Micro-Film Magazine
Interview for Micro-film 7
The Parallel View, Pt. 3: "Absence"
by Jeff Sartain
Fall 2005
When MICRO-FILM last left Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kölsch, writers and directors of OUR LADY OF SORROW, they were gearing up for principle photography in the fall of 2004 after having made a trailer for their film, secured limited funding through a t-shirt contest on chuckpalahniuk.net, and fended off legal problems with a criminally libelous disgruntled actor. Since then, OUR LADY OF SORROW has been temporarily shelved due budgetary constraints, all too common in the world of truly independent cinema. Widmyer and Kölsch haven't been idle, though.
In the meantime, Widmyer and Kölsch, along with co-director Josh Chaplinsky, have been run ragged filming, editing, and distributing their first feature-length film, POSTCARDS FROM THE FUTURE, a documentary on the second Chuck Palahniuk literature conference at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. The film was received to critical acclaim, and they've enjoyed successful sales of the 2-disc DVD through the chuckpalahniuk.net website Widmyer runs. In a discussion with MICRO-FILM, Widmyer elaborated on the impact POSTCARDS FROM THE FUTURE is having on their other film projects: "The success of our Chuck Palahniuk documentary has been two-fold. On the one hand, it's legitimized us as filmmakers who know what we're doing and can successfully deliver a film. Not only did we produce, direct and shoot the Chuck documentary ourselves, but we also edited the whole thing in my office. Now, with the DVD selling on the ChuckPalahniuk.net website, we've brought more attention to OUR LADY OF SORROW in the form of the investment trailer which is included on the supplemental material of the Chuck DVD."
Critically, POSTCARDS FROM THE FUTURE has been well received, with Daniel Wible from Filmthreat.com leading the pack, saying, "This is a well-structured, crafty bit of filmmaking." Widmyer weighed in on the documentary's critical reception: "For the most part, it's been very enthusiastic. In the local Oregon papers, we were mostly commended for giving Chuck himself the spotlight in our film, and letting his great screen presence and inspiring way of giving speeches dictate the pacing of the piece. But we've found that the film has taken on a life of its own since its premiere in Portland in 2003, and major critics, including FILM THREAT magazine are still discovering the documentary and celebrating it in positive articles. It's also attracted quite a dedicated rating on the Internet Movie Database, as evidenced by its very positive user reviews among fans. So we couldn't be happier with the reception it's gotten."
Even with the extra exposure from the trailer included on the POSTCARDS FROM THE FUTURE DVD, as well as the profits from the sales of the documentary, Widmyer and Kölsch haven't secured the budget they hoped to have for OUR LADY OF SORROW. In the current declining economy, with inflation on the rise, money harder to borrow, and investor confidence waffling, it's become increasingly hard for indie filmmakers to put together an ambitious project like OUR LADY OF SORROW. So what's come of Widmyer and Kölsch's dream project?
Dennis Widmer explains, "As of about six months ago, we decided to temporarily shelve OUR LADY OF SORROW. The aim is to first do something smaller and not as vast a project. If all goes to plan, OUR LADY OF SORROW will be our second feature film, and when we make it, we will have a better understanding of making a feature film, as well as give any tentative investors more assurance in our talent and vision."
The project that Widmyer refers to is a smaller, less location-intensive film with the working title ABSENCE. "With this project, we know, going in, how much money we actually have," said Widmyer. "With profits raised from the documentary, we have raised what we feel is enough money to actually go out and shoot a micro-budgeted feature. ABSENCE may not be as ambitious a project as OUR LADY OF SORROW, but it's every bit as good a story, as well as a great structure and concept in which to make an independent film. It tells the story of a kidnap victim, as witnessed and experienced from three points of view. It's slated for production in July 2005 and we hope to successfully enter it into film festivals in the fall of 2005."
Despite being a micro-budgeted film shoot, running for only 16 days on the $20,000 raised by the sales of POSTCARDS FROM THE FUTURE, ABSENCE has already attracted investors and talented artists willing to lend their skills. David Lowell Sonkin and Leia Thompson's HiLo Productions has promised $20,000 in finishing funds to cover the post-production costs of ABSENCE. Widmyer first worked with Sonkin as a production assistant on Sonkin's film, THE EMPATH (2002). Widmyer and Kölsch have also cast up-and-comers Eron Otcasek (son of Cars frontman and composer, Ric Ocasek) and Domenica Cameron-Scorsese (daughter of legendary director Martin Scorsese) to lead the cast in ABSENCE.
In the world of indie cinema, delays are all too common, but in some cases, the delays lead to better things. As Widmyer and Kölsch cut their teeth on ABSENCE, they hope to work out the kinks in their directing style so, when the time is finally ripe, they can approach OUR LADY OF SORROW with the grace and confidence of seasoned directors.
Read about ABSENCE at www.kinkymulefilms.com and OUR LADY OF SORROW at www.ourladyofsorrow.com. You can find POSTCARDS FROM THE FUTURE at www.chuckpalahniuk.net.
