A Bird’s Nest Directed by Christine Chen
Christine Chen, Director and Co-Producer of “A Bird’s Nest,” was the first to join me on stage at the LA Film Prize Festival Filmmaker Interviews. She and her producer had much to share about their experience of shooting a 15 minute film in Northwest Louisiana. Christine said the inspiration for this perverse story came from a short story written by a close friend.

Without giving away too many spoilers, “A Bird’s Nest” is a story of unexpected friendship, with a painful ending. The film was shot deep in the woods of Northwest Louisiana, accessible only via four-wheelers on a muddy trail. Aside from the challenges associated with working with child actors, the cast and crew had to carry their equipment through the dark woods, without help from the moon, due to a flat tire on the last night of filming. Chen admitted that they chose a difficult subject for the plot, and the harsh filming environment added to the atmosphere.

As for future plans, Chen and producer Duncan will continue to make independent films, as it is their passion and there are endless stories to tell. Who knows?! “A Bird’s Nest” has the possibility to be made into a feature film, resources permitting.

Action Movie III (The Sequel) Directed by James Cook
Diehard Schwarzenegger, Seagal, and Norris action movie fans found themselves chuckling at classic one-liners and cheesy special effects in “Action Movie III (The Sequel).” Director James Cook admitted this is exactly what he wanted for viewers: an appreciation for a well-done, low-budget action movie, shot at the Lucas Water Treatment Plant in Shreveport.

Nuclear war has ravaged the world, leaving main character Cliff Action to take justice into his own hands with inexplicably gas-masked sidekick Nakita Phoenix. They are chased by flesh-eating cyborgs shooting lasers from their fingertips, only to find the villain Dick Dickson was no stranger at all.

Cook shed a tear during our interview, saying that film is his passion because everyone experiences it differently. He wanted the public to vote for the film that reached them the most, even if it was not “Action Movie III (The Sequel).” Cook was ecstatic that his film made it to the top twenty; the future offers the opportunity to learn more about filmmaking, especially special effects.

Based on Rosenthal Directed by Stephen Kinigopoulos
Standing out among the films in this year’s LA Film Prize awards is “Based on Rosenthal,” described by director Stephen Kinigopoulos as the story of a boy who has to grow up beyond his years. Wheeling a rusty red wagon around a junkyard to repair and sell junk to aid in his grandmother’s hospice care, the main character represents Kinigopoulos’ feelings of futility in watching his own grandfathers’ suffering in hospice.

The final cut includes almost no background music or sound effects. Kinigopoulos describes it as a “raw” look at the frailty of life. Viewers are left to project their own experiences with death upon the canvas this film puts forward. In fact, Kinigopoulos has hours of uncut footage of his grandfather’s hospice care and funeral, which was a painful major influence on the mood of the film.

I met the main actor of the film on the last day of the LA Film Prize festival. He was eager to answer questions about his and other films, and nearly blushed when Kinigopoulos told the story of being sold on the kid as the main character. Kinigopoulos saw no other auditions after he saw magic in this boy’s ability to act so naturally in front of the camera. 

Angel of Joy Directed by Andrew Bryan
You will find no newcomers to short, independent film projects in the cast and crew of “Angel of Joy.” Andrew and wife/main character Chelsea Bryan are often involved in “48-hour challenges” and independent film festivals around the country, all year long. They raised nearly $7,500 for this year’s project, which involved bringing their cast and crew up from New Orleans to shoot for a week.

If they had won, Andrew and Chelsea would have donated their $50,000 winnings to charities that raise awareness and support for missing and abducted children, the main theme of their film. The story follows Chelsea’s character in the wake of her daughter going missing. The open-ended plot was inspired by movies like “Inception,” and viewers are left to decide between what may be a hallucination or the harsh truth of reality.

When asked if there were any challenges faced during production, Andrew told the story of how they invited a cinematographer to film a shot using a Go-Pro strapped to a drone over a cornfield. Well… the drone did not return, and foraging (alone) into the cornfield proved to be ineffective. Their producer, after intaking some liquid courage and dressing as the film’s cop character, decided to explore the cornfield after dark, and fell asleep there after finding himself lost. All humans were recovered, but there was no luck with the missing drone. If anyone finds a Go-Pro/drone combo in a cornfield in Northwest Louisiana, do the responsible thing and return it to its rightful owner.