With Hollywood South helping to foster the next generation of filmmakers, this year’s New Orleans Film Festival will focus on local talent.
Organized by the New Orleans Film Society, the 24th annual festival is set to screen more than 200 films at six different theaters during its eight-day run from Oct.10-17.
Among the local talent are three 2012 University graduates: Mac Alsfeld, Andrew Megison and Gray Ward, all of whom helped produce the independent film “Father-Like Son,” a finalist for the festival’s Louisiana Feature Award.
The coming-of-age comedy, directed by Alsfeld, is about a 24-year-old whose views on relationships are tested when his recently widowed mother marries a man his own age. With the Friday premiere already sold out, this much-anticipated movie is sure to attract national attention.
But one wonders how such fresh young faces, none of whom attended film school, succeed at such a daunting task of creating a feature film.
It all started with “Sketchmo,” the LSU-broadcasted weekly sketch comedy show, they said.
During their last semester of classes, the three friends were part of a comedy troupe that wrote and shot a total of six episodes.
The three men immediately connected, and the rest, they said, is history. Recognizing their comedic chemistry, Alsfeld and Megison began to churn out screenplays on Sunday afternoons. “Father-Like Son” only took two sessions to write, Megison said, with the two writers bouncing dialogue off of each other effortlessly.
Once the script was complete, Ward joined his two friends as the third producer, leading to the creation of their production company, Abby Normal Pictures.
“We took [the script] seriously and said, ‘This is an actual good script, we have to raise money and do it right, or we’re going to waste time,’” Alsfeld said. “It ended up taking over a year of our lives, so those kind of things, you have to do them right.”
For the film’s budget, the three producers chose to use Kickstarter.com, which funds creative projects, taking 5 percent of money earned. But with all-or-nothing funding, their goal had to be reached by a certain deadline in order for them to receive any money.
By offering rewards to funders ranging from playing an extra in the movie to slapping Ward in the face, the film earned $10,000 in one month, plus individual donations from seven investors.
“People gave $25 to slap Gray in the face on any day of his life,” Alsfeld said. “A lot of people are going to be hitting Gray on his wedding day.”
The film was shot in less than three weeks in New Orleans, with Alsfeld, Megison and Ward all playing lead roles. The rest of the cast and crew consisted of fellow University alumni, friends in the film industry and even talent found from a Craigslist search.
“Filmmaking is so much fun because it’s like an event; you’re laughing the entire time,” Alsfeld said. “It’s a defining moment in your life, like your senior year of high school.”
With the challenge of filming and editing now behind them, the three producers are anxiously awaiting the film’s premiere at the NOFF. They all agree that having the film’s first festival screening in their hometown with all their friends and family is, as Ward put it, perfect.
“There are so many people that help out, even on small scales, not necessarily giving money or working on the film,” Alsfeld said. “You want to thank everyone and make it a big deal [in New Orleans] to show them our appreciation.”
From college friends to professional actors, writers and producers, these mid-20-year-olds’ advice for students aspiring to get into the film industry is simple: get experience.
“You got to put in your time,” Alsfeld said. “You got to lower your ego a little bit and get somebody coffee for a couple years.”
The future is now wide open for Abby Normal Pictures. With at least 35 script ideas, the filmmakers said they plan to work on developing these scripts for better storylines and character development.
“I want to have [writing scripts] like a legitimate business,” Alsfeld said. “We treat this like a job like anyone else. We have set hours to write because the number one thing is consistency.”
The Prytania Theatre will host the “Father-Like Son” world premiere Friday at 10:15 p.m., but there’s still hope for those who couldn’t snag tickets before the screening sold out in six hours. The Prytania Theatre will also host an encore screening at 9:30 p.m. on closing night, an honor only one other film has received since the NOFF’s conception.