Bentonville Film Festival 2019 – The Stars & Thunder
After a shocking diagnosis, Sam searches for fulfillment by reliving a high school dream-- singing.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Jesse Einstein
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you for featuring us! Jenna (who plays Sam/my co-writer) and I met last year at Bentonville Film Festival. We were fans of each other’s work so we started talking about collaborating on something. One of my dreams has to make great musical movies, and when I confessed that to Jenna, she immediately leaned forward and exclaimed, “You’re kidding! I’ve had an idea for a musical movie!”
It was Kismet.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you love great music, this is the film for you. With songs by Matt Hartke and Amanda on the Moon, plus scoring to tie everything together by Alexander Taylor, the music is indelible. Plus, if you’ve ever had a dream that you left unfulfilled, hopefully, this film will provide the catharsis you need to start pursuing that childhood dream again.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I’m fascinated with themes of life and death. They’re universal, yet intensely personal. We all experience life and death, yet most don’t talk about what it means to be alive or consider that everyone is constantly moving towards death. We wanted to explore these ideas through the narrative of a young woman finding out that her death is more imminent than she had imagined. Of course, the truth is that she always had a ticking clock—she just wasn’t forced to consider it prior to her diagnosis.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Of course, scripts always evolve throughout development, production, and post. We actually shot a much longer scene with Kara and Sam that lived earlier in the film, but thanks to our wonderful actresses, Jenna Laurenzo (Sam) and Della Saba (Kara), we didn’t end up needing the additional scene.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We’re just starting to show the film in public (Bentonville is our premiere!) so we haven’t received too much feedback externally at this point, but colleagues, friends, and family have responded very positively. One emotional response came from a friend who told me that his first girlfriend was diagnosed with an incurable disease when she was younger, and he appreciated that we were able to capture what the days post-diagnosis felt like in an unsensational, truthful, and ultimately cathartic way.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback so far has been very helpful in how we're thinking about the feature version of The Stars & Thunder: learning what about these themes spark people's emotions and interests. We know audience reactions to the short will continue to be helpful as we dive into the feature.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We love spreading the word about our films. With The Stars & Thunder, we want to amplify the message of taking risks to follow your dreams.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Anyone that is excited about the message of this film (or musical films in general) could be helpful by spreading the word, planning screenings of the film, or writing about The Stars & Thunder to bring our little film to a larger audience!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We’d like to be celebrated universally! No, but seriously, I love musicals that approach challenging ideas. I have a wishlist of musicals that I’d like to adapt. After we make the feature of The Stars & Thunder, I’d love to start tackling that list.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
If you’ve made it this far in the interview, take a second and ask yourself what you love doing more than anything else in the world. Now ask yourself: how often do I actually do the thing I love?
If the answer is, “not often”, it’s time to change something.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Jesse is about to release his last film, “On The Internet, Nobody Knows Who You Are” digitally. You can find out where to watch it on www.jesseeinstein.com. The last short he produced, The Matchmaker is currently playing on all Alaska Air flights. He’s currently in the deep south producing a feature documentary that will premiere next year. And he’s working with Jenna on the feature version of The Stars & Thunder.
Interview: May 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
The Stars & Thunder
After a shocking diagnosis, Sam searches for fulfillment by reliving a high school dream-- singing.
Length: 9:40
Director: Jesse Einstein
Producer: Christopher Tung
Writer: Jenna Laurenzo & Jesse Einstein
About the writer, director and producer:
JESSE EINSTEIN is a filmmaker & actor. He’s produced internationally distributed content for some cool companies. He’s also made a bunch of independent films. Check out his site here for more info: www.jesseeinstein.com
JENNA LAURENZO is the writer/director of the feature Lez Bomb, and the short film Girl Night Stand. She's currently developing her next feature. She is also working on a feature musical collaboration with Jesse Einstein.
CHRISTOPHER TUNG is a Los Angeles-based producer. Since 2015, Chris has worked at Netflix where he has helped grow the Original Film Division. He has travelled around the world, working with producers and financial controllers to help create Netflix’s global content. He is currently doing a six-month relocation in London for their international film initiative.
Key cast: Jenna Laurenzo (Sam), Matt Hartke (Charlie), Della Saba (Kara)
Looking for: film festival directors, journalists, distributors, buyers
Facebook: Jesse Einstein
Twitter: @jesseeinstein
Instagram: @jesseeinstein
Hashtags used: #TheStarsAndThunder #StarsAndThunder #TSAT
Website: jesseeinstein.com
Other: IMDb
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Bentonville Film Festival (Bentonville, AR) - Saturday May 11 at 3:15 pm