Erie International Film Festival - Sundown
A carefree gambler returns home to help his family deal with his father’s dementia and quickly learns being responsible is harder than he bet on.
Interview with Writer/Director Brendan Boogie
Watch Sundown on Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
SUNDOWN is a very personal film about a family dealing with dementia. I lost my own father to dementia, so I sought out to tell a story in a way you don’t always see in movies. We tried to show all aspects of what people go through: the humor, the sadness, the anger, the hope, and just the overall true, raw humanity of a family going through the experience of dementia. I hope we succeeded.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you’ve ever been in an imperfect family trying to get through a hard situation, you will hopefully relate to the characters in the story. And even though it’s about heavy subject matter, I promise it’s not a bummer. For every sad scene, there are at least three solid handjob jokes to balance things out.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
To me, the personal is universal. We have all experienced grief, loss, frustration, failure - all the things that come along with trying to help someone you love and being in a family.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
My father suffered from dementia for over 15 year until it finally took him in 2015. As he battled the disease, I learned more and more about what a family goes through at different stages of the process. I coped with the situation the way writers do: I wrote. The experience in my personal life definitely informed the different drafts of the script and followed through to the directing of the actors embodying the family.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I have been amazed - we have screened at eight festivals so far in our run and without fail, at least a handful of people at every screening tell me about their experience of caretaking a parent or a loved one and how real the movie felt to them. I’ve had people reaching out via email and social media, sharing their experiences of grief and loss. It’s been really humbling. And we’ve won a bunch of awards, which is always good to help feed my massive ego.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I’m surprised how universal the experience of this type of loss is and how the movie seems to be connecting with people that went through something like this. It’s been incredibly moving. At the end of the day, we made the movie the same reason we make all art for an audience: so people will feel less alone. So hopefully that’s working.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on We Are Moving Stories?
We are a tiny film amongst a sea of giants. We would need to take out a loan to qualify for “low budget.” Our entire film was made on what STAR WARS probably spends on bagels and cream cheese. We are grateful for any opportunity to get our film in front of people who may be interested.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We are certainly open to talking to anyone who would help us reach a wider audience. We are assuming at this point that self-distribution is the route we’re going, but we’re always willing to talk to partners about sales, distribution, etc. Journalists reviewing the movie would be hugely helpful as well to get the word out. The festival run has shown us that there are people for whom this story really resonates. Any help getting the movie in front of those people would be amazing.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Most importantly, I would love people to connect to the characters and story. The most important impact to me is always the emotional one rather than the practical or financial. If one person felt less alone because they watched SUNDOWN, it’s a victory. And if that person tells a friend, that’d be peachy too.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
“How many handjob jokes are too many? I mean, come on - Brendan. You don’t think handjobs are THAT funny, do you?” (Spoiler: I do.)
Would you like to add anything else?
I feel like I’ve monopolized the conversation already. How are you doing? Everything ok? You seem like you’re generally doing ok, but times are hard and I know you're good at putting on a brave face. Let’s get coffee. It’s been too long. How’s Tuesday for you?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are in pre-production for our next feature film. It’s called THE SYMPATHY CARD - it’s a lesbian romantic comedy about cancer. (Because dementia isn’t funny enough. We needed to give the lesbians cancer to get the real belly laughs going.) We have shot a few scenes as samples and are actively seeking funding partners.
Interview: December 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. 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
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SUNDOWN
A carefree gambler returns home to help his family deal with his father’s dementia and quickly learns being responsible is harder than he bet on.
Length: 96 min
Director: Brendan Boogie
Producer: Sally Northrop
Writer: Brendan Boogie
About the writer, director and producer: Brendan Boogie is an award winning writer and director, as well as actor, musician, and frequent taco consumer in the Boston area.
Sally Northrop is an independent film producer with credits including HEDGEHOG, FAT, and THE MAYOR OF ROCK & ROLL.
Key cast: Grayson Powell, Zele Avradopoulos, Paul Kandarian, Caitlin Graham, Ann Rizzo Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): buyers, distributors, journalists
Social media handles:
Facebook:
Twitter:@sundown_movie
Other: www.sundownfilm.com
Funders: Self funded
Made in association with:
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
We will be screening for members of the dementia and caregiver communities as well as different groups that are interested. Follow us on social media or go to www.sundownfilm.com for up to date details.