Short films, micro grants, and HAMILTON's turntable
Exploring what it takes to bring our projects to life.
We are through our longest nights and (possibly) our coldest days. We’re contemplative and tired, restful and inspired. Welcome back to Script & Screen! I’m Morgan and you’re reading the fourth edition of this newsletter.
The idea behind this publication is simple: Within each edition you’ll find musings from the film and theater scenes in Minnesota and the upper midwest. We celebrate the scripts, the people, and the craft required to bring the magic of these collective industries to life.
Today, we brush shoulders with filmmakers!
OVERTURE:
This edition’s overture features Tall Paul’s Someone Great Who Looked Like Me. His ode to Jim Thorpe, widely remembered as one of the best athletes of the 20th century, is one of many of his songs weaving lyrical and melodic skill.
Tall Paul’s Anishinaabe and Oneida ancestral roots flow from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota and beyond. Before diving into today’s newsletter, take a moment to explore more about how his upbringing and personal expressions of self are reflected in his art.
Overtures are pieces of music used in theater and film to set the tone and mood before the beginning credits or curtain.
THIS EDITION’S HIGHLIGHT REEL:
A film festival in the Twin Cities
Resource Roundup: Funding your project
Auditions & Stages to watch this winter
A Message from The House
Don’t have time to read the full edition? Catch just the feature story here, and come back to the full edition later!
What it takes to bring your art to life
Film and theater, like all other art forms, deliver stories to audiences. Makers in these industries must be rigorous and creative in how they find the resources, time, networks, and funding necessary for bringing their bodies of work to life.
Everyone wants to tell stories.
We speak our stories aloud, adding facial expressions and wild hand gestures. In my family, we pride ourselves on our storytelling, and much like you and yours, we repeat the best of our stories over and over again. We say it runs in our blood.
People tell stories in other ways, too. Many folks take care to write their stories down. Brought to us through novels, novellas, essays, scripts, and journals, space and time are traversed along their pages.
The painter painstakingly chooses their brushes, strokes, and palettes. Their stories come to us on canvas, bisque, paper, and walls, transporting us to another world with our eyes.
The musician, through what we hear and how we hear it. The photographer, via what we see and how it is shown.
Stories permeate every material, every sense, and every medium.
Stages and screens, however, offer us a full sensory experience. Every art form is heralded, playing a critical part in the whole. Without even one of them, the whole— or rather, the play or film’s story —is completely altered.
Each film or play’s story, then, emerges through thousands of choices.
What lighting will tell our audience this character is not safe?
Does this camera angle convey an altered state of mind?
How many cuts will change the feeling of this scene from calm to hurried?
What color will our antagonist wear in their Act I arc and how will it change in their Act II demise?
What silent chaos in the background of the stage can mirror the heated dialogue in the foreground?
What does the final scene of our film actually say to the audience, and how is that helped by what we’ve left unsaid?
Florence Pugh in Midsommar [2019] shot in 2:1 aspect ratio, meaning it is twice as wide as it is tall. This can give a cinematic effect to a film’s scenery and backgrounds without losing focus on our featured characters.
The infamous turntable floor of HAMILTON: An American Musical was meant to represent the “swirling hurricane” of Hamilton’s relationship with Burr and the resulting political storm in which he finds himself.
The Matrix [1999] takes place inside of a digital world. We associate code and futuristic depictions with the color green, which is featured heavily in the film’s color palette. The specific hues of green used are meant to evoke sickly feelings in the viewer, making them feel uneasy with this version of reality.
Everything is intentional. Every aspect of a play or film’s composition drives the audience to feel something. Where and how a story is staged drives much of the story itself. The medium is the message.
With this understanding, we can see productions with a new level of appreciation. We can, for example, safely trust that the wallpaper in the bedroom of a scene in a movie was meticulously chosen for a reason, giving us a deeper character and plot.
In FROM (2022), we meet a man who went missing decades ago as a child. The man love peaches, but we do not know why. Later in the series, a scene depicting his childhood bedroom features wallpaper of that very fruit. Through this we deepen our attachment to and understanding of the character and their actions. Peaches remind him of home.
