Day 3.
Today was a wonderful array of ups and downs. We had a pretty packed schedule today, what with all these films and combined with all that we are very tired! Our schedule basically consists of waking up early, going to sleep late. Waking up early, going to sleep late. It's definitely taking it's toll.
So we wake up around 7:30 this morning, have breakfast at our B&B and head out to our first film that we had tickets to (no wait-list, thank goodness). The film was called The Future. It was directed, written and starred Miranda July. This film was cute and very quirky. If quirky humor is your cup of tea, this film is definitely for you. The idea and story are pretty far-fetched but it's interesting and funny. It's basically about this ultra hippie couple who decide to adopt a cat, whom is narrating this film by the way...the cat that is, and they have 30 days until the cat is in their home. They come to the conclusion that by getting the cat their lives are over...as if they were having a baby, and decide that those last 30 days are the remainder of their days and decide to quit their jobs and attempt a life of free living doing whatever they want. They find out it's quite unsuccessful and a series of events following lead up to the climax of the film, which I don't want to reveal, but it ties together well with all the quirky humor. I rated it a "2 out of 4" for "Good".
An hour after, we wait-listed a film called Pariah. This film has gotten a lot of rave so we were very interested in checking it out and we were able to get in! It was directed and written by Dee Rees. This film was great. It's about a butch teenage girl getting exposed to her preferred world of being with other women but never having experienced it yet and balancing her other world of living as a proper lady in her conservative family. This film really brings you into that realm and puts you in touch with the character as you feel empathy for her as her family slowly starts to become suspicious of her behaviours. Between hiding her true identity from her parents and trying to find love, she falls into this whirlwind of emotions and frustration of her current situation in which she makes a serious move to make things better for herself. This film reminds me a lot of Circumstance, similar plot, lesbian characters and finding a way out in the end, but Circumstance blew Pariah out of the water for sure.
Lots of gay/lesbian themes in all these films...I guess it's the cool, popular thing to do now. I guess I'll have to make one...geez.
So after that we tried to crash a panel called, Power of Story: The Big Idea. We waitlisted but we were so far back in the line it didn't look promising at all. I really wanted to see it but it didn't happen. On to the next. We hopped on a bus to another theater to try and wait-list a documentary called How to Die in Oregon. Now this film definitely catches our attention and has gotten a lot of hype. It's about physician assisted suicides for terminally ill patients in Oregon, the first state that legalized assisted suicides. And in the documentary, someone really dies on camera, it's crazy. So we hope to catch it before we leave, but it not, I'm sure we'll see it out somewhere to rent/watch.
After watching 2 films and waitlisting twice, we were pretty pooped to say the least, so we went to go eat, walk around and kill time before our last film at 11:30pm.
The last film we saw was called The Lie. It was directed, written and also starred Joshua Leonard. This film was okay. Just basically about a hippie couple that go into the working class world, have a baby, and realize that this isn't the life they imagined. The husband tells a lie because he doesn't want to go into work anymore but it's a lie he can never take back or admit to which then leads to the end in which they make a decision to find the lives that they truly want for themselves. It was okay, I really don't have much else to say about it.
I'm noticing a common undertone in all these films. They all deal with themes that are either hush, hush or bring you into a crazy realm that you could never have imagined yourself. It's interesting. What I'm realizing that I'm enjoying the most are the Q&A's after each screening with the directors, cast and crew. To think, you're watching a film and behind you could be sitting the director with their cast and crew, which actually happened to us a few times already. But in these Q&A's, the audience asks the director questions and to hear their answers, their trials and tribulations and their story and journey to finally be able to stand up at that podium is just absolutely inspiring. So many of them are humbled by their success. During the Q&A of The Lie, an audience member complimented the cinematographer on his shots, how he decided to compose his frames, how he's seen his other works and how magnificent and brilliant he is and the cinematographer was just so baffled and humbled by this comment he said something along the lines of, "Wow, thank you so much. A person waits their whole lives to hear something like that, that's amazing." I almost got choked up with that and during many of the Q&A's because all these filmmakers are doing what I'm doing and their making it and I can only get excited to know that I'll be there soon, answering all these great questions and taken aback by any compliments the audience will throw my way. So humbling, I love it.
Ready for another day tomorrow. Awards ceremony early evening, awards show party at night. We're going to the party. ;) Tell you all about that tomorrow...until then...
