LA FOCUS - We Go On
Logline: Some doors, once opened, can never be closed again.
Length: 89 minutes.
Director: Andy Mitton & Jesse Holland
Producer: Logan Brown, Richard King, Irina Popov
Writer: Andy Mitton
About the writer, director and producer:
Andy Mitton is a filmmaker, writer, and composer based in New York.
Jesse Holland is a filmmaker, editor, and motion graphics artist based in Los Angeles.
Key cast: Annette O’Toole, Clark Freeman, Giovanna Zacarías, Laura Heisler, and John Glover
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):Distributiors, film festival directors, journalists (we have sales agents both foreign and domestic).
Funders: Private
Made in association with: Filmed Imagination
Release date: TBD
Where can I watch it at Dances With Films? Friday, June 10 at 7:15pm at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood.
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
The question of what happens to you after you die is a universal one and we thought that a character who was willing to throw cold hard cash at the question was a character we’d want to follow, to see what happens to him.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You like horror movies that go beyond the usual jump-scares to a deeper level of dread with thought-provoking themes.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Andy’s mother worked in hospice for many years and sat by literally hundreds of deathbeds. She had enough experiences that could only be described as supernatural that Andy was raised to be a “believer”. In much the same way that the movie has a believer and a skeptic at its core, Andy and Jesse reflected both sides of the argument.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
The mother-son relationship at the center of the movie really rose to the forefront. It was always there, of course, but in shooting and editing we realized we were doing something that hadn’t been done before, teaming up an adult and his mother in a non-comic way. At times the movie may even feel more like a drama with supernatural elements than a horror movie.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
It’s been positive! My main concern was that the drama would outweigh the scares too much, but people are reporting back that it’s plenty chilling and disturbing as well as moving!
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Because I had the concerns I mention above, it has pleasantly surprised me. Sometimes you’ve just looked at something so much you forget that it’s scary.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Hopefully we can pack the theatre during our LA premiere! It’s a good story that I believe we tell well and word-of-mouth will be our best asset in the days to come.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
The more festivals we play at, the more people write about us, the closer we can come to a solid distribution deal.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We have realistic expectations but feel the film deserves to follow a similar trajectory to The Sixth Sense where it becomes a bit of a crossover hit – people who normally don’t like horror movies have a good chance of enjoying this one.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What do you think happens after you die?
Would you like to add anything else?
We’re very proud of the film and excited to be a part of Dances With Films and to be sharing the project with a Los Angeles audience.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are taking a hiatus from the partnership and are each simultaneously directing separate projects on the opposite coasts of America, both horror films: Jesse’s is a boogeyman story and Andy's is a haunted house story.