It was a subject for a film that was too good to pass up. A young local 12-year old girl put out a casting call for her film, a feature length zombie movie. What could 12-year old Emily possibly know about making a film? How well versed is she in the zombie genre? Can she follow her dream, make her movie, and still keep up with her homework? Directors Aaron Marshall, Justin Johnson and Erik Mauck set out to follow their subject for the two years that it took Emily to make her first film. The end result is a candy store version of Heart of Darkness as we watch the young filmmaker learn the ups and downs of trying to put her vision up on the screen.
Zombie Girl: The Movie is a simple and fun little movie that follows a young girl pursuing her dream and following her passion. From the onset of the film we know that she isn’t studied in the art of making a film. One of the directors behind the camera asks her what type of shots she has planned for the day and she doesn’t immediately have an answer. But there is evidence that she knows enough and feels confident enough to make this project happen. But that changes over the two years as she is connected with folks within the Austin filmmaker community. The more involved and supported she is by the community the more evident her knowledge and skill level rise as the film progresses.
The relationship between Emily and her mother is often talked about in the film. They’re very close and share a strong bond. Her mother is her greatest champion. There are soccer moms and there are hockey moms. Emily’s mom is our first zombie mom. She’s right in there working their improvised boom microphone. She’s using her artistic talents for special effects and make up. And she has the license to drive so you know she’s the one running around for props and supplies. And because of this bond Emily was able to prioritize more her direction of her film. Those other responsibilities and experiences of every filmmaker will come in time for her.
While a film does show that Emily does face some hurdles with making her film I do wish that the directors could have included more footage like that to give better balance to it. During the Q&A afterwards I think it was Justin who said that one day while they were filming they saw Emily struggling to get a tripod to work. He instinctively grabbed his camera and began to film her, right up in her face. After a few exasperating minutes Emily looked at the camera and said something to the effect of, ‘Do you think you have enough footage of me trying to make this tripod work?’ Some more footage like that would have better conveyed even the simple hardships for any filmmaker. There was one heartbreaking moment in the film when we learned that Emily taped over some of her footage. The poor young girl was so despondent. I’m not morbid in any sense that I wanted to see this young girl suffer for her art but for me it would have felt like more of a triumph for Emily to finish her film had we known of more obstacles or hurdles she had to overcome.
The first film I ever made was back in high school. It was the story of a revenge seeking lobster. I fashioned it after Predator. I used Motts Clamato juice for blood. I don’t have to tell you that it wasn’t very good. It was good for a laugh but nothing else. I think that I still have a VHS copy of it somewhere at my parents’ place. So I understand Emily’s passion for filmmaking at that early age. But when I was her age those resources simply didn’t exist. In this day and age where everyone and anyone can make a movie the avenues in which you can develop your passion and create an expression of that seem endless. It is no longer a question of finding filmmakers as much as it is going to be searching the myriad of amateur filmmakers out there and finding the standouts and the raw talent. The pool of filmmakers has gotten that big in the last few years.
Emily has finished shooting her second film, a ghost story.
and this is exactly what depresses me.... Yeah, it's cute and inspiring and all but... Having lived through the digital revolutio all I can say is FUCK THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION.
I hate this "Any one can do it" shit. I thought there was something very powerful about Be Kind Rewind. But you know what? That was two dumb Jersey assholes making low fi movies. It was two dumb Jersey assholes by the way of the brillant Michael Gondry making low fi movies. Not everyone can or should be a filmmaker or artist.
During my time in high school, I worked two full time summer jobs so I could buy a decent quality hi-8 camera. Remember those? I edited on a DIY editing suite made of two vcrs and 2 cheap K-Mart televisions that I used as monitors. As low-fi as my films were, they were kind of impressive. There weren't THOUSANDS of student film festvals. Only a few. It actually meant something to put all that work into a project. I actually got to screen at a few festivals, won some awards.I got into NYU with a major scholarship based on the work I did in high school. Unfortunately, I decided to go with a cheaper film school. One with no screening process, my film class had 1000 students in. 998 were loser liberal arts majors who didn't know what they wanted to do, but they liked movies. This isn't about boasting about how cool or talented I was.
By the time I graduated college, everyone and their fucking mother were making short films and editing on superior software. You can get a professional level hi def camera for a few thousand dollars now. Software can be pirated free, computers that can edit for under 1000. IT"S AWFUL!!! This is not a good thing. Maybe if you're some fucking Commi or rich kid that just has plenty of free time.
But putting together films is HARD WORK. But now the tech has gotten so cheap and available, there's so much product, no one's making any fucking money.
I wish I lived during the 60s and 70s and only the truly passionate people took the chance to study film. Now, every jerk off is going to college for film because they "like" to watch movies and youtube makes it seem so easy.
Now the market has been completeled flooded with shit material and you need one hell of latter to get yourself seen above it. I just won a 10,000 dollar development deal. It feels great. But truth is, it's because of this whole digital diy revolution that it's not a 30,000 or 50,000 dollar deal.