D. Pamela Matew
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Day 2: Sundance Film Festival 2011
Well, today was much better. We got up early, ate breakfast and headed to our first film that we got tickets for. The film was called Circumstance. Let me tell you, this film was absolutely amazing. So glad I finally got to watch a good film that definitely deserves to be in this festival. This film has been bought and will have a theatrical release so hopefully you all go and see it because I give it two thumbs way up! It's about these two teenage girls who are discovering their sexuality with each other except it's based in the middle east where that is absolutely unacceptable. This film dives into this way of life where the men control the family and women. The women have to obey and do as they are told, at least that's how the film portrayed it, and these girls just had no outlet except each other. It was beautifully told visually and emotionally. I got to introduce myself and chat with the director of the film and she was great. During the Q&A she had great answers to all the audiences' answers and definitely knew her film inside and out. (Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Vera Farmiga...she sounded lost when asked about her film.) I gave that director my business cards and I will find her on FB to hopefully keep in touch and maybe work with her one day. She's gonna be big. Overall, great film, definitely brightened up my outlook on the festival.
Later we stood in another waitlist line to watch this feature called Submarine, but we didn't get into it, so that was a bummer. But since we didn't get in and had 4 hours to kill till our last film, we decided to go into a bar called No Name Saloon and have a drink. We relaxed, hung out and ran into some fun people. It was so packed and people were getting drunk so it was pretty funny. An hour before our next film, we headed out to catch a bus to the theatre.
Last film of the day that we saw was called On The Ice. This film was based out of Alaska about these two friends that accidentally kill another friend of theirs out of self defense after a fight broke out between them. The story was great, script was mediocre and actors sucked. But I loved the ending and the film was moving along swiftly. Michelle ended up falling asleep towards the end and I kept whispering in her ear how bad the actors were and when it was time for the Q&A the actors and production team get up from the row directly behind us. We felt like such assholes for falling asleep and talking shit practically right in front of them. It was pretty funny though. After the Q&A we booked it!
We got a ride home from a new friend named Rachel that's a local here. We got to our hotel to get ready for another exciting day manana. Hopefully crashing the films are more successful, we'll see. Until tomorrow...
D. Pamela Matew
Later we stood in another waitlist line to watch this feature called Submarine, but we didn't get into it, so that was a bummer. But since we didn't get in and had 4 hours to kill till our last film, we decided to go into a bar called No Name Saloon and have a drink. We relaxed, hung out and ran into some fun people. It was so packed and people were getting drunk so it was pretty funny. An hour before our next film, we headed out to catch a bus to the theatre.
Last film of the day that we saw was called On The Ice. This film was based out of Alaska about these two friends that accidentally kill another friend of theirs out of self defense after a fight broke out between them. The story was great, script was mediocre and actors sucked. But I loved the ending and the film was moving along swiftly. Michelle ended up falling asleep towards the end and I kept whispering in her ear how bad the actors were and when it was time for the Q&A the actors and production team get up from the row directly behind us. We felt like such assholes for falling asleep and talking shit practically right in front of them. It was pretty funny though. After the Q&A we booked it!
We got a ride home from a new friend named Rachel that's a local here. We got to our hotel to get ready for another exciting day manana. Hopefully crashing the films are more successful, we'll see. Until tomorrow...
D. Pamela Matew
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Day 1: Sundance Film Festival 2011
This year is my year, and a great way to start this year off is to go to Park City, Utah to attend the Sundance Film Festival for my first time ever. I've been planning this since last summer, submitted a film (that unfortunately didn't get accepted) but nonetheless, came out to experience one of the most highly acclaimed film festivals around the world.
I left Tuesday, January 25th at around 3pm, met Michelle at our layover in Vegas and continued on the same flight, sitting right next to each other heading to Salt Lake City. My aunt Heather lives in Salt Lake City and was kind enough to pick us up from the airport and let us stay at her house for that night until we officially check into our hotel in Park City, Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday morning we're out on the road heading to Park City from Salt Lake City. First stop, ticket packages to get our tickets and credentials. Second stop, breakfast, free might I add! :) After that we took a quick stroll up and down Main Street which is the "main" street that the festival is off of and a man with a camera sees me taking pictures with my camera and asks us if we'd like to do an interview. I hesitated, but we did one nonetheless. Turns out he was getting some footage of the festival for the local news in the area. After that we finally got to our hotel, it was about noon and I was so damn happy to finally check in. We dropped off all our stuff and headed back out to plan the rest of our day.