We can even look to the choice of film format — be it feature, short, documentary, commercial, serial / episodic, art house — as a deliberate framework for the story, yet another crucial choice.
Each choice has its merits; each choice has its costs.
There, you see, lies the pièce de résistance. Attached to each artistic choice is the time, resources, and money that must be spent.
A beautiful film can most certainly be made for free on our phones and in a public park— many are, and it is a great way to get started with the craft — but the majority of filmmakers require teams, equipment, technology, location access, crew food, stages, lighting, rigs, and so much more to realize their visions.
Which choices, then, are worth it?
Is there an advantage to creating a short film if it includes a more attainable budget and the absence of box office pressure?
Is committing the time and resources to a feature film worth it if this particularly project is meant to be a catalyst for a risky, experimental series you’re working on next?
In this piece, we hear from filmmakers and creators making those choices today, and how they balance the Elements of Industry with the artistry their craft demands.
The Women in Screenwriting panel prepares to start their conversation.
INT. TWIN CITIES FILM FESTIVAL LOUNGE, ST LOUIS PARK - SATURDAY
The Women in Screenwriting panel is set to begin momentarily. Weaving my way through the crowded lobby to the panel room, I squeeze into one of the last open seats in the back. Around me, murmurs from attendees swirl in the air with steaming coffee.
The heavy-hitting roster of talent on this panel speaks for itself:
Alison Guessou (Director/Writer/Producer) is a Cameroonian-American narrative filmmaker and producer based in Minneapolis. Her feature film Out of Time will be playing later this week at the festival.
Cristi Rumpza (Director/Writer/Actor) is an LA-based, midwest born screenwriter, filmmaker, and actor. Her short film Physical Therapy will be playing later this week at the festival.
Marisa Coughlan (Actor/Writer) is an LA-based, Minnesota born and raised screenwriter with the the film she wrote, Days When the Rains Came, also playing in the festival, as well.
As we hang on every word about each of their journeys through screenwriting, many want to know how their careers have come to be.
What is your daily writing routine? How do you keep your work “unique”? Why did you start? Do you write what you like and say to heck with the (eventual) budget? Where did you learn how to do this?
They go on to both illuminate and sooth us with their answers. Here are a few:
Marisa started with spec pieces, and Alison learned about screenwriting and filmmaking through real experience on sets. Kristy leaned on her writing education and continued that in the field.
To sell a script, Kristy entered a lot of script competitions. She says it may be uncomfortable to market and network yourself, but that’s an important step of the process, nonetheless.
Alison pulls much of her writing inspiration from what she feels most strongly about in her life and the world. Marisa taps into life experiences and moments that trigger in her a need to write. Kristy knows a moral element must be in everything you create, and infuses them into humorous storylines.
Kristy reinforces that no project is a waste of time, and all three agree that whatever you do, you have to finish things. You must have something to show for your efforts. All three laugh and agree that this can be especially tough when the first 10 pages tend to be more fun to write than the middle of the story.
Alison works methodically through one project at a time, with the intention to always produce the work. She knows that always writing with her producer hat on helps improve the likelihood that her projects will be primed for production, eliminating potential barriers down the road.
She has a point. Yes, she makes scripts and stories for the sake of the art itself and the types of stories she wants to see in the world, but her “producer” mind is never separate from that work.
If a maker’s goal is for the project to go somewhere— and for those seeking careers in this work, that certainly is their end game — then it’s wise to emulate this approach.
Why separate our producer and writer minds when creating scripts if, like Alison describes, we know our scripts will butt up against the expected funding or producing pressure once done? Being a writer-producer has its merits and a workable, realistic script is worth striving toward.
For example, I’m writing an adventure epic that transcends solar systems and generations to save the human race. The panel insists that we should always be making the stories we dream about, but encourages us to think about the realities of the production of project if that is our goal. What would be required to bring this saga to life? If the story behind that idea can be communicated in another way that is financially attainable, my chances of that version of the story living outside of my “Completed” folder increase substantially.
