My favorite
film at Cucalorus this year was a film called Applesauce by Onur Tukel. The film was
a well-written dark humor. The main character, played by writer/ director Onur,
reveals that he accidentally severed a man’s fingers in college. After sharing
his secret on a double-date, he gets a body part mailed to him. The body part
packages increase as more exposed secrets begin to unravel his relationships.
The film ends abruptly with the death of a friend and his girlfriend leaving
him for his best friend. I felt the film really excelled in the areas of
dialogue writing and acting. It felt remarkably natural for the situations that
the characters were put in – no matter how strange they were, it still looked
like it could really be happening. This is because of the inclusion of
improvisation and the flexibility Onur had with actors modifying his
dialogue. The only thing I didn't like about the film was that the ending sequences seemed rushed and didn't seem to fit within the world of the film. The odd circumstances that felt real for most of the film became very fake and suddenly lost their believability. I know you mentioned wanting to hear our personal experiences so I will add that I got to meet Onur a few times at the Jengo's after-parties, and it was really interesting. His personality was so exactly like the character he played in his film it was unreal. We talked for a bit in line for drinks (a line which happened to be around 40 minutes long). After a few minutes I tactfully offered to just get him the drink so he could mingle with more interesting and experienced filmmakers (I think I actually said this), since I was waiting anyway. He seemed relieved, left the line and lit up a cigarette, and I felt I was finally prepared for the industry slow climb I've been promised retrieving drinks and begging for jobs as a PA. I was really impressed as well by the Union Station theater at Cape Fear. Their new facilities are incredible, and I've heard their film program recently acquired a bunch of new film equipment. I noticed that film venues at Cucalorus seemed to each get a certain type of programming. For example Union Station got the most popular films, Jengo's playhouse was mostly local/ shorts/ performances, while the theater at level 9 showed very indie, almost experimental productions. I wonder if this is a result of projected audience sizes or if there are other, deeper reasons that go into venue selection.
I was lucky enough to also make it to see the films Tag, Men & Chicken, Stinking Heaven, the works in progress block that Walkerworld showed at, and the 10x10 Screening.
I also made it to the Tek Mountain Gathering, Visual Sound Walls, the Midnight Brunch, the Emcee Showcase, and the Closing Karaoke Party. I got to participate in the 10x10 challenge, which paired 10 filmmaking teams with 10 businesses. I know you asked for two screening reflections, but my 10x10 experience really made up the most of my time at Cucalorus. It was a whirlwhind, from being paired with two filmmakers I never met before, to being in a 15 person meeting with the Wilmington Jewish Film festival only minutes later. In that meeting we did everything from creating a marketing plan to conceptualizing our film, to actually writing out the script, scheduling interviews and shoots and exchanging contact info. We only had 4 days to deliver the product, but we had two shoot days and no time to get UNCW FST equipment or talk with locations beforehand. During the meeting, there were so many ideas and people we had never met that I actually suggested our film group leave for 10 minutes while the festival staff brainstormed important people to invite to a mock screening shoot. We briefly got to know each other and agree upon a concept with just the three of us, so that when we returned to the meeting we had a shared vision and knew what it would take to get us there. It was an incredible experience, and it allowed us all to have Pegasorus passes, so whenever I wasn't working on our 10x10, I was watching films and mingling at Cucalorus. I've included our video below if you're interested in watching! I had a great experience overall at Cucalorus, and I hope I can be this involved in it next year as well. I think I had a really unique experience, with getting a film I was a DP on into the program and being able to show this as well, it was just really different and fun for me.
Speaking of which, the screening went really well. It was fascinating to see how people responded to the Walkerworld documentary so much. Even though there were filmmakers from a few works in progress who had created really incredible films, all the questions that were asked were about Walkerworld. A lot of that was likely because Allen Walker and his family was present, but I also think there is something about Walkerworld that really resonates with creative people. I hope the film is able to successfully capture that essence, because I resonate with it as well. Talking about his ex-wife Allen says "I think relationships really have a duration, and we long outlived ours." This sums up his philosophy so well to me. Every relationship has a duration, but we don't like to think this way, as relationship driven creatures. Whether it's due to death or for some other reason, two people can't stay together forever. Allen's philosophy is so powerful because he doesn't think this should be a sad thing. He recognizes that spending years with someone is actually an accomplishment, and that it's something to be prized, not devalued. People put so much pressure on relationships that don't work, trying to force them to last forever, that they waste time being happy. Instead, you should be able to look at a past relationship as a great memory, as an accomplishment. There's something very freeing about accepting that no relationship is forever, and that you should spend your time with those that make you happiest while you are both happy. This lesson is so hard for people to learn, weather it is with friends or romantic relationships. It may feel like you've wasted time if you give up on a relationship, but really the only time you waste is the time you accept being unhappy with someone. While charismatic and fun, Allen is also a deep person that is skilled in self-reflection and can confront you with what you need to hear, in any department of life. He has helped me to adjust my own philosophies, and become much more mature in the process. Allen inspired me to do a lot of things that were out of my comfort zone, and he doesn't even know most of them. For one, I got a real upright piano from craigslist (for free) and got it tuned (for $120) and have been pursuing my dream of learning music theory and piano. Since then I've been watching music theory videos and recording more than ever by myself and with friends. Allen also helped me overcome my fear of entering the real world and graduating UNCW. He is living proof that if you do what makes you happy, and dedicate yourself to it without holding back, you can achieve it. That's probably the hardest lesson for anyone to learn. We're full of fear, from failure, not being enough, someone not liking what we create, not being successful enough, not having enough money, to not being happy. We're so afraid that we take the safe route, and live unfulfilling, normal lives. I've learned that even something small, like getting a piano and learning how to play it, can be the most motivating and door-opening experience ever. The film industry is a rough place to seek a career, and I am severely under qualified. But I'm not letting that stop me from getting the experience I need to get a job in my field and achieving my goals.