When you buy a festival package in October, they give you dates in December when you can use those ticket vouchers that they give you to pick out which specific films you want to watch on which days you'll be there. Well, around that time I was working on a feature film and I must've missed the email that stated our allotted time to pick these films so when we got our ticket package this morning, we got 20 vouchers, with no assurance that we'd get into any of the films. So we head to the box office to see what we can scrounge up. Lots of the films we wanted to see ended up being sold out, so we were pretty bummed but tried to see what was left. We ended up turning in 8 vouchers total for 4 movies throughout the week. If a film is sold out then you can waitlist to see if maybe you can get in a couple hours prior to screening, but it's a crapshoot. So after, we walk around, get lunch, check out some stores, the filmmakers lounge, the Sundance store and a few other things around our area. Everything is in very close proximity so we've been walking everywhere with no need for a car or public transportation. Thank goodness we booked a hotel that's close! :)
So I get a text from my Aunt Heather that she saw us on the news that night. Score! Haha, didn't think it was really gonna get put on so I'm gonna check it out online to see if I can find that segment. Pretty funny though.
So during lunch Michelle and I decided that we wanted to try and crash a film tonight along with the tickets we got to the first shorts program at 11:30pm. The film we wanted to crash was at 8:15pm. We dropped stuff off at the hotel and came to get on the waitlist! We got a number, came back and we waited to see if they'd let us in and we got in!
The film we saw was called Higher Ground directed by Vera Farmiga and she also stars in it. She's in The Departed, Up in the Air and others. The film had a strong religious tone to it, which isn't my usual cup of tea, but I was very open minded to the film but unfortunately it was quite long or so it seemed and it lost me towards the second half. It started to drag a bit too much, no big conflict and in total just a regular story line, nothing spectacular. Michelle liked it because she said it shows the real life problems that everyday normal, religious people go through questioning their faith and themselves. I agree and it did take me into a realm that I've never been into. You get to see the lives of truly religious people that I've never experienced to that degree and the film did that well, but other than that, didn't really care for it nor have any attachments to it.
The second screening we saw was the first shorts program. Now of course I really wanted to see this because I'm interested in the short films that are "supposedly" better than mine because they got in and mine didn't. Well...they showed about 5 or 6 shorts and to put it in lamens terms, the shorts fucking sucked. Sorry, but they did. I've never been SO dissapointed and let down. I'm officially embarrassed for Sundance's selection of panels that chose these films because they did a horrible job. Not to say that my film was absolutely amazing, but dear lord these were absolutely dreadful. There was actually only one that Michelle and I actually liked and the others I was literally about to walk out of the theatre. They were worthless, no good, shitty shorts that involved either raping a dead woman, masturbation or two men, one dressed in drag, having a baby that is a doll. I mean come ON! Of ALLLLL the thousands of submissions, this is the best Sundance can come up with?
And on top of all of that, one of the shorts was an all star cast, literally. It had Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Elijah Wood, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci and the list seriously goes on. One of the producers was Capitol Records and it was made on location at Warner Bros. Studios. Now let me get this straight...Robert Redford first founded this festival to be a strong point for indie filmmakers and to discover unknown talents and artist? Why the FUCK was a stupid ass short made by Will Ferrell and the gang accepted over an indie artist who probably worked their ass off for their short, scrounging up all the money they could find from their family and friends, just so they could get rejected for a short with an all star cast that was probably just some dumb fun project they did one Saturday afternoon because, oh I don't know, they have tons of money to throw away!?! Absolutely ridiculous. Unbelievable.
As a filmmaker this makes me so disappointed and almost defeated because I have to basically now come up with a short that has some outrageous undertone to it with absolutely no attention to story, concept or acting??? Hell no. That's not why I'm a filmmaker and if this is what Sundance is about, then they can kiss my ass.
My standards were set quite high when I attended my first film festival in the south of France at Cannes and let me tell you, Sundance has thus far fallen QUITE short to those standards. I am in utter disbelief...so with that being said, the shorts are done with and the remainder of the films I will be attending will be the features. Let's hope those are better...I'm going to keep a positive outlook.
I'm signing off for today. I will be posting daily during the festival. Hopefully it gets better from here! :)
-Director Pamela Matew
I left Tuesday, January 25th at around 3pm, met Michelle at our layover in Vegas and continued on the same flight, sitting right next to each other heading to Salt Lake City. My aunt Heather lives in Salt Lake City and was kind enough to pick us up from the airport and let us stay at her house for that night until we officially check into our hotel in Park City, Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday morning we're out on the road heading to Park City from Salt Lake City. First stop, ticket packages to get our tickets and credentials. Second stop, breakfast, free might I add! :) After that we took a quick stroll up and down Main Street which is the "main" street that the festival is off of and a man with a camera sees me taking pictures with my camera and asks us if we'd like to do an interview. I hesitated, but we did one nonetheless. Turns out he was getting some footage of the festival for the local news in the area. After that we finally got to our hotel, it was about noon and I was so damn happy to finally check in. We dropped off all our stuff and headed back out to plan the rest of our day.