The panel has a knack for talking about the potential of that “Completed” work, too, no matter how much has been invested into it.
The difference between having finished projects (even without distribution or screenings) vs only unrealized ideas is quite significant. Think of it like a portfolio (because essentially, that is what these finished projects are).
The speakers are honest about the fact that it is mostly unheard of to sell an idea that can’t be seen or touched. It’s far more possible— though, still challenging— to sell an idea that exists on paper, in a script. Or better yet, in some other visual format.
Any proof of concept in addition to the script is an important touch. The panel shared examples like key a scene being shot, a character and tone example, or a mood board. Anything to give potential funders or distribution channels a taste of the vision.
Once you have your first project(s) and script(s) in existence, you can use even your wildest art as a vehicle for bigger projects, new work opportunities, future funding, distribution, and more. Intergalactic love triangle + “race against the clock” arc moodboard, anyone?
To summarize: create the stories you want to see get made, but if you’re measuring your own success by how many scripts you sell and how much funding you secure, stop and take a deep breath. You’re missing the most beautiful parts of the process. From there, go back to your work, keep practicing and creating, and remember that taking production costs into account will only help you. If you have to write “lean” scenes because you’re doing this on your own, it is still worth it to have a finished project to show for your efforts. Finishing something, anything, is a huge win.
I’m learning that, from there, every completed project and proof-of-concept creation is looked at by industry professionals as both a) a singular project to be proud of, and b), a continuation of a body of work that can pay off in different ways down the road.
For those looking to expand their network and prospects, every film or play or completed script is an opportunity to secure future funding for new projects or distribution for existing ones in their archive. You can show them (investors, grant committees, boards) what you’re made of! Consistent portfolio growth combined with art that speaks for itself may just lead to sparks of success over time.
This then raises the question of how to bring those initial projects to life. Where does that money come from?
Put bluntly from the panel, but refreshingly, it sounds like it doesn’t. Or maybe put differently, it depends.
INT. ICON THEATER, WEST END, TWIN CITIES - THURSDAY
Tomorrow I’ll be back for the horror shorts block to see Andy Mor’s Thrill-O-Ween once again, along with many other shorts I’m excited for. Tonight, I’m sitting down for a block of comedy shorts (featuring Cristi Rumpza’s Physical Therapy) and reflecting on the panel discussion from days prior.
Throughout the festival, more filmmakers gave Q&As after their films’ screenings, and many questions came up surrounding the same theme: how did you bring this movie to life?
Funding
As the panel answered in-depth for the audience last weekend, the inner workings of how no- and low-budget independent films really get made includes a lot of digging and networking and scrappiness. The phrase used most often is “bootstrapping”.
You hear a lot about “bootstrapping” in this industry. Kickstarters for one-woman shows, using extra funds from one’s day job to front the product costs of an indie movie, or tapping family and friends to finance a short. It’s illuminating for those making their way into this industry— it isn’t easy, and it isn’t cheap.
Things like grants, incubators, privately funded and government-run programs do exist, but of the filmmakers I’ve met, I haven’t found many (yet) who can live off of these programs alone. More on that in the “Message From the House” section at the end of this edition. Gathered below this story are some funding resources to get you started or to spark your own research.
Networks of People
Without fail, every Q&A at every festival I’ve been to includes a question about how the filmmaker pulled their crew together, and what the production experience was like. A clear trend emerged early on for me— it pays to have friends and family and creative connections who can fill critical roles in your production.
Many folks met each other in film school, others through incubators or programs, or friends of friends. Every person’s path to a staffed indie film crew is different. These are not original stories I can personally resonate with, or at least not yet, so when I pull together my first film crew, I’ll let you know exactly how I do it.
The candor from the panel and the other filmmakers throughout the festival has been refreshing. After working in such a siloed way— as the writing process always is — the audiences this week have been asking how they seek feedback and help before they even reach that stage of finding a crew:
Marisa emphasized being careful about putting too many ideas out into the world too soon when a script is still being built. If someone can’t see the whole vision yet, them “not getting it” can take the fire out of the experience. Find trusted cheerleaders, but trust your story and your instincts.
