IFS Film Festival - Entropy
A brilliant, but hermetic and hard-living woman discovers an anomalous cosmic force that projects the end of the universe to be a mere two weeks away. The terminal diagnosis for all existence compels her to confront her own fear and isolation, and leads her to pursue another woman who may offer the promise of salvation.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Gabriel Anderson
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! To be honest, there's really no point in my life where I've ever sought (or required) a reason why to make a film, as I tend to process all observations of both my life and the world outside it in cinematic terms. But if we expand the definition of "this film" to include the means by which we made it (small scale and fully self-funded, with no attempt to secure outside financing) and the method we're choosing to distribute it (on our own website www.entropycinema.com, open-source and with no required cost), that is a question I have spent a LOT of time considering.
In addition to concerns that are both practical (it's very difficult to get funding and/or distribution for a small, slow, somewhat-experimental feature that stars no known actors in 2017) and presumptuous to the point of self defeat (I am neither skilled in nor enthusiastic about marketing my creative pursuits), I ultimately decided that some of the film's thematic concerns - with the capitalist disintegration of the city of San Francisco consistently at the periphery of the larger, end-of-civilization narrative - made the DIY production approach more appropriate.
I had hopes that we could secure multiple festival screenings (and possibly have a shot at distribution from a smaller company), but when that failed to materialize, I decided that we would come up with a release plan in which we would book a few screenings in places where we knew people were interested (and fortunately, the Independent Filmmakers Showcase invited us to screen right around this time), followed by a custom-built website where we could host the film (via Vimeo) at no cost. This plan abandons any chance of recouping my financial investment, but I believe it will greatly maximize our ability to get the film in front of the widest possible audience.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I'm feeling extra candid today, so I'll start by saying that for a lot of members of the audience, there's likely no reason to watch it. It's a fairly internalized film about a misanthropic person facing a terminal diagnosis (one that happens to extend to all life in the universe), and we've taken some formal risks (such as a refusal to show the faces of anyone but our protagonist for a significant portion of the film) that will only further alienate people who aren't patient.
In addition to a few (I like to think it's only a few) moments where the film reveals its low budget, this is the main reason why I think we've struggled in film festival submissions; it's a movie that takes a lot out of the viewer, and that quality doesn't lend well to a scenario where people are attempting to watch 3-5 other films a day. That said - for people who are inclined to be patient with Entropy and give it time to develop (both formally and narratively), I think the patience is rewarded with a flawed, yet provocative, sensuous, and unique experience that can't be had anywhere else in cinema.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
In spite of this difficult surface (which I may or may not be overselling), I think the thematic concerns in Entropy are among the most universal that can be found anywhere in narrative. It's about a person who becomes suddenly aware of her own mortality (in the words of one of our supporting actors: "the moment where the monkey recognizes its own reflection and immediately understands it's going to die"), and has to examine her own choices and connections to the people around her.
It touches on the very concept of morality, and where it comes from; the film's plot leaves very little room for a divine presence, so our protagonist has to return to her most basic human state and learn how to help other people and consider what's best for them. She also has to search for the ability to love another person, and to figure out how to apply those same considerations in that way.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I began developing the character (in terms of personality) and setting (San Francisco) as far back as 2010; after being stumped for a couple years, I asked Jen (my wife, who is a brilliant writer as well as a science aficionado) to help me, and she suggested placing this character in an extinction scenario that they had to navigate alone. In researching end-of-universe theories, I came across The Big Rip (a fairly recent, not widely-accepted theory in which the universe's expansion accelerates into infinity until all matter has been reduced to the subatomic level), and thought that the use of grainy 16mm film would be an excellent and unique way to visualize it. Around this time (summer of 2012), I had the simultaneous fortune of viewing a Robert Bresson retrospective as well as working (a very short amount of time) on the Terrence Malick film Knight of Cups, and those experiences inspired both the formal direction of the film as well as the production style.
We completed one draft of the film then, in which the main character was a man named Nicholas; we were very excited about the story, but thought the character was a little bland; Jen suggested that we try the character as a woman, and several pronoun changes later, we had Nicole, and we dove into her psychology from there. After we cast Nic (her name being a coincidence), we developed the character further over the course of about 15 months, and by that point, the movie had basically found its form; aside from the film effects during the final 12 minutes and a few small lifts, the final cut sticks very closely to the shooting script (largely because it represents only one person's perspective, and the ticking-clock premise enforces a linear sequence of events).
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The first answer that comes to mind is "not enough". We've been rejected by 32 festivals so far (with, as is nearly universal, no explanation of why the film wasn't selected), and received "acceptances" to three. Two of those are online festivals that either nominated us for an award (Best Actress) or gave us a digital "certificate of merit", but did not show the film as part of their program; the latter sent us judge's notes at my request, but their criteria seems to have been entirely technical (which is to say, superficial), because the element they spent the most time discussing was the sound mix (and based on reading their general festival listings further, I think that's their chosen approach rather than a condemnation of our other qualities).