When you buy a festival package in October, they give you dates in December when you can use those ticket vouchers that they give you to pick out which specific films you want to watch on which days you'll be there. Well, around that time I was working on a feature film and I must've missed the email that stated our allotted time to pick these films so when we got our ticket package this morning, we got 20 vouchers, with no assurance that we'd get into any of the films. So we head to the box office to see what we can scrounge up. Lots of the films we wanted to see ended up being sold out, so we were pretty bummed but tried to see what was left. We ended up turning in 8 vouchers total for 4 movies throughout the week. If a film is sold out then you can waitlist to see if maybe you can get in a couple hours prior to screening, but it's a crapshoot. So after, we walk around, get lunch, check out some stores, the filmmakers lounge, the Sundance store and a few other things around our area. Everything is in very close proximity so we've been walking everywhere with no need for a car or public transportation. Thank goodness we booked a hotel that's close! :)
So I get a text from my Aunt Heather that she saw us on the news that night. Score! Haha, didn't think it was really gonna get put on so I'm gonna check it out online to see if I can find that segment. Pretty funny though.
So during lunch Michelle and I decided that we wanted to try and crash a film tonight along with the tickets we got to the first shorts program at 11:30pm. The film we wanted to crash was at 8:15pm. We dropped stuff off at the hotel and came to get on the waitlist! We got a number, came back and we waited to see if they'd let us in and we got in!
The film we saw was called Higher Ground directed by Vera Farmiga and she also stars in it. She's in The Departed, Up in the Air and others. The film had a strong religious tone to it, which isn't my usual cup of tea, but I was very open minded to the film but unfortunately it was quite long or so it seemed and it lost me towards the second half. It started to drag a bit too much, no big conflict and in total just a regular story line, nothing spectacular. Michelle liked it because she said it shows the real life problems that everyday normal, religious people go through questioning their faith and themselves. I agree and it did take me into a realm that I've never been into. You get to see the lives of truly religious people that I've never experienced to that degree and the film did that well, but other than that, didn't really care for it nor have any attachments to it.
The second screening we saw was the first shorts program. Now of course I really wanted to see this because I'm interested in the short films that are "supposedly" better than mine because they got in and mine didn't. Well...they showed about 5 or 6 shorts and to put it in lamens terms, the shorts fucking sucked. Sorry, but they did. I've never been SO dissapointed and let down. I'm officially embarrassed for Sundance's selection of panels that chose these films because they did a horrible job. Not to say that my film was absolutely amazing, but dear lord these were absolutely dreadful. There was actually only one that Michelle and I actually liked and the others I was literally about to walk out of the theatre. They were worthless, no good, shitty shorts that involved either raping a dead woman, masturbation or two men, one dressed in drag, having a baby that is a doll. I mean come ON! Of ALLLLL the thousands of submissions, this is the best Sundance can come up with?
And on top of all of that, one of the shorts was an all star cast, literally. It had Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Elijah Wood, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci and the list seriously goes on. One of the producers was Capitol Records and it was made on location at Warner Bros. Studios. Now let me get this straight...Robert Redford first founded this festival to be a strong point for indie filmmakers and to discover unknown talents and artist? Why the FUCK was a stupid ass short made by Will Ferrell and the gang accepted over an indie artist who probably worked their ass off for their short, scrounging up all the money they could find from their family and friends, just so they could get rejected for a short with an all star cast that was probably just some dumb fun project they did one Saturday afternoon because, oh I don't know, they have tons of money to throw away!?! Absolutely ridiculous. Unbelievable.
As a filmmaker this makes me so disappointed and almost defeated because I have to basically now come up with a short that has some outrageous undertone to it with absolutely no attention to story, concept or acting??? Hell no. That's not why I'm a filmmaker and if this is what Sundance is about, then they can kiss my ass.
My standards were set quite high when I attended my first film festival in the south of France at Cannes and let me tell you, Sundance has thus far fallen QUITE short to those standards. I am in utter disbelief...so with that being said, the shorts are done with and the remainder of the films I will be attending will be the features. Let's hope those are better...I'm going to keep a positive outlook.
I'm signing off for today. I will be posting daily during the festival. Hopefully it gets better from here! :)
-Director Pamela Matew
Thursday, January 20, 2011
positive thinking...i WILL make it happen
So Sundance is in less than 1 week and I'm so excited!!! There's still so much to do but I'll get it done!
But in the meantime, I've been at least getting some stuff done! I've been meeting and collaborating with a bunch of friends, making things happen. I had a few meetings already from making music videos, to writing a feature and directing a part 4 of an already established short film 4 part series! Lots of exciting new things are coming up and I can't wait to put it all out there!
