Florida Film Festival 2019 – AV Club
As a high-school A.V. club faces the absurdity of egomania, tensions flare between the director and lead actress, causing the director to fatally reprimand the crew.
Interview with Writer/Director Nicholas Markart
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I made this film because I wanted to tell a story about storytellers. I started making cheap little movies with my friends when I was twelve years old, so it was fun for me to pull from that experience when I was writing this script. Ultimately, the question I started to ask myself was "What if this cheap little movie that the AV Club is making turned out to be horrifyingly real?".
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think you should come for the laughs and stay for the screams. In the beginning, AV Club is about a group of high-school students struggling to cooperate with one another to make a movie, but as the story plays out, it becomes clear that there is something much darker and sinister going on behind the scenes. The tone of the movie reflects this change by starting out more light and comedic, before taking a hard turn into nightmare territory.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Two of the central themes in AV Club are power and control. As the only woman in the group, Kayla sees Gavin's dismissive behavior towards her as an injustice, and the more that she makes an effort to stand up for herself, the more that Gavin tries to control her and the rest of the club. The film's final twist ties into this as well, expressing both Gavin's oppressive desire to control and Kayla's unwavering desire to stand up for what's right.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Well, the script was originally about a group of kids founding a cult in their neighborhood, but pretty early on in the writing process, I had an experience on a film set where I witnessed a director taking advantage of their crew. This experience stuck with me, and before I knew it the neighborhood kids became an AV Club.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been great. The film has screened at around 25 festivals now and picked up a couple of awards, and it's been a delight to see the audience's reactions when things go from comedy to horror.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
To be honest, I was surprised by how much it seemed to scare people. Of course, the intention was always to scare people, but it wasn't until our first public screening that I ever heard it make someone scream. It was a cool and surreal moment.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I'm just grateful for the opportunity to share this story with more people.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I would love more festival exposure!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
When I was a kid, my favorite movies inspired me to start telling my own stories, so if any of my movies ever happen to inspire someone to pick up a camera and start telling their stories too, then that would be a dream come true.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Did Kayla win in the end?
Would you like to add anything else?
We made an actual, 75-foot crop circle for this movie, which fulfilled my life-long dream of stomping on grass for twelve hours.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I just wrapped post-production on my latest film, a comedy/thriller called Belton County, and we will be sending it out to festivals very soon!
When a serial killer strikes in Belton County, Franny Cooke, the daughter of the legendary late sheriff, steps outside the law to hunt the perpetrator down. As her investigation crosses paths with some of Florida's most bizarre residents, it becomes clear that this panhandle town is a lot more dangerous than it seems.
Interview: April 2019
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
AV Club
As a high-school A.V. club faces the absurdity of egomania, tensions flare between the director and lead actress, causing the director to fatally reprimand the crew.
Length: 7:40
Director: Nicholas Markart
Producer: Tyler Knutt
Writer: Nicholas Markart
About the writer, director and producer:
NICHOLAS MARKART’s filmography lives somewhere between straight-faced political activism and genre-bending absurdity. Whether its a documentary chronicling the Standing Rock movement or a horror-comedy about a high-school AV Club, Nicholas believes in exploring all extremes to tell a story. At the Florida State University's College of Motion Picture Arts, his education included formal training in all positions on a film set, but his focus lies in writing and directing. He created an advertising agency at sixteen years old, and since then his work has been featured not only at the Cannes International Film Festival, but also trash cans across the globe.
TYLER KNUTT has had his share of production experience as a filmmaker and artist. From shooting and editing commercials for Rolls Royce and McLaren dealerships to producing video content for mobile apps, he has gained experience in different roles. Tyler's focus has recently tended to humanitarian filmmaking, and his documentary Peacekeeper was featured at the American Pavilion at Cannes. After he graduates from the FSU Film School, Tyler plans to get heavily involved with visual effects, virtual and augmented reality.
Key cast: Aliya Kraar (Kayla), Austin Cassell (Gavin), Aris Averkiou (Benny), Max Markart (Mack)
Looking for: film festival directors, journalists
Instagram: @nickmarkart
Hashtags used: #AVClub
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Florida Film Festival - 4/12; Fort Myers Film Festival - 4/10; Laugh or Die Comedy Festival - 4/27