#NerdsUnite: Confessions of an Indie Filmmaker
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Meg. She's an indie filmmaker here in LA and is here to talk about her experiences and challenges in filmmaking. Dudes, Hollywood in a recession is nooooo fun! But here's what's working and isn't working for Meg. Hit it lady!!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Meg Pinsonneault
My name is Meg Pinsonneault and I’m a gritty, no bullshit indie filmmaker living in LA. If you’ve ever thought it would be easy to break into the film industry, I’m here to tell you that you are very wrong. Unless your dad is a producer or mom is an actor, then you’re in the same boat as me. Speaking from experience, you’ve got a long road ahead if you want to make in the indie world. Listen to me, acting like I’ve actually “made it.” In reality, if you’re not lucky enough to use nepotism to break into the industry, then it’s time to dig your heels in and never look back. Speaking from experience, it’s been an awesome, heart breaking, incredible, exhausting, amazing, horrible, and everything in between. But not to fret, this road less traveled isn’t for the weak of heart, but it’s totally worth the hard work and heart ache. I’m here to blog about my experiences as a micro budget indie filmmaker working my way up the slippery Hollywood ladder.
Allow to give a little background about myself. Like many little girls, I first dreamed of being an actress. It all started in 5th grade when I played the lead role of Tom Sawyer in the musical by the same name. Yes, it felt good to get the male lead when all the boys were clearly subpar! After that, I was hooked. Around the same time, I first picked up a VHS camera too, taping anything and everything I could. That very camera was glued to my hands all the way through high school. Once I outgrew my small hometown in Central Pennsylvania, I ventured to New York City every weekend to take acting classes in Manhattan and I attended an amazing acting program at Boston University for high school kids. I immediately fell in love with the city and eventually gained acceptance into Emerson College’s acting program. Unfortunately, my training there wasn’t what I expected. My head was so full of ideas and I found myself yearning to make the films, instead of just act in them. I switched my major to filmmaking my sophomore year with an emphasis on directing and screenwriting. I haven’t looked back since. Although I miss acting, the filmmaking process is like no other monster. It’s kind, cruel, and everything in between. It’s certainly not for the weak of heart. I think it’s the ever-changing challenge of this industry that keeps me coming back.
Let’s speed up to present day. I’m currently working on two projects right now. The first is a short period thriller circa 1940 called “Feast of the Foolish,” about a young outlaw lost in the desert who seeks answers about his future from a dark enchantress, but it’s his past he should be worried about. “Feast of the Foolish” was inspired by my love for stylized, high concept films, packed full of saturated visuals and top-notch art direction. “Feast of the Foolish” was successfully financed through the crowd-funding platform, Indiegogo.com. We shot it on the RED One camera in Joshua Tree, CA. It is currently in consideration at many top tier film festivals, as well as independent fests around the world. I’m also working on the feature adaption of this unique period thriller film. For more information, please go to www.feastofthefoolish.com
My second film is feature documentary called Gwapa (Beautiful) about is a documentary that follows a poor Filipino family’s struggle for a healthy future and a mother’s remarkable journey to help her three kids with facial deformities. Last January, I, along with my good friend, Sabina Padilla, had the amazing opportunity to travel to the Philippines with Faces of Tomorrow, a non profit organization that provides free surgeries for children with cleft deformities. We documented the Bulabos and Alac families, four children with clefts in total, through their long journey to meet the Faces of Tomorrow team. In a country where children with clefts are often abandoned or shunned from society, Gwapa (Beautiful) follows two remarkable families that refuse to give up. Despite desperate poverty, this documentary depicts a mother’s will to do whatever it takes to give her children the brightest future as possible. Gwapa (Beautiful) is a powerful tale of strength, love, determination, and hope. It’s an experience that changed my life forever and a story that must be told. Faces of Tomorrow will return to the small Filipino island of Bohol and revisit the families for more surgeries, education, and medicine. We are looking for funding to return with the medical mission and to complete the film. We’re launching a crowd-funding campaign on November 12th with a kick-off party and awesome perks. Gwapa (Beautiful) will be the first full-length documentary to feature the issue of cleft deformities in developing countries. For more information, please go to www.gwapafilm.com
I’ll be back next week to talk about my experiences crowd funding and why you better do your homework before you start your own campaign!
#nerdsunite
Want more from Meg? Check out her shizzy shiznat over yonder! www.thirstygirlfilms.com & www.artworksbymeg.com