yeah, you do have more control, for sure. Exactly. - You can cut, retake, you know. So are you still involved in theater, or have you primarily moved just to film? I mostly do, you know, film and video at this point, but, uh, theater is something that I grew up doing. My degree, actually, from UW Madison is in theater. Okay. So from a directing standpoint, it's really about how you create focus. And in a live setting, you do that a little differently than with a camera. - Yeah. But it's kind of all-- it's all connected in my mind. So I wouldn't rule it out to go back to the theater at some point and do some stage stuff as well. Yeah, now, I noticed you're not in that clip anywhere. I don't know if you're in the film. Are you done acting? Or is that... I don't really act anymore. - Huh, okay. No, it's definitely something in my wheelhouse, but, again, I've been kind of transitioning more-- or I've transitioned more to behind the camera. Um, it says you also work in the commercial world a lot. Talk about the differences there between film. Those are so short and the turnaround is so quick. Turnaround's quick. I assistant direct a lot on commercials. Okay. - In which case, it's-- it's almost mechanical. You're really just there to run the show. Yeah. - And I really enjoy that. Just being on set and kind of keeping the whole thing going. The nice thing about working those jobs is there's not much creative going on, so I can keep the creative juices for my personal projects. Yeah. - And try to get the narrative-- Pay the bills with the other stuff. Pay the bills with the commercials. Ideally pay the bills with this eventually, too, or... - Exactly, yeah. Hopefully. Hopefully. - Some of them, yeah. Yeah, we'll see. - We got about 30 seconds. What's next? What's your next project? Well, we are-- so we're showing this at the film festival on Friday. The Monday after that, we're actually gonna premiere online. We got accepted onto shortoftheweek.com. Nice. So on April 8th, it will be available all across the Internet as well. And then, uh, we'll see after that. Like I said, I have a couple of more singularity stories that we could do. There's also a couple features that I've got in the works, so. Okay. - We'll see what happens. I think we need at least 20 volumes, as long as they keep renaming these devices. There's at least three. So, yeah, we'll see. - Excellent. Well, good luck at the festival. And thanks for being here today. Thank you so much. - Great to have you. And thanks to all the filmmakers who joined us for this preview. Here's a final grouping of film clips from this year's festival.

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Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. "Asa Gray." M-O-B. M-O-B. Over.

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"Asa Gray." "Asa Gray." Coast Guard. Distress call received. Over. People are jumping. They are falling. People are falling off the boat. There are people in the water. They are swimming. But I don't think they can. Do you hear me? Over. "Asa Gray," listen. "Asa Gray." Listen to me. You need to back up. Back up. Stay out. This is crucial. You must stay out. Tell me you copy that, "Asa Gray," over. "Asa Gray," listen to me. Do not intervene. Our mission is already underway. Your presence provokes additional chaos. To them, you seem to be their lifesaver, but you aren't, you can't.

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-

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Hospital. Please.

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Shh-shh-shh-shh-shh.

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It's hard to top "The Bathrooms Are Coming!" What a great thing. - I thought he had made it up. I thought he made it up too. And, like it was this thing in our family. I was working at the Letterman show as a comedy writer. I started finding these mysterious corporate records. Musicals, but about tractors or silicone products. I didn't know anything about musical theater but I was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be this. My bathroom Is a private kind of place The dishwasher and the disposal Everybody was doing these things. Giant companies, tiny companies. If the patient gets bloody... I'd found some sort of treasure trove that we weren't supposed to know about at all. That is the way

all

Everything's coming up Citgo

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I had no hobbies. I barely had any friends outside the show.

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Hello. Well, hi, Steve. Hello, Sheldon. - Welcome to casa mia. But I knew I've got to have as much of this as I can find. Oh, my God! These are people who have changed American culture. It was a dream job. And there were a lot of them. It was almost like having a door open to a secret society. The general public had no kn owledge of what was going on, unless you were at one of these sales meetings. This stuff is bizarre and hilarious. Those are only the beginning layers. I hope everyone becomes interested in it, because then I can sell the ones I don't care about for lots of money. Capitalist pig. -

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Well, I learned that by listening to these records. I really got motivated to sell, sell, sell.

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I think it has an unexpected importance that I would never have noticed when I was holding up the records on the show. It illuminates an American business world that doesn't exist at all anymore. There's something about a show. If it's not being heard, then it's really gone. I feel a kinship with so many of these people. It's gone further than I've imagined. Life can be so rich and wonderful when we step off the logical path and embark on eccentric adventures. It'll change Your Life We're back with Jim Healy, the Wisconsin Film Festival Program Director. Jim, what excites you? We've seen all these great clips. What are you most excited about this year? You know, I-- I just-- I'm excited about the potential of our audiences discovering what we as programmers-- and we have a big programming team, by the way. There's Mike King and Tiffany Ike and Zach Zahos and Ben Reiser. And I think what we want is that element of surprise of discovering something, of being moved by something that you didn't think would move you. You know, to name just one of many films, Maya's movie, which we just saw a few seconds of, is-- is a movie about, uh, a jar of Vicks VapoRub. And-- well, it's not about that-- There's a little more going on. It's what we see. - Yeah. And that's all-- that seems to be all it is, and yet, it-- it yields all these emotions. And, um, it's sound and image. It's pure cinema. And I want people to have that kind of excitement of discovery when they see things. And there's plenty of opportunities to do that in the festival. And I think that's what it's like for me, too. When I leave a screening, and I want to make a film-- I want to go and write right away, that's when I go, this is-- you know. And you see so many movies like that at film festivals, as opposed to, like, in the big theaters. I do have one question. - Sure. One of my favorite things to do, Jim, is sip coffee while I watch a movie. At some of the venues, you get that fresh coffee, you're going in-- you gotta leave your coffee out here. There's like 18 cups of coffee over here. That's true. Can you identify those venues where there's no coffee? Well, I know for sure the Cinematheque venue, which is at 4070 Vilas Hall... - Right. And the Chazen Museum, there's nothing allowed inside. I can't say for sure about the Memorial Union Theater. I think you can bring drinks inside though. Yeah, or they at least look the other way. Yeah, and all the other venues are okay. -

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All right. Jim, as always, thank you very much for being here. I appreciate your expertise and keep doing a great job bringing us those great films. And thank you for watching Director's Cut. For more information on the Wisconsin Film Festival, please go to wpt.org and click on "Director's Cut." And stay tuned for our 12th season of Director's Cut starting in May. We're trying to beat Cheers, that's what we're doing here. Until then, let's all see if we can watch more films than Jim Healy this year. We'll see you next time on Director's Cut.

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I look at anyone I meet or greet and try to greet them with a smile, because I don't know if I'm the last person they're going to speak to.