Maybe Next Time

Interview with Writer/Producer/Actor Kate Hackett

Watch The Long Dig here:

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I had wanted to work with our director for years and we just couldn't find the right project. He showed me a short story he wrote for a game company and I absolutely fell in love: the world was SO detailed, so rich, and the character was so strong while still being a real person... Women so rarely get the opportunity to play in that kind of sandbox; I knew I wanted in! We wrote it to act as a backdoor pilot that could also stand alone as a film and I think it worked!

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

If you like female-driven stories, you're probably not getting nearly the amount of content you want. If you like female-driven SCIFI stories? Good forking luck! I think we have a really special movie here -- there are pathos and story AND action, all in 15 minutes.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

We have a universal theme of wanting to find a home. Wanting to belong. Wanting to right wrongs in the face of some pretty catastrophic errors.

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

Of course! I think we started with the idea that we'd make a 5 minutes piece. It got a little longer as we realized that to flesh out this world we needed more real estate. We developed an incredible back story for Eve that we got to show in a hallucinogenic flashback and even created an entirely new character.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Very positive! I'm thrilled by how many people have praised our actors and have messaged me to say that they enjoyed the film.

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

I would love to find a great space for female-driven SciFi to flourish, a team that wants to make that happen, and future collaborative!

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

Absolutely all of the above! Sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists

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

Kate is currently working on gathering funds for a short, again female-driven, horror film. Ideally with a shoot date at the end of the year.

Interview: February 2020

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

The Long Dig

Maybe Next Time

Length: 15:10

Director: Tom Pike

Producer: Kate Hackett

Writer: Kate Hackett & Tom Pike

About the writer, director and producer:

KATE HACKETT has always been a writer: in elementary school, she wrote books — two of which ended up in the local branch of her county library. In middle school, she wrote plays for the local community theater. In college, she wrote dissertations to fulfill a history major and stories to fulfill her creativity. And after college, she realized that writing would be a powerful tool to move my career forward in the entertainment industry: Kate writes, acts, and produces, so she started writing sketch comedy. That gave way to a mammoth set of productions to create two feature-film-length seasons of Amazon’s Classic Alice, after which she returned to her sketch roots to create Not a Plan, also streaming on Amazon, and followed that up with a traditional sitcom pilot. Not content with so much comedy, Kate created The Long Dig, a SciFi dramatic short film. Kate is excited to continue to build worlds, shape characters, and create stories with a voice that is underrepresented in the industry.

Key cast: Kate Hackett, Sarah Cortez, Paul Todd, Graham Outerbridge, and Cliff Simon

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

Facebook: The Long Dig

Twitter: @TheLongDig

Instagram: @thelongdig

Hashtags used: #TheLongDig

Website: katehackett.com/blog

Other: YouTube

Made in association with: Electric Purple Studios

Funders: electricpurple.com

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Chicago Indie Film Fest March 20, Chicago; YouTube