So January 10th I filmed my first music video with the talented Miss Vali Porter, an amazingggg singer! I shot in 2 days, edited in 1 and we had it out on Youtube a few days later! I was really nervous, anxious and excited to see what my peers would think about it. I got lots of great reviews and the not so great reviews were mostly from my fellow filmmaker buddies. Which is what I expected, they gave me criticism, which I am still getting accustomed to, I took it with a grain of salt and with that I shall make my NEXT music video that much better!! Yes, I said it, my NEXT music video. We shoot first week of February! :D
So Vali Porter and I have discussed future projects because we work quite well together and our collaborations are great and I know that there will be some fun, new exciting things to show with each new music video that we make. She remixes popular songs and sings them with her guitar player and they're great songs. I'm so excited to be collaborating with someone so creative, it'll definitely keep my creative juices flowing! I'll keep you all posted on the music videos! Here's a look at the first one we shot! Hope you enjoy it, they're only gonna get better from here!
On to Sundance! So I fly out this Tuesday and I just CANNOT wait to get there already! My aunt is picking me and Michelle up and she said she has some people that she wants me to meet that are connected with Sundance in some form and I'm really excited about that. I want to be fully prepared to network. When I went to the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2009, I had really crappy business cards that I made quickly at Kinko's, I had no real vision or idea of what I wanted to represent myself as and I had no work to show. I was completely unprepared so networking was slighted. Well this time, I'm gonna be ready!
I ordered some business cards, they're plain but professional which is all I really care about right now. They have the vital information I need and gets across that I'm a director. I ordered 500 to be picked up by Tuesday, right before I fly out! (I know, I'm gambling with time but better late than never!) And I have been trying for so damn long to get my website up, since early last year and nothing seems to be working. I finally started doing my own and I found a template and started to customize it but I just wasn't crazy about it so about a week ago I just started a fresh blank white page and I'm building my own website from scratch, to be ready by this Tuesday! Sounds easier than it is, but I've been working on it almost every night for at least 2 hours if not more. I'm losing sleep over it because I need to get it done! I refuse to show up to Sundance to network, unprepared! I refuse!!! So I'll keep you guys posted on where I am as far as the site goes, it's looking perdy good so far! :)
Until my next post!
Director Pamela Matew
But in the meantime, I've been at least getting some stuff done! I've been meeting and collaborating with a bunch of friends, making things happen. I had a few meetings already from making music videos, to writing a feature and directing a part 4 of an already established short film 4 part series! Lots of exciting new things are coming up and I can't wait to put it all out there!
So January 10th I filmed my first music video with the talented Miss Vali Porter, an amazingggg singer! I shot in 2 days, edited in 1 and we had it out on Youtube a few days later! I was really nervous, anxious and excited to see what my peers would think about it. I got lots of great reviews and the not so great reviews were mostly from my fellow filmmaker buddies. Which is what I expected, they gave me criticism, which I am still getting accustomed to, I took it with a grain of salt and with that I shall make my NEXT music video that much better!! Yes, I said it, my NEXT music video. We shoot first week of February! :D
So Vali Porter and I have discussed future projects because we work quite well together and our collaborations are great and I know that there will be some fun, new exciting things to show with each new music video that we make. She remixes popular songs and sings them with her guitar player and they're great songs. I'm so excited to be collaborating with someone so creative, it'll definitely keep my creative juices flowing! I'll keep you all posted on the music videos! Here's a look at the first one we shot! Hope you enjoy it, they're only gonna get better from here!
On to Sundance! So I fly out this Tuesday and I just CANNOT wait to get there already! My aunt is picking me and Michelle up and she said she has some people that she wants me to meet that are connected with Sundance in some form and I'm really excited about that. I want to be fully prepared to network. When I went to the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2009, I had really crappy business cards that I made quickly at Kinko's, I had no real vision or idea of what I wanted to represent myself as and I had no work to show. I was completely unprepared so networking was slighted. Well this time, I'm gonna be ready!
I ordered some business cards, they're plain but professional which is all I really care about right now. They have the vital information I need and gets across that I'm a director. I ordered 500 to be picked up by Tuesday, right before I fly out! (I know, I'm gambling with time but better late than never!) And I have been trying for so damn long to get my website up, since early last year and nothing seems to be working. I finally started doing my own and I found a template and started to customize it but I just wasn't crazy about it so about a week ago I just started a fresh blank white page and I'm building my own website from scratch, to be ready by this Tuesday! Sounds easier than it is, but I've been working on it almost every night for at least 2 hours if not more. I'm losing sleep over it because I need to get it done! I refuse to show up to Sundance to network, unprepared! I refuse!!! So I'll keep you guys posted on where I am as far as the site goes, it's looking perdy good so far! :)
Until my next post!