IFS is the only festival that is actually putting Entropy in front of an audience (for which I'm extremely grateful). Aside from that, we've really only shown the film once (a cast/crew/ friends screening that was by invite only, so as to preserve premiere status). The response was a bit muted at first, but I received a lot of positive comments from people (some of whom work in film, others who are film critics both professional and amateur) in the hours/days/weeks that followed, indicating that the questions we aimed to raise (and the stylistic choices we made to raise them) were largely successful. Some people have said that they struggled with understanding Nicole's motivations or decisions at times; that doesn't bother me so much, as I think it makes her a more rounded human being. Jen feels that many of the film's deeper thematic concerns were buried a bit too much and could have been developed further, which I ultimately agree with.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Well, I certainly didn't expect our cast and crew screening to elicit little applause, if only because that's usually the most loaded deck for roaring enthusiasm. But the conversations that followed have simply trained me on what to expect from an audience. Ultimately, I'm okay with a film that puts people in a weird place immediately but grows roots over time, as that's the best possible way for a film to have sustained life. Aside from that....one of our friends described the film as "cold" - which isn't a word that came to me initially, but I ultimately realized that it applies to everything we (particularly as an attempt at Bressonian precision and restraint) set out to accomplish.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
This is probably the most common response you get to this question, but I honestly just want people to see it. Ideally, people in Los Angeles, Denver or San Francisco come to see the live screenings, as I think it's a film that plays better in a big, dark, loud room. But even if they can't (or choose not to), we're making it incredibly easy to see it via our website at a very near date in the future (Friday 6/23, to be exact). All we need now is to make sure people are aware that it exists, and that seeing it is easy and (while I hate the rampant commodification that has consumed cinema since its inception) without financial risk. Any presence on any corner of the internet will only help that goal.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We (me, the other producers, and a trio of family/friends from Denver who have handled our artwork and social media) have handled everything in-house to this point, so "need" isn't the word I would use. I would certainly be grateful to any distributors or film festival personnel who want to put it in theaters or provide any opportunity for people to see it projected. Journalists would also be MUCH appreciated; one of the main, late-breaking drawbacks to handling our own distribution is that it's very difficult to get people interested in writing about it, as I've been advised that it's ethically dubious to approach writers to write about your low-profile movie that will be difficult to pitch to a traditional press outlet (because then the choice is either for the journalist to work for no payment, or for me to pay them for their work - neither of which are desirable). I'm trying to put feelers out to certain writers whose work I enjoy, but it has not been going well to this point.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Aside from people loving the film, discussing it with others, and hopefully getting the biggest possible audience of cinephiles to spend their 98 minutes watching Entropy (which is all I could ever want at this point), my hope is that the film creates enough of a stir that it boosts my own profile as a filmmaker (along with my producers and cinematographer), so that we can secure proper financing for our next project.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
I think the most critical question in getting people to engage with our movie is, "What would you do?" Each person's examination of how they would handle the knowledge (or even the belief) that the universe was nearing destruction - in the absence of evidence that other people have that info - is critical to empathizing with Nicole's journey.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Jen and I (co-writers; I'm the director) are in the earliest possible stages of writing our next screenplay; in the meantime, we continue in our day jobs (she at SpaceX, me at Warner Bros. Studios). Chris (producer) is the post production supervisor for Marvel Studios. Catalina (cinematographer/producer) just finished a stint in editorial on Lucy Walker's forthcoming documentary Buena Vista Social Club: Adios! and is currently searching for her next project.
Interview: May 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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Entropy
A brilliant, but hermetic and hard-living woman discovers an anomalous cosmic force that projects the end of the universe to be a mere two weeks away. The terminal diagnosis for all existence compels her to confront her own fear and isolation, and leads her to pursue another woman who may offer the promise of salvation.
Length: 98 minutes
Director: Gabriel Anderson
Producer: Gabriel Anderson, Jennifer Anderson, Catalina Ausin, Christopher Russell
Writer: Gabriel Anderson & Jennifer Anderson
About the writer, director and producer:
Gabriel: Colorado native turned Hollywood studio facilities director with an extracurricular filmmaking career, making his feature directorial debut.
Jennifer: Brilliant, artistic science enthusiast from Florida who has found a way to employ that passion for solving life's mysteries in both her career and creative pursuits.
Christopher: Charismatic and handsome lifelong Californian with ample experience dragging films across the finish line, who simply began that process early in development on Entropy.
Catalina: Fearless, vibrant, and well-traveled dual citizen of Mexico and the United States, who is also a formidably talented cinematographer whom Gabriel discovered via a Google search.
Key cast: Nicole Harbeck, Anny Rosario, Anthony George, Kyle Williams, Linda Beenau, Ryan Saxon
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists
Social media handles:
Facebook: @entropycinema
Twitter: @entropycinema
Instagram: @entropycinema
Funders: Gabriel Anderson
Where can I see it in the next month?
Beverly Hills, CA (IFS) - Thursday 5/11/17
Denver, CO - Tuesday 5/30/17
San Francisco, CA - Thursday 6/22/17
Digital Release (Vimeo stream plus bonus content via www.entropycinema.com) - Friday 6/23/17
Details on screenings (including ticketing links) currently available at www.entropycinema.com