I also made it to the Tek Mountain Gathering, Visual Sound Walls, the Midnight Brunch, the Emcee Showcase, and the Closing Karaoke Party. I got to participate in the 10x10 challenge, which paired 10 filmmaking teams with 10 businesses. I know you asked for two screening reflections, but my 10x10 experience really made up the most of my time at Cucalorus. It was a whirlwhind, from being paired with two filmmakers I never met before, to being in a 15 person meeting with the Wilmington Jewish Film festival only minutes later. In that meeting we did everything from creating a marketing plan to conceptualizing our film, to actually writing out the script, scheduling interviews and shoots and exchanging contact info. We only had 4 days to deliver the product, but we had two shoot days and no time to get UNCW FST equipment or talk with locations beforehand. During the meeting, there were so many ideas and people we had never met that I actually suggested our film group leave for 10 minutes while the festival staff brainstormed important people to invite to a mock screening shoot. We briefly got to know each other and agree upon a concept with just the three of us, so that when we returned to the meeting we had a shared vision and knew what it would take to get us there. It was an incredible experience, and it allowed us all to have Pegasorus passes, so whenever I wasn't working on our 10x10, I was watching films and mingling at Cucalorus. I've included our video below if you're interested in watching! I had a great experience overall at Cucalorus, and I hope I can be this involved in it next year as well. I think I had a really unique experience, with getting a film I was a DP on into the program and being able to show this as well, it was just really different and fun for me.
Speaking of which, the screening went really well. It was fascinating to see how people responded to the Walkerworld documentary so much. Even though there were filmmakers from a few works in progress who had created really incredible films, all the questions that were asked were about Walkerworld. A lot of that was likely because Allen Walker and his family was present, but I also think there is something about Walkerworld that really resonates with creative people. I hope the film is able to successfully capture that essence, because I resonate with it as well. Talking about his ex-wife Allen says "I think relationships really have a duration, and we long outlived ours." This sums up his philosophy so well to me. Every relationship has a duration, but we don't like to think this way, as relationship driven creatures. Whether it's due to death or for some other reason, two people can't stay together forever. Allen's philosophy is so powerful because he doesn't think this should be a sad thing. He recognizes that spending years with someone is actually an accomplishment, and that it's something to be prized, not devalued. People put so much pressure on relationships that don't work, trying to force them to last forever, that they waste time being happy. Instead, you should be able to look at a past relationship as a great memory, as an accomplishment. There's something very freeing about accepting that no relationship is forever, and that you should spend your time with those that make you happiest while you are both happy. This lesson is so hard for people to learn, weather it is with friends or romantic relationships. It may feel like you've wasted time if you give up on a relationship, but really the only time you waste is the time you accept being unhappy with someone. While charismatic and fun, Allen is also a deep person that is skilled in self-reflection and can confront you with what you need to hear, in any department of life. He has helped me to adjust my own philosophies, and become much more mature in the process. Allen inspired me to do a lot of things that were out of my comfort zone, and he doesn't even know most of them. For one, I got a real upright piano from craigslist (for free) and got it tuned (for $120) and have been pursuing my dream of learning music theory and piano. Since then I've been watching music theory videos and recording more than ever by myself and with friends. Allen also helped me overcome my fear of entering the real world and graduating UNCW. He is living proof that if you do what makes you happy, and dedicate yourself to it without holding back, you can achieve it. That's probably the hardest lesson for anyone to learn. We're full of fear, from failure, not being enough, someone not liking what we create, not being successful enough, not having enough money, to not being happy. We're so afraid that we take the safe route, and live unfulfilling, normal lives. I've learned that even something small, like getting a piano and learning how to play it, can be the most motivating and door-opening experience ever. The film industry is a rough place to seek a career, and I am severely under qualified. But I'm not letting that stop me from getting the experience I need to get a job in my field and achieving my goals.
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