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On Producing
To encourage the voice of the film is what I think a producer’s job is. And to be a producer on a project about something that is so important is extremely exciting.
Being a producer on an independent production means you fill all sorts of roles at all sorts of times: organizing food (and burn the burgers…woops), cleaning toilets, getting people to fill out forms that drive you nuts, looking for a cheaper way, calming the waters, getting your partner to do the catering for the entire film, loading/packing/unloading/unpacking gear, using your house as a set, then getting your partner to do payroll for the film, and then calming the waters and looking for a cheaper way…again, and on it goes. But all these things are the best part of producing an independent film because you are making a film with your hands, with your heart, with your belief and hopes. Every idea you have of what makes a “good film” is a challenge and put in front of you to answer. Moreover, to be a part of making a film that feels special—a film that speaks about Aboriginal identity—a film that can speak to anyone who wonders what role so-called “mixed blood” will have on them, their relationships and their children, well, this is extremely moving to me.
In a time when we think with convenient cynicism about life, film and art are all the more important because we need to be awaked and reminded that good movies inspire us to be good, that good music inspires us to feel, that good books inspire us to think that all of these things are good or not good because of the makers and that we are the makers! In short: our passion is what feeds the next hope and as such it is incumbent on us to make films to show who we are, to write songs that express how we feel, to tell stories that teach us and guide us. If we are outside, if we are excluded then it is up to us to tell our story, rather than try to fit ourselves into the one-size-fits-all film. Democracy is diversity of expression in action; it is not one-size-fits-all and it is not apathy once removed! And as a first-time film producer with a low budget film about Aboriginal identity, that’s my mantra. |