Director Pamela Matew
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
back on the grind.
In November 2010, I had applied for a receptionist position at this advertising agency called "bpg" (Big Picture Group). I went in for an interview and they loved me and I got called back for a second interview. I was super excited because I was finally going to be able to quit my restaurant job and finally work full time at a job that is related to the industry. It may not have been exactly what I was looking for but it was full time, consistent pay, benefits and best of all, I would be able to go home for Christmas for 2 weeks, paid! What more could I ask for? I'd finally have my nights and weekends off for the first time in a very long time. And in the meantime I'd be able to focus on my own projects and film on the weekends! It was the perfect opportunity for the time being...
So I go in to this second interview and the president of the company is interviewing me. He reviews my resume, reads my short films that I had made and asks to see one. I say sure. We hop online and we watch my latest short, BRICK. After watching he says, "Well, you are definitely creative. Where do you see yourself in five years?" I said, "I will be directing feature films." He looks at me with this discerning look and says, "Listen, you don't wanna be a receptionist, you need to be on sets, being a PA, etc." I knew right at that moment that I was no longer considered for the position. And sure enough I never got called back. I was so bummed, I felt like I had such a good opportunity right in the palm of my hand and all I had to do was tell a white lie, but alas, I'm glad I didn't and frankly, I didn't even think about lying. I could never deny the fact that directing is all I ever want to do.
So I go back to searching and searching and searching. After a long, sad two weeks, I finally just admitted to myself that it wasn't going to happen so I had to just let it go. I hopped on craigslist that night and what do I find...? An intern PA position for a feature film beginning shooting the following week. Holy hell I hit JACKPOT! It was surreal the timing. I sent in my cover letter and resume and in the email I practically begged to be on set and to hire me for the position. The producer emailed me back setting up a phone interview. We set it for a Tuesday.
Monday, the day before I was searching for other jobs and I had sent in my resume for another company called Ostrow and Company and was set for a group interview that same Tuesday at 11am. I go to this group interview and basically I was applying to be a film scout which basically entails that they send me to film festivals all around the world to scope out indie features so that we can find them distribution. It's crazy that I just fell into that because I want to go to every single film festival ever. Oh, and all expenses paid. So instead of telling us who has the position or not, they gave us an assignment to research 2 festivals completely they way the want and within 36 hours. I did the assignment within the allotted time they gave us, properly and I got hired on as a film scout by that following Monday. Sweet, industry job number one.
A few hours after I came home from that group interview, I get a phone call from the producer of the feature, her name is Anna. We begin the interview. She asks me questions, I answer and she immediately senses my passion. We discuss a bit more, I ask some questions and then she said it. "Well Pamela, you sound great and I think you'd be a great addition to our team, I'd like to offer you the position." YESSSSSSSS. Holy smokes I can't believe I just booked my first PA job on a feature film. A FEATURE FILM! I was not expecting this to happen so fast. Did I really just book two awesome jobs in one day? I was on cloud nine all the way until the feature was over.
And then the feature was over. Done. It was only a twelve day shoot, longest twelve days of my life. I was working four jobs for those two weeks. Two restaurant jobs and two industry jobs. I was wearing myself thin and dry. I would wake up at 5 or 6am, get on set by 7 or 8am, be on set all day and then leave around 6 to go to one of my restaurant jobs at night. I'd usually be out late around 2 am and then go to sleep as soon as I get home to do it again the next day. It was brutal, but I had no option. When I'm chasing the dream, there are no limits for me. If that means I get nine hours of sleep in three days, then so be it. It was so worth it.
So now the feature is over and Sundance is right around the corner so now Ostrow and Company comes into play! I have a meeting tomorrow with them and chances are there's going to be huge discussion and planning for Sundance. I'm already going with my best friend Michelle but I haven't bought my flight yet and I'm kinda crossing my fingers that not only will they send me to Sundance bc I'm already going but they'll also buy my flight! I mean, they did say all expenses paid. So we'll see what happens tomorrow. If not, I hope in the future they send me to SXSW and to Cannes! Oh man that would be AWESOME! I'll keep y'all posted!
Nevertheless, I'm still on the grind trying to find some more set work! And also setting up meetings with numerous people for numerous projects, we'll see who walks the walk and not just talks the talk.
Stay tuned!
