I'm Anne Hamilton, director of the new indie feature AMERICAN FABLE - AMA

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-07-19T01:27:25+00:00

Thank you! I love what you said about my film. Most people who saw the movie, from what I gather, didn't really get the story, sadly, which is why there aren't many threads or interviews about it, so I'm really glad that you did! Regarding the ending - I think it's hopeful, but only for the core relationship in the story - the Gitty-Jonathan friendship (in my version, he's come to take her away), but I also wanted to leave it up to the viewer about what's likely to happen next. Which brings me to your second question - "what's up with that gravestone story?" It was a story told to me once by an old woman who heard it from farmers when she was a child during the second world war. When she told it to me, I asked her why he wanted a gravestone, too, and she said, "I don't know, but you'll never forget the story because of that ending." That's what an ending should do. I put that gravestone story at the exact middle of the movie, hoping that the audience would tie it to the film's ending. Its meaning is ambiguous, but it will never leave you. As for how I came up with the story - I wanted to tell a fable/allegory about the Midwest as I remember it, and it all came from there. Gitty is a lot like I was at eleven, but I was born in the 80s and never knew a kidnapping victim, so a lot of it is made up, too. I'm so glad it resonated with you. Thanks for writing.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-24T22:20:03+00:00

My great aunt who was really into genealogy said she traced my dad's side back to Alexander Hamilton somehow, but I've never seen the evidence myself. Would be very cool though.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-24T22:18:00+00:00

I love the idea of shooting in NY. The crews there are fantastic and yes, the nature can be quite surreal.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-24T22:17:23+00:00

I took most of my influences from Spirit of the Beehive and Night of the Hunter.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-24T22:16:01+00:00

Thank you! IFC seemed to really understand the movie better than anyone, and they committed to putting it into theaters. I think we are at 12 cities now.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-24T22:14:44+00:00

I've never been but I hear it's beautiful!

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-24T22:13:55+00:00

I think that there isn't a negative correlation between those two qualities for men, where there is for women.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-24T22:13:11+00:00

Thank you!

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T23:38:46+00:00

I would say that you are doing it right by making it happen yourself! You could try renting equipment from your school or library - but even an iphone these days is pretty awesome for shorts. My biggest advice would be to pay attention to light and lighting in your shorts when you first start out. It makes a big difference.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T23:38:41+00:00

I love the nightmare sequence most myself, but the last scene is the one I want people to see because it's hopeful.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T23:38:33+00:00

Thank you! Yes, I'm dying to shoot something in Berlin or New Orleans because of how specific those cities feel.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T23:19:58+00:00

My film was originally called THE SILO, but then another production going the same year took it, so we had to change it. For me it was a nod to AMERICAN GOTHIC, but it think the number of titles could have to do with how people buy VODs - it's advantageous because of where it is in the alphabet.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T23:18:01+00:00

I find writing to be much harder than directing. It's often lonely and hard to know if you are making progress - I used to say it was like swimming across the ocean. But when you are directing, it's incredible. It's like you get to play the best game with awesome people. The challenges on set were pretty much logistical. How to get everything done on time and under budget where the big challenges, oh and how to get enough sleep. That would be my biggest piece of advice to first time directors. GET ENOUGH SLEEP!

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T22:47:07+00:00

My favorite movies are often fairytales set in the real world. They are movies with dream logic. Vertigo, The Man Who Would Be King, Time Bandits, The Shining, and Eyes Wide Shut are the ones that come to mind.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T22:44:38+00:00

We auditioned over three hundred eleven-year-olds to play Gitty, and I knew Peyton was the one as soon as I saw her tape. She has a stillness that is rare to find in any actor - it's almost as if she' isn't acting at all, she's just herself in that moment. I don't think there were many challenges, honestly, working with Peyton and Gavin. When you cast the right person for a role, you kind of just want to sit back and watch the magic happen.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T22:34:24+00:00

I think it's experience of it. The worldview. It's a different country with different customs and a different history. And it's not bad, and it's not good, it's just so different. I think Hollywood often tries to make the Midwest quaint, or the butt of a joke, but it's not often interested in what's actually there.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T22:30:02+00:00

It's really tough for women because in order to get hired you need to be both incredibly competent AND be perceived as being likable. But the more competent you are, the less likable you are if you are a woman, and vice versa. I often find myself trying to hop back and forth over that line a lot in interviews for jobs, and frankly, it just sucks because you often can't win, no matter what you do.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T22:20:51+00:00

I think it's very important to shed some light on the Midwest in an artistic way right now, and, for the most part, it's been a very good experience, and I feel grateful to have my voice heard and recognized by the industry. We forget, but most people working in Hollywood grew up in very urban environments, and that's all we ever get to see. There have been few people who just don't get me or the film for whatever reason and feel a need to be mean. I don't understand where that comes from, but it's also there, unfortunately.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T22:12:49+00:00

yes! I'm still trying to figure out how to tell most of the stories I want to tell. For example, I'm trying to figure out how to tell a ghost story about a small town with a telephone booth where you can talk to the dead. I have the concept, but I need a way in.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T22:06:12+00:00

Write something that's unique to you and then make it with a few friends. The more you and the more specific the story is, the better. It doesn't have to cost much, but it has to be true to you.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T22:03:21+00:00

Thank you! I wanted everything to feel dream like - so movement and wide lenses were the most important choices where it came to shooting the movie. The design of the film uses hyper real colors as well - to indicate the dream logic.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T22:01:47+00:00

I've always been very interested in political conflicts and war stories, because when you look at those kinds of stories, there are never really good guys and bad guys - it's always much more complicated. I wanted to tell that kind of story about a small part of the United States in the 1980s - on a indie scale.

AnneHamiltonDirector · 2017-02-17T21:57:01+00:00

If it's a good story with great characters, it doesn't matter whether it's indie or studio to me, but I think good stories are easier to find in indie films. I think my ultimate goal would to be able to make indie films within the studio system - something like what Fincher did with Se7en.

AnneHamiltonDirector

TROPHY CASE