Lady Filmmakers Festival 2018 - Danielle's Boat
Lonely and missing friends after moving, 14 year-old Danielle builds a boat and takes on the neighborhood bully who seeks to thwart her plans.
Interview with Writer/Producer Dana Koops
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
When I was in 9th grade, my younger brother named Daniel was building a one person boat, called a mouse boat, for fun. He had always been a little different from his peers, more mature and literate, and a lot of his classmates weren’t very nice. It wasn’t a super big deal, but it inspired me to write “Danielle’s Boat”, a film about a bullied teen who finds comfort in building a boat.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
One of the key morals of the story is that it is very important to see both sides of an issue, especially when it comes to bullying. While it might seem like the bullies are confident people who’ve got their life together, most of them, like Vela, are actually going through something really hard at home; a divorce, death of a loved one, abuse, et cetera... I don’t think that this excuses their behavior in any way, but I do pity them, and can understand where they are coming from.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
There are two universal themes in “Danielle’s Boat” that people have been experiencing since the beginning of history and will continue to experience until the end of time - friendship and bullying. In the beginning of the film Danielle has no friends in the new neighborhood that her family moved to, and misses her old friends that she left behind. And Vela has to learn that if he wants true friends, not just cronies, he has to reach out, not hit out in revenge.
As for personal themes, though I have never been bullied, my brother was in middle school. His classmates weren’t very nice to him just because he’s a little different, and he only had a couple of friends. And the theme of girls being able to do ‘boy’ things is personal because my parents raised me to do whatever I want, no matter what gender it’s typically associated with.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I originally wrote the film as a short story for my English class, with a teen boy named Daniel as the protagonist. Later, I rewrote it in the screenplay format, and then changed the protagonist into a girl named Danielle because I wanted to show that girls can build boats too even if it’s not as common.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We have received very positive feedback; a five star rating, comments from audience members on how they really felt for the characters and loved the film, et cetera... It has been very encouraging.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
No; all the feedback has supported my beliefs on the issue of bullying. For example, one of my teachers was talking about how he had noticed that most of the bullies he had met were bullied/abused themselves, and that this cycle of bullying and being bullied is hard to break. This just reaffirmed my view; that both the bully and the bullied kid are victims of the same thing.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
The more people who see the film the better, for then the message will spread and that will slowly but surely lead to change.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I need distributors to help this film become more visible.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
My hope is that “Danielle’s Boat” will get people thinking about the issue of bullying more, and that if they are a bully, it will help them realize they need to stop and learn a better method for dealing with their trauma. It is also a sweet story that I hope will brighten the audience’s day.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever been told you can't do something because you're a girl? Or a boy? Is it okay to excuse bullies because of what their going through?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Right now, Sam and I are working on another short film called “Driver’s Ed.” It is a more comedic story about everything that can go wrong when a teen is learning to drive. Just like “Danielle’s Boat”, I am the writer, producer, and the lead actress, but this time I will also be trying my hand at directing. Sam will be playing the second lead in the film, as well as co-producing with me.
Interview: September 2018
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Danielle's Boat
Lonely and missing friends after moving, 14 year-old Danielle builds a boat and takes on the neighborhood bully who seeks to thwart her plans.
Length: 12:44
Who is being interviewed for this article? Dana Koops
Director: Samuel Parker
Producer: Dana Koops/Samuel Parker
Writer: Dana Koops
About the writer, director and producer:
DANA KOOPS (writer) is 16 year old actor, enjoys reading, writing, tennis and rock climbing in her free time. She is creative and passionate about human rights.
Samuel Parker (director) is a 15 year old actor and business man, enjoys skate boarding, writing, and hanging out with friends in his free time, loves cool cars, and is creative, funny and positive.
Key cast: Dana Koops (Danielle) and Matthew Jacob Wayne (Vela)
Facebook: danakoops
Twitter: @danakoops
Instagram: @danakoops
Funders: public and personal funding using Seed and Spark
Made in association with: Imagicon Entertainment
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Lady Filmmakers Festival 2018.