Lady Filmmakers Film Festival / San Antonio Black Film Festival 2019 – Sound
Photographer Isabelle Pisano gets into a violent car accident and becomes hearing-impaired. As she struggles to cope something beautifully-terrifying happens.
Interview with Writer/Director Tawan Bazemore and Producer/Actor Crystal Porter- Bazemore
Watch Sound on Tubi
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
TB: As a filmmaker one of the most important things to have are your fingerprints on your work. I was hired to direct a feature film and though the film turned out to be decent it didn’t have my filmmaking identity. I knew I wanted to make a film that spoke to my style and one night, after taking a random ride up Angeles Crest Highway, I got the idea for Sound.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
TB: Sound is an immersive cinematic experience, in Dolby 5.1 surround that draws you into Isabelle’s (main character’s) world by using the sound design, created masterfully by Jeffery Alan Jones, as the antagonist. We took the time to craft this film to be aesthetically beautiful yet haunting and intense. The color palette is a careful selection of tones that evoke emotion at the right points of the film. Being a Colorist and Director I have a vast understanding of color science, Cinematography and compositing. Those are the tools I used to tell a story without dialogue, allowing the images to speak for themselves.
CPB: Starring in and producing Sound was a balancing act. The difficulty of creating the sounds that my character, Isabelle reacts to throughout the film was based on sheer imagination. I was reacting to silence. As Producer, I took what I imagined as the Actor and worked closely with the Director and Sound Designer to create my Antagonist, the sound based on my visual performance. It was a wonderfully creative process as an Actor & Producer.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
TB: I love exploring the depths of love, pain and mystery in all its complexities. In Sound there is the isolation of the main character. After her violent car accident and loss of hearing she struggles to cope and find her place in the world. This is true with a lot of people. Tragedy splinters. Some people never recover and those stories need to be told.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
TB: The original version of the screenplay didn’t have a car accident. I wrote Isabelle as a woman who was born deaf, that miraculously is able to hear. It was a good concept but I wanted something a little stronger. It wasn’t until the third draft that I added the car accident. This one addition changed the dynamics of the story in such a magnificent way. It became alive and relatable.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
TB: The film has been well-received by audiences and critics alike. We’ve won 27 awards and 34 nominations. However, there is a part of the film that a few people hoped was different. I can't say what part of the movie that is because I don’t want to ruin it for those who might see the film.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
TB: To be honest I am thoroughly shocked at how many people liken Sound to a Hitchcock thriller or Kubrick-esque. The other thing that I wasn’t aware of is how some view Sound as a horror. But it makes sense though. Not being able to escape the deafening of everything is horrifying.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
TB: I’d love for more people to see the film, especially in a theatrical environment with surround sound. Moreover, I am looking to expand my reach as a Director.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
TB:The audiences that have seen Sound loved it. So, we would love it if more festival directors would program our film, journalists would view and review the film and ultimately we’d like to attract distributors who may want to acquire Sound or Producers who might be interested in helping to produce the feature-length version.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
TB: More women producing! The way Crystal Produced this film and performed as an actress is not something that should be overlooked. We have won Best Produced Film-Short, Best Short, Best Mystery/Thriller and Best Concept of a Short and we are officially selected in Bafta Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival. It’s Crystal’s Producing and performance that played a major part in getting us there.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
TB: Why aren’t more women Producing?
Would you like to add anything else?
TB: Please check out website sound.cineopt.com for updates.
Follow us on social media:
Twitter: @tawanbazemore, Instagram: @tawanbazemore
Twitter: @cryspbazemore, Instagram: @cryspbazemore
Twitter: @soundmovie2019
Instagram: @soundmovie
Twitter: @jeffjonesmusic
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
TB: I am in Development on four feature films. We are planning to lens my next thriller A Pound of Flesh in a few months.
Crystal has written a comedy HBJ and a thriller Blood at the Root. She is the lead in the feature A Pound of Flesh.
Sound Designer Jeffery Alan Jones is slated for several projects and plans to score or provide sound design for my next feature.
Interview: October 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
Sound
Photographer Isabelle Pisano gets into a violent car accident and becomes hearing-impaired. As she struggles to cope something beautifully-terrifying happens.
Length: 14:48
Director: Tawan Bazemore
Producer: Crystal Porter-Bazemore
Writer: Tawan Bazemore
About the writer, director and producer:
A member of the Colorist Society International, TAWAN BAZEMORE is an award-winning Director, Cinematographer and Colorist. He has also written several screenplays, two of which were optioned. Bazemore resides in Los Angeles with his wife Crystal-Porter-Bazemore.
CRYSTAL PORTER-BAZEMORE is an Award Winning Actress & Producer from Atlanta, GA. Having worked in front of the camera on studio & indie films and network television, Porter-Bazemore brings a detailed eye to her work behind the lens as a Producer. Porter-Bazemore resides in Los Angeles with her husband and producing partner, Tawan Bazemore. She is a graduate of Hampton University and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Key cast: Crystal Porter-Bazemore (Isabelle Pisano)
Looking for: journalists, film festival directors, distributors, sales agents
Facebook: Sound
Instagram: @soundmovie
Hashtags used: #soundmovie2019, #soundmovie
Website: sound.cineopt.com
Other: IMDb
Funders: Self-Funded, Indiegogo
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? San Antonio Black Film Festival/San Antonio, Texas-October 12, 2019; Sanford International Film Festival/Sanford, Maine-October 18, 2019; Bafta Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival/York, UK-November 6-10 2019.