Chris Smith presented his fantastic documentary "American Movie" at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival with a group of supporters from behind and in front of the camera. As revealed in an entertaining Q&A after the film, Chris Smith met Mark Borchardt, an independent filmmaker, while both were working on their films in Wisconsin. Mark is best described as a horror film and heavy metal enthusiast who's tenacity is rivalled by none. His hobby has been filmmaking since he was a kid and has made numerous home movies. "Man" is the most commonly heard word at the end of his sentences, and he is rarely at a loss for words.
After speaking with Mark, Chris decided to begin a new project following Mark's progress in trying to get his film finished, and the results are vastly entertaining, often hilarious and of the knee slapping variety. If you miss this film, you're missing something special.
When Mark's plans for his feature length film "Northwestern" fall apart, he sets out to finish "Coven" (pronounced "Coh-vin"), a short, black and white horror film that he'd been working on for some time. He plans to complete it and sell his modest film at the price of $14.95 with a projected goal of 3,000 units to be sold to cover costs and finance his upcoming feature. As we get a glimpse of the film work already completed, we can see this is going to be no small feat. As Chris revealed at the screening, this was expected to take six months time. Two years later, their saga had ended.
In a most entertaining way, we see that Mark's efforts are rarely short on enthusiasm. He is however, usually short on resources, skills, and finances. He struggles at every turn to get his film made, enlisting the assistance of his family and friends in all aspects, from acting to rolling the camera to splicing the film in editing. We watch as Mark separates his thrifty Uncle Bill from $3,000 of his money to finance the film. We laugh as Mark makes thirty attempts at getting the same Uncle to get one line down for ADR. We cringe as he rams an actor's head through a less then pliable kitchen cupboard door. All along the way, we share in the turmoil that Mark's family has gone through and the sacrifices he makes to make his film and the continued efforts in pursuit of the American dream. He just wants to make movies and despite the mountain of debt he has accumulated, he perseveres.
After the film we were treated to a 35mm print of the nightmarish and very raw "Coven" which to date has sold 100 copies. But in his own words, Mark declares, "I'm gonna sell those 3,000, man, that's not arrogance, that's just something I've got to do." Videos and T-shirts were available for sale in the lobby. The scary thing is, I think he's going to do it.
After speaking with Mark, Chris decided to begin a new project following Mark's progress in trying to get his film finished, and the results are vastly entertaining, often hilarious and of the knee slapping variety. If you miss this film, you're missing something special.
When Mark's plans for his feature length film "Northwestern" fall apart, he sets out to finish "Coven" (pronounced "Coh-vin"), a short, black and white horror film that he'd been working on for some time. He plans to complete it and sell his modest film at the price of $14.95 with a projected goal of 3,000 units to be sold to cover costs and finance his upcoming feature. As we get a glimpse of the film work already completed, we can see this is going to be no small feat. As Chris revealed at the screening, this was expected to take six months time. Two years later, their saga had ended.
In a most entertaining way, we see that Mark's efforts are rarely short on enthusiasm. He is however, usually short on resources, skills, and finances. He struggles at every turn to get his film made, enlisting the assistance of his family and friends in all aspects, from acting to rolling the camera to splicing the film in editing. We watch as Mark separates his thrifty Uncle Bill from $3,000 of his money to finance the film. We laugh as Mark makes thirty attempts at getting the same Uncle to get one line down for ADR. We cringe as he rams an actor's head through a less then pliable kitchen cupboard door. All along the way, we share in the turmoil that Mark's family has gone through and the sacrifices he makes to make his film and the continued efforts in pursuit of the American dream. He just wants to make movies and despite the mountain of debt he has accumulated, he perseveres.
After the film we were treated to a 35mm print of the nightmarish and very raw "Coven" which to date has sold 100 copies. But in his own words, Mark declares, "I'm gonna sell those 3,000, man, that's not arrogance, that's just something I've got to do." Videos and T-shirts were available for sale in the lobby. The scary thing is, I think he's going to do it.