Director Pamela Matew
So I go in to this second interview and the president of the company is interviewing me. He reviews my resume, reads my short films that I had made and asks to see one. I say sure. We hop online and we watch my latest short, BRICK. After watching he says, "Well, you are definitely creative. Where do you see yourself in five years?" I said, "I will be directing feature films." He looks at me with this discerning look and says, "Listen, you don't wanna be a receptionist, you need to be on sets, being a PA, etc." I knew right at that moment that I was no longer considered for the position. And sure enough I never got called back. I was so bummed, I felt like I had such a good opportunity right in the palm of my hand and all I had to do was tell a white lie, but alas, I'm glad I didn't and frankly, I didn't even think about lying. I could never deny the fact that directing is all I ever want to do.
So I go back to searching and searching and searching. After a long, sad two weeks, I finally just admitted to myself that it wasn't going to happen so I had to just let it go. I hopped on craigslist that night and what do I find...? An intern PA position for a feature film beginning shooting the following week. Holy hell I hit JACKPOT! It was surreal the timing. I sent in my cover letter and resume and in the email I practically begged to be on set and to hire me for the position. The producer emailed me back setting up a phone interview. We set it for a Tuesday.
Monday, the day before I was searching for other jobs and I had sent in my resume for another company called Ostrow and Company and was set for a group interview that same Tuesday at 11am. I go to this group interview and basically I was applying to be a film scout which basically entails that they send me to film festivals all around the world to scope out indie features so that we can find them distribution. It's crazy that I just fell into that because I want to go to every single film festival ever. Oh, and all expenses paid. So instead of telling us who has the position or not, they gave us an assignment to research 2 festivals completely they way the want and within 36 hours. I did the assignment within the allotted time they gave us, properly and I got hired on as a film scout by that following Monday. Sweet, industry job number one.
A few hours after I came home from that group interview, I get a phone call from the producer of the feature, her name is Anna. We begin the interview. She asks me questions, I answer and she immediately senses my passion. We discuss a bit more, I ask some questions and then she said it. "Well Pamela, you sound great and I think you'd be a great addition to our team, I'd like to offer you the position." YESSSSSSSS. Holy smokes I can't believe I just booked my first PA job on a feature film. A FEATURE FILM! I was not expecting this to happen so fast. Did I really just book two awesome jobs in one day? I was on cloud nine all the way until the feature was over.
And then the feature was over. Done. It was only a twelve day shoot, longest twelve days of my life. I was working four jobs for those two weeks. Two restaurant jobs and two industry jobs. I was wearing myself thin and dry. I would wake up at 5 or 6am, get on set by 7 or 8am, be on set all day and then leave around 6 to go to one of my restaurant jobs at night. I'd usually be out late around 2 am and then go to sleep as soon as I get home to do it again the next day. It was brutal, but I had no option. When I'm chasing the dream, there are no limits for me. If that means I get nine hours of sleep in three days, then so be it. It was so worth it.
So now the feature is over and Sundance is right around the corner so now Ostrow and Company comes into play! I have a meeting tomorrow with them and chances are there's going to be huge discussion and planning for Sundance. I'm already going with my best friend Michelle but I haven't bought my flight yet and I'm kinda crossing my fingers that not only will they send me to Sundance bc I'm already going but they'll also buy my flight! I mean, they did say all expenses paid. So we'll see what happens tomorrow. If not, I hope in the future they send me to SXSW and to Cannes! Oh man that would be AWESOME! I'll keep y'all posted!
Nevertheless, I'm still on the grind trying to find some more set work! And also setting up meetings with numerous people for numerous projects, we'll see who walks the walk and not just talks the talk.
Stay tuned!
Director Pamela Matew
Sunday, January 2, 2011
the beginning of my long journey...
2011 is here and I'm ready to take over the film industry by storm. Seriously.
I ended 2010 by working on my very first feature film as an intern P.A. that turned into a 2nd 2nd A.D. (Assistant Director), which was pretty cool. I learned so much about film making that no book or school could ever teach me. I met lots of people including the wonderful Ali Landry and I plan to keep in touch with her and everyone else I met. I never fully understood what they meant when they said, "It's about who you know" until I worked on this feature. Just having casual conversations with these people opened doors to my future, it's insane.
At the end of this month, I'm going to the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. This will be the first time I'm going to Sundance and my second BIG film festival, Cannes Film Festival in France being my first. I'm very excited to go and I can't wait to meet all the people that will be there. I'm going to sell myself like a hooker on Sunset. I plan to have lots of business cards ready to go and my website up and running.
So in 2010, I prepared and accomplished lots of things to be ready for what this new year has in store for me. Since I graduated in June 2009 with my BA in Television, Film and Media Studies, I've had 3 internships.