Alison’s experience in a screenwriting festival brought good feedback. She shares that these festivals are sometimes attended by people with representation, too. Having a production-ready script takes the pressure off of those potential networking moments— you have a script that you know can be made.
Kristy was clear that getting feedback before you present a script to the ones who fund the project is critical to the process. Does your script flow? Does the audience get the story? These are questions you have to have answer before that point in the process.
Grit
You inherently know that hard work went into all of the projects up on the screen in front of you. In the filmmaker Q&As after each feature film or block of short films, directors and producers tell harrowing tales of dragging their projects across the finish line by the skin of their teeth. You learn that many of these films were one production disaster away from never finishing.
Everyone is asked about their processes and a wide range of topics are covered, but a quiet underlying theme about the people making these projects is clear:
They did not give up.
Some filmmakers look at the challenges they face optimistically. The digital age has certainly made it easier for anyone to get started than ever before. Sure, funding and resources are hard to find, but without the traditional gatekeepers in play, what does that mean they can create?
They face their craft clear eyed, determined, and in love with the possibilities it brings. That fortifies them to face the parts of the process that would otherwise stop most.
To summarize: It pays to create so much art that you never have to sacrifice vision. Practicing and writing and building and shooting every chance you get— creating for creation’s sake— so you don’t have to choose between a story that sells and a story you want to tell. From there, be as scrappy as you possible can, and love it for the sake of the work.
In the words of Alison Guessou, “Don’t wait to be chosen. How can [you] lend to these voices now? If you can’t find what you need or are looking for, create it yourself.”
The filmmakers of the shorts featured in the horror shorts block at the Twin Cities Film Festival answer questions from the audience.
FROM THE STAGE:
In our fifth edition, we are heading back to the stage as a flurry of shows sweep the region. Should there be any shows in particular you’re looking forward to attending across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, or the Dakotas, leave us a comment. We may see you there!
Supporting your local arts ensures artists can make a living doing this work, too.
BALCONY-EYE VIEW:
Today’s Balcony-Eye View curates a number of financial opportunities available to creatives right now, sans-crowdfunding and bootstrapping:
Minnesota Fringe offers financial assistance and funding opportunities to help tackle the costs of normal festival participation.
The Awesome Foundation offers $1,000 grants for projects with local chapters spread across the upper midwest: Cass-Clay, St. Paul, North Minneapolis, Watertown, and Driftless
These are just of 78 chapters across 8 countries participating in the Awesome Foundation project
Springboard for the Arts has everything. Grants, fellowships, career consultations, sponsorships, and so much more.
The Playwrights Center offers several fellowships and programs each year
Drama League hosts a number of residencies and fellowships:
The Beatrice Terry Residency is specifically open to women and nonbinary people, and is designed for “early and mid-career stage directors who identify as writer-directors”
The Irene Gandy Directing Assistantship provides assistant directing opportunities to “early-career BIPOC/Global Majority and/or historically marginalized directors on their productions across the United States.”
And several others open for applications right now
Though not exclusive to the midwest, organizations like Film Independent have extensive grants and awards available on a regular basis
There are actually hundreds upon thousands of opportunities like these for upper midwesterners to benefit from. Script & Screen will continue to surface and compile them. If you aren’t from or in this region, use these as a research jumping off point for your own area!
FEATURED SHORT FILM: I PROMISE YOU PARADISE [2023]
At the Minnesota Film Festival in Duluth in April, I Promise You Paradise was screened and the story and cinematography have stuck with me since. Directed by Morad Mostafa, the film has won several nominations and awards. Watch the trailer here!
INDUSTRY DATES & DEADLINES
Highlighting news, dates, deadlines, and events across Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota. This will never be an exhaustive list but there’s no harm in trying!
The MNmicro Film Festival is on February 4th! Alison Guessou’s film Out of Time will be screened at the festival!
