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Subscribe to the Film Festival APP. There is a library of films that you can watch every minute until the end of the year and you still won’t be able to watch everything!

http://www.wildsound.ca

First off, there is a brand new film festival every single day that occurs at 8pm EST at http://www.wildsound.ca/browse (or on the main page if you downloaded the APP)

You can also scroll through that page and watch the previous festivals of the month at anytime.

Interview with Filmmaker Katherine Costal (I WISH I WAS A DOG)

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I WISH I WAS A DOG, 12min., Canada
Directed by Katherine Costal
When a young woman’s desire to become a true member of her favourite art club turns her into a dog, she finds the newfound relationship between her and the members poses a different kind of challenge.

https://www.instagram.com/kat_costal

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

The phrase “I Wish I Was A Dog” was a thought that had crossed my mind many times whenever I was around a group of people I either really admired or wanted to integrate myself into. Usually everyone in the group were very close-knit already and so they would all have inside jokes with one another and bonding experiences that you just can’t penetrate. Whenever that happens to me, I find that I just end up hanging out at the edge of the group like an extra piece. I thought of the dynamic like the family or friend group in a dollhouse, where sometimes the dolls will come with a pet. I feel like I want to be a dog because they’re very welcomed by humans but they’re also inherently different, so they can’t participate in human activities, and they’re sometimes a metaphor for loneliness. Being a dog means being how I am but literally embodying it in a way that is easier to process than it is for a human, who isn’t expected to experience these feelings as much. When I was thinking about what to do for a shorter film, this experience came into my mind and the idea of a girl turning into a dog immediately followed.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

Almost nine months, it’s like my baby.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Fever Dream

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Pretty much the same obstacle as my last film, which is coordinating the cast, crew, and location’s schedules to make the shoot dates work. We still had to work with limited time but thanks to the amazing team I had with me we were able to pull it off.

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.

What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?

I think development. It’s the stage where everything’s brand new, and I feel very starry-eyed whenever I’m exploring a new idea for a script and it’s all coming together in my head for the first time. At this point it feels like anything is possible and I think this is a large part of filmmaking for me because I really love the brainstorming of: what questions am I trying to answer? What is this film going to do for me? What can I show the audience that will really surprise them or give them something they haven’t seen before? This stage guides all the other stages in creating a strong, cohesive artistic identity.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

When I was about nine I started recording little movies and music videos with my toys that I had seen other people do. I fell in love with the way people would design their own miniature sets and bring their scripts to life on the camera. I had known before that I wanted to be a writer and it felt like what I wrote branched out into these colourful, modern story ideas that you have to film and watch. Then when I got older I began thinking of making those with real people but hadn’t fully thought of it as making films yet. I always loved comedy and was fascinated with photography as well as drawings which inspired a specific style I felt like I wanted to create. By the time I was seventeen I decided to officially merge the two and make comedy films that told important stories to me and also gave me the thrill that I had gotten so many times from watching exciting media.

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?

Other than the children’s DVDs my family had, it was probably Finding Nemo. I feel like I’ve seen it maybe four or five times already, once in a theatre. I don’t know why but I think someone was always showing it to me or it was always playing wherever I was.

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate wit on a film?

There are many filmmakers that inspire me, but I would say my dream collaboration would be any of the photographers or artists that I’ve saved online. A lot of my inspiration doesn’t necessarily come from other films, but rather photographs and artwork that I come across where the composition or the colours or the setting just speak to me and I get an itch to create something like it. I’m usually drawn to portraits or landscapes that are showing a different angle than usual and inspire a sense of wonder or curiosity in me. I often wish that I could incorporate their artistry into films whether it’s through cinematography or promotional visuals. Especially because I’m not a visual artist, I can’t recreate it myself so any of the photographers or artists out there making these dreamy, mysterious, or wondrous pictures would definitely be a perfect collab for me.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

I’ve had a pretty good experience. I’ve found lots of interesting festivals on there, one of which was the Canadian International Film Festival, which was the first time I had a film premiere at a physical festival. I think the site is currently one of the best ways to share your work and I can’t wait to use it again.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Last time I said sushi, so I’ll go with dim sum and some milk tea

11. What is next for you? A new film?

I’m still going to work on a new film, but I’m also working on something else that’s a different genre and a different medium. I’m really excited to expand my craft beyond filmmaking.