-HeadQuarter Entertainment (Tyrese Gibson's Multi-Media Company) 09-10
-Moviola Digital- Education Center (Learning everything about post) 09-10
-Me, Again Feature Film (12 day shoot in LA) 12/10
Along with those internships, I bought my very first DSLR camera to make films so I've made a few short films that I've had the wonderful opportunity of showcasing in theatres and bars. That was a very exciting time for me, and I can't wait to do it more often! And I've also been reading lots and lots of film books, from scriptwriting to cinematography to directing, I'm educating myself on it all. In order to be the best I have to be on top of everything and know more than anyone! Knowledge is power. And then of course on top of ALL of that, the most important, watching films galore from the very first films in the early 1900's to the latest blockbuster hit.
I've taken some pretty drastic measures as well in my personal life. I decided it was best to live on my own to isolate myself and be able to better focus, so I finally got my own apartment in October in Studio City. I've also slowed down my social life. I haven't come across too many people that have my kind of focus and determination and quite honestly drinking and partying just doesn't attract me right now so I've been staying home a lot. I also don't care to meet men or date because I feel it will be a huge distraction whether the relationship is in good terms or bad. I've also left my family in San Antonio, Texas to come out here and make my dream a reality. Making all these changes I feel are for the best and will help me attain the success I so much desire.
To put more clearly how determined I am, I basically wake up thinking about film making and go to sleep thinking the same. I have dreams of ideas for films and wake up in the middle of the night to write them down. I take my camera almost everywhere with me. I read film books every day. I try to watch at least one film every day and I research everyone and anyone on IMDb, etc. I crave the knowledge that I need to have to be successful, I want to know everything about everything. I want to be an asset to whomever and eventually to myself.
So in closing, I will from here on out write about my trial and errors, success and failures until I ultimately reach my goal. And it WILL be reached, no doubt about that.
Stay tuned, y'all! :) I'm perdy excited.
-Director Pamela Matew
"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go."
I ended 2010 by working on my very first feature film as an intern P.A. that turned into a 2nd 2nd A.D. (Assistant Director), which was pretty cool. I learned so much about film making that no book or school could ever teach me. I met lots of people including the wonderful Ali Landry and I plan to keep in touch with her and everyone else I met. I never fully understood what they meant when they said, "It's about who you know" until I worked on this feature. Just having casual conversations with these people opened doors to my future, it's insane.
At the end of this month, I'm going to the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. This will be the first time I'm going to Sundance and my second BIG film festival, Cannes Film Festival in France being my first. I'm very excited to go and I can't wait to meet all the people that will be there. I'm going to sell myself like a hooker on Sunset. I plan to have lots of business cards ready to go and my website up and running.
So in 2010, I prepared and accomplished lots of things to be ready for what this new year has in store for me. Since I graduated in June 2009 with my BA in Television, Film and Media Studies, I've had 3 internships.
-HeadQuarter Entertainment (Tyrese Gibson's Multi-Media Company) 09-10
-Moviola Digital- Education Center (Learning everything about post) 09-10
-Me, Again Feature Film (12 day shoot in LA) 12/10
Along with those internships, I bought my very first DSLR camera to make films so I've made a few short films that I've had the wonderful opportunity of showcasing in theatres and bars. That was a very exciting time for me, and I can't wait to do it more often! And I've also been reading lots and lots of film books, from scriptwriting to cinematography to directing, I'm educating myself on it all. In order to be the best I have to be on top of everything and know more than anyone! Knowledge is power. And then of course on top of ALL of that, the most important, watching films galore from the very first films in the early 1900's to the latest blockbuster hit.
I've taken some pretty drastic measures as well in my personal life. I decided it was best to live on my own to isolate myself and be able to better focus, so I finally got my own apartment in October in Studio City. I've also slowed down my social life. I haven't come across too many people that have my kind of focus and determination and quite honestly drinking and partying just doesn't attract me right now so I've been staying home a lot. I also don't care to meet men or date because I feel it will be a huge distraction whether the relationship is in good terms or bad. I've also left my family in San Antonio, Texas to come out here and make my dream a reality. Making all these changes I feel are for the best and will help me attain the success I so much desire.
To put more clearly how determined I am, I basically wake up thinking about film making and go to sleep thinking the same. I have dreams of ideas for films and wake up in the middle of the night to write them down. I take my camera almost everywhere with me. I read film books every day. I try to watch at least one film every day and I research everyone and anyone on IMDb, etc. I crave the knowledge that I need to have to be successful, I want to know everything about everything. I want to be an asset to whomever and eventually to myself.
So in closing, I will from here on out write about my trial and errors, success and failures until I ultimately reach my goal. And it WILL be reached, no doubt about that.
Stay tuned, y'all! :) I'm perdy excited.
-Director Pamela Matew
"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go."
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