Suite101 sat down with David Spaltro who shared his experiences working with a limited budget on his first feature film that he self-financed with 40 credit cards and succeeded despite all obstacles.
Suite101: What was the best part of the entire production?
Spaltro: I love the collaboration in film, working with the different crew and cast members. It has the essence of family or summer camp when it really works well, and I think we had that on the set of "...Around". There's a kinetic energy that drives you, the exhaustion, laughter, and adrenaline behind banding together and doing things that shouldn't be achievable in the amount of time or for the amount of money we had.
The worst parts are that everything can go right, you can have people come together and make miracles but all it takes is one person to possibly sabotage, even unintentionally the whole game. I'd say the loneliness, exhaustion and pressure of the year of post-production from wrapping the film to having a real premiere in Tribeca a year later almost to the day and signing a deal with a sales agent was just a never-ending nightmare. It's you, fighting alone against the world and all the people you care about, while near to your heart are nowhere to be found and are unable to really reach out and help you. I felt the pressure on myself but also for them, to finish what they did and make sure it got a fair chance. It was important.
Suite101: After this experience, is there anything you would have done differently?
Spaltro: If possible I think I would have liked more time in post, even with the unintended year of it, more time that had less stress and freedom to play around with the film. I think for this particular story, being so personal and also a first time at putting together something so grand and of it's scope, I learned a lot that I will take with me on other projects. I'm such a non "woulda-coulda-shoulda" person that I don't dwell too much on those aspects. I always think about what I did and what I learned and what I'd do next time with something different. I think any filmmaker or artist, if given the opportunity would work and sculpt to infinity on their previous projects. Sometimes it's good to let it go and move on, and I'm at that stage with "...Around"
Suite101: Why do you think people have connected with your movie?
Spaltro: The loneliness and the inability to connect to a place or to the people in your life, but the strength to push-on and believe in the chance of a new day. To have faith no matter what. People have been relating to that universal quality in the film and calling it out in some glowing reviews, which is humbling but also something I'm very proud of. More than any financial pay check or award, to have people say "I loved your film, I related to it and it affected me". There's nothing better than that.
- Starring: Robert Evans, Molly Ryman, Marcel Torres, Ron Brice, Berenice Mosca
- Director-Writer-Producer: David Spaltro
- Running Time: 104 minutes
- Genre: Drama
Read more articles about "...Around" in: Advice For First Time Directors & Feature Film Funding With Credit Cards