Interview with Filmmaker Mark Kaplan (REVEALING RAYMOND: A Son Uncovers His Father’s Past)

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Revealing Raymond: A Son Uncovers His Father’s Past, 15min., USA
Directed by Mark Kaplan
My Father died in 1965 at the age of 39, when I was 12. He never discussed his childhood, although I knew he spent some of it in a foster home. This is the story of uncovering his painful past and how losing him at such a young age inspired me to try to be the best father I could be.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
I recently transferred to digital old 8mm home movies my Uncle had shot in the mid 1950’s that I had on VHS that I hadn’t seen in 20 years. Seeing them again along with having only recently uncovered the before unknown story of my Father’s childhood made me think this might make a compelling story for a short film.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
About 3 weeks.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Fathers & Sons.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Figuring out what to show on the screen when a literal image or moment being described in the narration didn’t exist.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
The satisfaction of seeing that the complex emotions I was trying to summon up in viewers were being acknowledged.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
As a child.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
The Day The Earth Stood Still

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
Sharing this film to a wide audience.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
Very good.

10. What is your favorite meal?
Great seafood.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I continue to make political protest art every day, which often are short videos I share on social media. No current plan for a new film project right now.

Interview with Filmmaker Alex Kruz (RED CLOUD: A NEW DAY)

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RED CLOUD: A NEW DAY, 80min., USA
Directed by Alex Kruz
Based on Red Cloud Comic Book Issues 1-6. Vigilante contractor Jake Red Cloud wages a covert war against the Yakuza sponsored human trafficking in the golden triangle. Retaliation by the criminal organization strips Jake of his family, forcing him on the run. While in hiding he forms a deep, spiritual bond with neglected young Anne Parker, becoming the protector she never had—until a violent confrontation with his enemies forces him to make a devastating choice that shatters her childhood.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

My background is primarily indigenous from South America, but I’ve also been brought into the North American Apache traditions as an instructor by Robert Redfeather. I am very close to the philosophies and spirituality of Native traditions and I wanted to share those in a project which also pulled from my experience as an independent contractor with NGOs rescuing children from sexual slavery in different parts of the world. There’s this motif of what happens afterwards? Like what happens when you come back from war or putting yourself in bad situations all of the time. How do you relate to the normal world and still manage to love when you’ve seen humanity at some of its worst.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you

to make this film? – One could say 13 years, because we began with the idea and shot the first scene in 2013 with myself (Alex Kruz) and Evgeniya Radilova which you see in the film, but then myself and my two co-directors (Ewa Pirog and Gabriella Kamile) knocked out the rest of the scenes and post prod in a month this year, and now it’s on streaming platforms like Fawesome and others.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Kick Ass!

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Destiny (Standing Rock, COVID, etc). It takes us where we have to go, when we have to go.

Really believe in divine timing.

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development. Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.

What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?

I think we love every stage of the process, but probably post-production because all of the performances are in the bag and you want to check out what goodies you have to play with.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

Honestly, it was like a pimple it just appeared and you can’t recall your first one.

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?

There are so many and y’all going to think I’m crazy, but The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman (1957).

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with

on a film? I’ve been super lucky to have worked with so many of my heroes, but I think anyone who shows up to work to create, and contribute on a project is exactly who I want to work with.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

The beauty of the festivals are that you get to see other work alongside yours which is not necessarily mainstream, but it has its beauty and merit, and some of these gems never make it out to the public. So you feel honored to enjoy such works.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Humongous foodie, but at the moment it’s Ev’s Turkey Drumsticks!

11. What is next for you? A new film?

What is next? Yes, absolutely we’re in pre-production now on “Fallen:The Mirror” which we start shooting in a month , part two of the Fallen trilogy, part 1 “Fallen: The Search of a Broken Angel” is streaming globally. Once that’s done probably going to pick up on Season 2 of our series Star Envoy, which our distributor has told us is probably 10 years ahead of it’s time, but like any art you do it for yourself because it has to come out through you.

Interview with Filmmaker Bernhard Riegler (BLACK SPACE DIGGER)

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BLACK SPACE DIGGER, 4min., Austria
Directed by Bernhard Riegler, Heinz Sambs
When money is no object, art is the answer. In honor of Rene Benko—Austria’s fallen investment star—who blew €2.7 billion.

http://www.reburnt.com/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

The downfall of René Benko: He was an Austrian investment tycoon, who lost more than €2 billion, the track draws a sharp contrast between the fragile financial reality of musicians and the glossy but fragile real estate empires of corporate suits. Because in the end, money only matters while it still holds value.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

The idea grew in about one week. The music video itself was shot in one afternoon/evening last autumn.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Money, Money

4. What was the greatest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Cow shit on the field we shot the video

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development.
Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.

What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?

Development

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

When I saw Stranger Days for the first time. Music and film in a perfect blend

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?

Reality Bites

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with on a film?

Kathryn Bigelow

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experience been working on the festival platform site?

Really good so far

10. What is your favorite meal?

Kaiserschmarrn

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Finishing the album to the song Black Space Digger