It's the last week of high school and socially and sexually awkward Melissa has just been ditched by her friends at a party and finds herself alone with her crush.

Interview with Writer/Director Mylissa Fitzsimmons

Watch That Party That One Night here:

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

The Bureau of Creative Works gave me a grant to do a micro budget short film. I had always wanted to do a coming of age film as I was heavily influenced by them growing up .

This is my little homage to John Hughes.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Coming of age films are universal as everyone has been a teenager or is a teenager at some point in their lives. But this film isn’t just about having crushes, it’s more about the feeling of starting your life and not knowing how that’s supposed to work.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

The film is pretty close to the original script. Allowing my memories of HS to inform me during the writing process I was able to capture some pretty authentic moments I thought.

That Party That One Night - Actress Melanie Neilan

What type of feedback have you received so far?

I’ve been incredibly grateful for all the kind words, reviews and festival screenings I’ve had.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

I was really shocked at how much this film resonated with men. Most of my comments have come from older men who told me that they had this experience and it was funny to relieve these moments. To me that was high praise as telling a film from a female point of view about boy crushes and parties I didn’t feel I was going to have men see through to the core of the story which is growing up in a small town and knowing there was more to life out there and you are about to find out

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

Any time a filmmaker has the opportunity to have more eyes on their film is a bonus.

That Party That One Night - (L) actress Melanie Neilan, (M) actor Evan Crooks, (R) director Mylissa Fitzsimmons

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

I'm happy if people just want to watch it and enjoy it.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I’d love for people to just look back on their high school experiences and laugh at how clueless we all were.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Do they kiss?

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Mylissa is currently in post with her short film Who Decides the winning script from Sun Valley Film Festivals 2017 short film lab.

When that is done she will immediately go into pre-prodction on a micro budget feature film to be shot in 2017.

Interview: August 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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That Party That One Night

It's the last week of high school and socially and sexually awkward Melissa has just been ditched by her friends at a party and finds herself alone with her crush.

Length:

14 min.

Director:

Mylissa Fitzsimmons

Producer:

Kristen Murtha

Allen Murray

Writer:

Mylissa Fitzsimmons

About the writer, director and producer:

Mylissa grew up in her early years in Moab, Utah where her back yard was a drive in
movie theater. It was there sitting on top of her trailer where she was first introduced to
movies. As a teenager in Oregon she would lie to concert promotors and bands saying she
was a photographer for the local newspapers. She would then sell the photos to her
classmates to make money to buy super 8 film so she could make skateboard videos. It
was in high school that a teacher introduced her to documentary filmmaking and she
transitioned from photography to filmmaking. After years of making documentaries she is
now transitioning to writing and directing narrative films. Her films include, Long Way
Home,My First Love,Mercy. She lives in Los Angeles, CA where she sometimes freelances
as an art curator but mostly she's working on the next project.

Featuring:

Melanie Neilan: Melissa

Evan Crooks: Cole

Christine Lekas: Meadow

Sterling Hoch: Matt

Anwar Mitchell: Brian

Crew:

Writer/Director: Mylissa Fitzsimmons

Producer: Kristen Murtha

Executive Producers: Allen Murray/The Bureau of Creative Works

DP: Pedro Avila

Editor: Jaffe Zinn

Key cast:

Evan Crooks: Cole

Melanie Neilan: Melissa

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):

Journalists/bloggers

Social media handles:

Website: www.mylissafitzsimmons

Twitter handle: MylissaFitz

Instagram: Mylissa Fitz

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ThatPartyThatOneNight/

Made in association with:

The Bureau of Creative Works

Actress Melanie Neilan: That Party That One Night