Black Hills Community Theater in South Dakota is holding auditions on February 15th-16th
Minnesota Opera Chorus auditions are now open and run through March 10th
The entry deadline for submissions to the Iowa Motion Picture Awards Film Festival is today
Watermark Art Center’s next Poetry Slam will be held on February 20th in Bemidji, MN!
Message from The House:
For better or for worse, the ins and outs of film and theater financing and production play a major role in the creation and distribution of art. That’s not to say that artistry in films and plays can only exist in the world with significant funding. On the contrary. Art can come from anything, and anyone, at any time, regardless of resources.
However, when I hear directors and writers and producers— creatives of any kind, really — talk about their art and how it was brought to life and to audiences, the finances propelling their projects are always central to their journeys.
They first had to have a strong story, of course, but whether or not that story would reach me, or you, or anyone in the greater world outside of their friends and family would often be determined by resources like their network and their money.
Most of the time, regardless of how compelling the project is, the journey to secure those resources seems to end with little to no funding at all. Bootstrapping, crowdfunding, and self funding seem to be the norm.
I personally appreciate their frankness and willingness to share how challenging it can be to bring their bodies of work to life at all, let alone making a living off of them.
It reminds me of the widely understood reality that talent alone is rarely the only prerequisite for bringing your art to the world. Oprah has famously said that “luck is when preparation meets opportunity”. Many dedicated artists are more than prepared— that is no question. Alison, Cristi, and Marisa made that clear. The portfolios of countless creatives show just how ready they are.
It is the “opportunity” piece of that equation that is the moving target. The shifting goalpost. The locked door for some, slightly ajar for others, wide open for few.
If film and theater professionals are constantly fighting for funds and in search of security that affords them space to create, there must be groups— co-ops, coalitions, assemblies— working to rectify this through region-wide funding, asset sharing, and other program innovation. I know they are out there. and I’ll share them once I find them.
More funding opportunities would certainly improve what seems to be one of the most stressful parts of the filmmaking process. If you’re reading this, I don’t have to tell you that investing in the arts is important and has downstream impacts on the entire world, and more specifically the filmmakers, playwrights, directors, and every other craft that has a hand in making the culture of today. You and I both know that thriving local and regional arts scenes boost economies via jobs, tourism, retail, and hospitality wins, and that just scratches the surface.
With large-scale incentives growing for the film industry in Minnesota and the surrounding states — Iowa has made some really exciting strides for their arts communities and Wisconsin is filled to the brim with more local programs — our statewide production incentive program, coupled with several regional and localized secondary incentive programs across the state, is a beacon. The current is flowing in the right direction.
The ethos of this publication is to both celebrate the arts and the creatives bringing them to life, and to bring more opportunities to light that exist for new and existing talent. Funding is a huge part— arguably the largest part— for creatives to realize those goals. This will be an area of focus we come back to again and again.
I’m in awe of artists’ commitment to the stories that must be told. Determination to bring their art to life, no matter what. Not having time to write but forcing the time to exist nonetheless.
Many questions remain for me as I look around the fields of film and theater and attempt to start carving out my corner in them. One answer I’m no longer searching for, however, is how to get started.
If we aren’t finding opportunities, we make them.
My name is Morgan Wall and I am an aspiring filmmaker, playwright, and novelist. I’ve been writing my entire life, having the opportunities to read and perform those writings. I created Script & Screen and Cultivate Curiosity, each giving me the chance to meet and interview fascinating people creating in their fields. I’ve performed in full and one-act plays, musicals, and competitive speeches, and have officiated ceremonies for 9 years.
That’s curtain!
Another great edition of S & S! I really resonated with your bolded summary. Keep working on your projects, always be creating, enjoy the process and done not perfect! This is what I took from that message and it’s inspired me to get some of my own projects done! Finishing anything is a huge win! Cheers Morgan!🤙🏼👏🏻
“If we aren’t finding opportunities, we make them.” BOOM mic drop!!!! You are an inspiration, Morgan! 🤩