Art is in the eye of the beholder…or of the ear…or of the mind.

Artists of ALL mediums and talents are welcome here under The Spotlight.

 

August Aguilar 

Film Director

Bio:

I am the Director of Strange Films, a multi-media production company that produces films, comic books, music, and art. I have built a shared universe of stories, following something similar to the Marvel formula of storytelling.

 

 

Give us an overview of what you are working on (or have worked on/written/produced): 

Most recently, I finished my short film “Pandora” that actually was a competition film where we had two weeks to write, shoot, and edit a film. The film won three awards including Best Director. Up next we will be in Philadelphia working on our final film in our “CENTER CITY” series: “CENTER CITY 2”.

Pandora (Short Film)

 

 

What is your method – or – how do you go about producing your screenplays/where do you find actors/talent? 

My methods are pretty consistent as far as producing a film. It usually starts with an idea, bounce it around and then write it out. Once the story is clear and the inspiration is set, I seek actors mostly through Facebook groups for filmmakers and acting talents. I’ll usually communicate through email and check on reels/resumes, and then make my decision to cast.

Then its on to location scouting and then finally production! Overall, the anticipation of it all is the most stressful, but when on set with people I tend to have a very relaxed directing approach. I let my talent run with the script and characters as seem fit to the vision, and we really just have a lot of fun making it.

 

 

What is your biggest frustration with the current film industry? 

The biggest frustration in the film industry is most people tend to set standards of what a “good” film is. I believe mostly from my experience in film festivals and other screenings, that most people who watch these films are more inclined to give recognition to the films who have very high budgets but often lack a personality or core value to the story, versus a film that may be on a lower or no budget situation and may not look the prettiest, but has a really in depth story behind it. I believe we should give more props to the underdogs out there.

 

 

Do you believe that someone has to live in NY or LA to be successful in the business? Why or why not? 

In today’s day and age, I think it’s absolutely not necessary to live somewhere like LA or NY to be successful. First, success is what you make it. You can literally be successful in any way you seem fit if you put the work into it and are happy with the accomplishments that you’ve made.

Secondly, I believe though those cities are glamorous, they are a bit overrated and way too expensive. A lot of this stuff is about who you know and how you get your vision out there. I believe everyone has the capability of finding that kind of success in their hometown or place of residency if they are talented and push far enough.

 

 

What are your 3 top films that you enjoy and why?

My top 3 films would have to be:

“It’s A Wonderful Life” Directed by Frank Capra

“Taxi Driver” Directed by Martin Scorsese 

“The Dark Knight” Directed by Christopher Nolan 

 

Nolan and Scorsese are in my top 5 list of Directors. “Taxi Driver” is such a gritty and personal story behind Robert De Niro’s character, it’s a really powerful and fun film. “The Dark Knight” really humanizes such a fictional world that any fan of Batman is used to, there’s a lot of symbolism at play and it keeps things very grounded. Plus the amazing performances by Heath Ledger and Christian Bale. Finally, “It’s A Wonderful Life” is just a beautiful story that I watch every year on Christmas Eve to remind myself of my blessings, family, and friends in my life. That film makes me feel very humble.

 

 

 

 

Add anything else you would like to share with us.

Strange Films is all about connecting and finding our audiences. I encourage anybody to check out our work, reach out to us, listen to our podcasts, or even read one of our comic books. Supporting independent cinema is one of the best things we can do for creators so we are just always looking to invite new friends to our films and help others while we can.

Lastly as a side note, we do have a Kickstarter campaign going on that is making our second comic book come to life. If you would be interested in being a part of creating a comic and scoring some Strange Films goodies, here is the link!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1598461524/passenger-horror-comic-book

https://www.strangefilmsstudios.com/

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Kevin Conlin

Visual Artist – Wood Worker

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Angel Rosa

Give us an overview of what you are working on (or have worked on/written/produced): 

My first film festival success was a really well-received allegorical drama, Only Moments. That was more of an art house film. My first real breakout film, as far as public reaction, was a horror short titled, Laundromat*. That was shot in one night at a local laundromat in Danbury, and even I think it’s creepy as hell. Laundromat has been featured on a couple of international horror film websites and screened at various film festivals. It was most recently featured as the 2019 season premiere episode of a horror anthology webseries, A Slice Of Fright.

