FILMMAKER Q&A – Joshua Mitchell – Director

GS: What was the inspiration for your film?

JM: Seeing and living through a broken school disciplinary system inspired us to create this film.

GS: When did you conceive the idea for your film and how long did it take before it was realized?

JM: Honestly, the creation process for this script only took us about two months.  And another month or so of rewrites before production began. 

GS: What was the most challenging aspect of working in a short film format?

JM: Wanting to tell a larger story.  Reading through the script and noticing that these characters had so much more to offer made it hard to minimize what we were creating.

GS: What was the most challenging aspect of your production?

JM: Losing actors during production was easily the hardest part of production.  Outside of that, the shot list for the circle was very hard to execute.

GS: Do you have any advice for first-time filmmakers?

JM: This was actually my first film also.  But the main thing I wish someone told me was “you just have to do it.”  It’s rarely ever going to go perfectly, but the only way to learn is to start.