In 2018, we released our short suspense thriller, Samuel’s Got A Sweet Tooth, which has gone on to achieve some pretty remarkable success on the international film festival circuit, earning us a litany of awards along the way. That’s a pretty impressive feat for a short that comes in at a running time of just 4 minutes and 52 seconds. We refer to the project as “the little film that could.”

Right now we’re in post-production on a short drama, Two Sneakers in a Bucket, that touches on the sensitive topic of aging and assisted suicide. That is geared up for an early fall release, and we’re going directly to the festival circuit with this one. The film is based on an original script written by a wonderfully talented first time screenwriter, George Barnett, and it has some very powerful and profoundly touching scenes. Adding my own directorial flair to the storyline gives it an added air of mystery with a slight hint of suspense as well. I expect more great things for this one.

Our next project is a horror thriller, Let’s Do Things That Make Us Happy, which contains some elements of abstract imagery mixed with an increasingly foreboding sense of urgency. You could almost say it’s a slasher film, from an entirely different perspective. We’re very psyched about all of these projects.

What is your method – or – how do you go about producing your screenplays/where do you find actors/talent? 

My method? In a word: Madness. I’m joking, of course, but only kind of, sort of. Creativity is a dynamic art form for me. I personally never feel comfortable settling on a fixed destination way ahead of time. To me this only serves to lock the artist—writer, filmmaker, whatever—into a specific path that he or she then feels compelled to take in order to get to and justify this climax they’ve thought so long and hard about. I understand that very process is what most artists employ, and often with great success. It’s just something I prefer to avoid.

I’m not saying I go into production on a film without a finished script, but when I’m on location, and we’ve got the actors and the whole crew there and ready to rock, I might realize halfway through a proposed scene or shot sequence that this, or that, would look way cooler, sound more logical from a character, or more importantly, would add further depth to the story. So I’ll be on set, I’ll see the setup, the lighting configuration or the camera placement and I’ll start envisioning every possible combination of scenarios.

It’s a weird process that reminds me of that one character from Men In Black 3, I think it was. There’s this hat-wearing alien dude, ‘Griffin’, played by the wonderful actor Michael Stuhlbarg, who’s at this party talking to Will Smith’s character. As Griffin is engaging in small talk, or trying to, he’s going over the probability of any number of possible scenarios about to unfold at any minute. He’s not imagining these scenarios, he’s actually seeing them unfold in his head because he’s able to see parallel timelines overlapping. Though he’s uncertain as to what outcome will take place in the universe he’s in at the moment. That’s me on set sometimes. It’s not all that often, but yes, there are times where I stand there, surrounded by my people, and I’m working it all out in my head. Like, “Crap. I think it might look or work better this or that way, instead of what we originally planned.” I want what’s best for the ultimate outcome. Not necessarily what’s most expedient or convenient for anyone else.

Anyone reading this who works for big Hollywood might giggle a bit at that whole idea, but trust me, it’s a nervous laughter. Unless you’re a high profile director who’s already made them a shit-ton of money, and/or strike a super sweet deal with a studio, in Hollywood you have almost zero real input into the filming schedule, or least of all the final cut of the film. Working under such a microscope, with studio executives breathing down your neck, and the financial bottom line at the forefront of their every thought, you don’t have the same kind of latitude that indie filmmakers tend to have. If we get a shot in one take—magnificent. If it takes 12 or 20, yeah, that’s going to happen too. As needed. Though realistically speaking, the latter scenario is a rarity for me. We try to get it right within the first 3 to 4 takes.

What is your biggest frustration with the current film industry? 

My biggest gripe with Hollywood over the last couple of decades, really, is the state of reboot purgatory we find ourselves trapped in. I have never really understood Hollywood’s fascination with remakes, sequels, and prequels. For some of the popular franchises, the 007 films, etc., okay, maybe I get that. These aren’t meant to be one-offs. The audience wants more stories tied into a particular universe or cast of characters. This might arguably be less pure laziness and more good old fashioned American capitalism at work; mindless money grabs. But the constant remakes of old classics, or the reboots of long dead franchises, or what was once a shitty cartoon in the 80s now being made into a gazillion dollar film directed by Michael Bay—that is indicative of a serious case of creative famine currently plaguing Hollywood. They’ve run out of ideas, or at least forgot how to go out and find the right people who have them. They’re out there, believe me, in great abundance. *coughs* Call me…

Do you believe that someone has to live in NY or LA to be successful in the business? Why or why not? 

Speaking of “the right people”,  it’s a perfect seque into this next question. No, I don’t believe that someone has to live in New York or L.A. to be successful in the film business. The rise of the truly independent filmmaker in America gives clear testimony that one doesn’t have to surrender to the delusion of packing their bags and moving to Hollywood in order to become a success. Movies are being made everywhere. In my experience, it’s more about one’s own capacity to hustle; to get out there and rub elbows and network with the right sorts of people. The actor, screenwriter, filmmaker, etc. who believes that he or she is going to make it on their talent alone is absolutely fooling themselves, and in turn inflicting a great deal of harm on their chances of success by taking on an attitude that they can just wait around to be ‘discovered’. No, you need to get your ass out there, and make people discover you. But you don’t need New York or Los Angeles for that, you need you.

What are your 3 top films that you enjoy and why?

Let me start by going on the record as playfully objecting to this question. Not because it’s a bad question in any way. In fact, it’s a great question. Just one that always makes me feel compelled to narrow down my love for films to two or three all-time favorites. Citizen Kane, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, there are so many. It is very difficult, if not impossible, as a cinema lover to settle on just a few films that stand out to me, but I will say from a point of view of influence, the films of Stanley Kubrick have had a tremendous impact on me. 2001: A Space Odyssey remains unparalleled to this day. As far as its use of abstract storytelling, blended with its remarkable ‘spatial cognition’, if that term doesn’t sound pretentious AF.

Kubrick uses the spaces he films in as essential elements of the story, not just as incidental backgrounds. The vastness of that primal desert terrain on which the early hominid species are forced to contend with the various perils of nature, also underscoring how much ‘space’ there was—yet the ape creatures still managed to wage war with one another over turf and resources. Some things never change. Though in all honestly, if there’s one film that first made me go, “Holy shit. I want to do THAT!” it has to be Star Wars. It’s well beyond cliche to say that, I know, but it’s a reality nonetheless. As a boy, I would grab my mother’s clothes pins and just lie there on the carpet, with one eye closed to simulate the POV of a camera, and turn each clothes pin into flying vessels—imperial and rebel forces clashing in this impossibly loud ‘vacuum’ of space. Sound effects provided by yours truly. LOL

Add anything else you would like to share with us.

Get up. Get out. Make movies. Write scripts. Pen novels. Sing. Dance. Paint. Don’t just follow your dreams, grab them by the neck and put them in a headlock until they surrender unconditionally to your will. 🙂

 

*Link to Laundromat (Where was she): https://vimeo.com/109978213

(WARNING: VIOLENCE/NOISE)

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Nora Zaring

Visual Artist

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Tony Cade:

Visual Artist

What medium(s) do you work in and why?  

Oil, acrylic, watercolors,colored pencil,sculpture. Either they’re handy at the time or it’s just what floated my boat

Is this how you make your living?

I wish.

What message(s) do you try to convey/express through your work, if any?  

Not really a message. Just like to do art.

What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of selling your work?

Getting someone to buy it.

Do you have a studio/upcoming shows where people can find your work?

No. Not really.

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Joann Goetzinger:

Visual Artist

 

Bio:

Music education was my main study in undergraduate school at Illinois Wesleyan. I studied vocal performance at the American Conservatory of Music and taught voice at Illinois Wesleyan and Illinois State for some time. I worked also at the library at Illinois State.

I became interested in the visual arts, studied at Illinois State and received an MFA in art there in 1988. Since then I have been working in metal working, sculpture and painting. My interests are many. Cooking and gardening are my favorite hobbies.

My jobs have been an interesting variety also. I have worked in a canning factory as a corn taster, as a waitress, in a factory making washing machine coils, working in a music store and a store selling cooking supplies, in a bookstore as an order clerk, working in a laundry, working as a nanny and cook, teaching voice, piano, choral music and metal working. I also sang two years with the Norman Luboff touring choir. In April 2008, Martha Burk and I started Main Gallery 404 in downtown Bloomington and owned it until 2013.

Needless to say, I am never bored.