\u201cDoes anyone want to film a movie in Serbia?\u201d<\/p>\n
When Rafal Sokolowski<\/a>, an associate professor in the University of Miami School of Communication\u2019s Department of Cinematic Arts<\/a>, posed the question to his class, saying a small grant was available, Jessica Bachman, leaped at the offer.<\/p>\n Bachman, originally from Venezuela and whose first language is Spanish, had no connection to Serbia or its culture, yet she pitched hard and lobbied with everything she could think of to secure the opportunity.<\/p>\n Bachman\u2019s film \u201cBlack Wedding\u201d was one of the eight \u201cBest of the Best\u201d student films screened at the LA Canes Film Showcase in Los Angeles on May 14. Filmed over just two days in Serbia, \u201cBlack Wedding\u201d featured top Serbian actors, as well as costumes and sets that reflected the film\u2019s early 1900s setting, and themed on a rare and ancient Serbian funeral ceremony in which a young (deceased) man is \u201cmarried\u201d to a fianc\u00e9 or friend to prevent his soul from wandering in the afterlife.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t the mightiest of grants, but we had the mightiest of spirit. We did the production in just a day and a half and had to fight against all the odds\u2014the weather, the budget, an actors\u2019 strike, everything\u2014to make it happen,\u201d said Bachman, who had a second film, \u201cMarry Rich and Often,\u201d selected for the showcase as well.<\/p>\n Bachman earned an undergraduate degree at Florida International University, then worked for five years before coming to the University for her M.F.A. degree in motion pictures<\/a>. She graduated this spring.<\/p>\n \u201cI never imagined I would make movies and didn\u2019t think I could do it when I first started,\u201d she explained. \u201cI\u2019m a self-taught editor, and I wanted real experience with VFX (visual effects), so I started making movies and people started liking them,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The LA Canes Film Showcase is an annual School of Communication event that takes the best student films\u2014this year, eight chosen from over 60 screened at the Canes Film Festival in Miami two weeks ago\u2014for a screening in Tinseltown. The event took place this year at Sony Studios in Culver City, a hub for the Los Angeles movie industry.<\/p>\n In addition to the showcase evening, attended by invited alumni and industry workers, the student filmmakers toured cinematic facilities\u2014this year, Lightstorm, a postproduction house known for its work on the \u201cAvatar\u201d films; Film Independent, which hosts and adjudicated the Film Independent Spirit Awards; Paramount Pictures; Dolby Theatre; and Company 3, a postproduction company that most recently worked on the biopic film \u201cMichael,\u201d explained Alfred Martin<\/a>, associate professor and department chair.<\/p>\n \u201cOn one hand, the showcase gives students a boost, such as their parents might say, \u2018You did a really good job,\u2019 but also more than a parent\u2019s accolades, the showcase provides external validation,\u201d Martin said. \u201cFor grad students in their second year, this external boost of confidence might be the impetus to take another look, maybe make some other edits before the final cut and sending their film out to film festivals\u2014where hopefully they get a little love.<\/p>\n \u201cBut what\u2019s really important,\u201d Martin highlighted, \u201cis that we all just sat together in a theater and watched eight films that were made by the best of human imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n Martin, who assumed coordination of the event two years ago, said he especially appreciated the distinctive points of view and that all the films, even those with the darkest of themes, included a dose of humor.<\/p>\n \u201cI loved that we saw eight very different films, that they were all diverse points of view for how our students see humanity\u2014and that they leaned into comedy,\u201d Martin noted, adding that, in addition to the screening, the associated tours and visits are meant to \u201ccultivate exposure, and a way to see the broadness of the Hollywood universe.\u201d<\/p>\n S\u00e9r Lance Walker, who also just graduated from the program, and Oana Martisca, an alumna of the program, teamed to write, direct, and produce \u201cLamar,\u201d the story of a boy trapped in the throes of cyclical inner-city poverty and violence, while offering a perspective on Black masculinity.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was my first time working with a child actor, and in this case, a child actor who had never acted in a narrative film. I knew the casting would make or break my film, so the pressure was around his fatigue factor\u2014and I think he did a beautiful job,\u201d Walker said. \u201cIt was really me pouring myself into these characters that helped convey what I wanted on the screen.\u201d<\/p>\n For the film, Walker explained that he drew from his own life growing up in Forrest City, Arkansas, a small city but one rife with violence, reflecting on his relationship with his own older brother and how he was impacted when a teenage neighbor was killed.<\/p>\n For \u201cLucky Fly,\u201d director Can Gumusgerdan adapted a script he had written, traveled with his producer, Tony Romeo, and a tiny crew to Japan\u2014a country he had visited as part of the University\u2019s film study program and fell in love with\u2014and located Japanese actors there to produce his film, all in Japanese.<\/p>\n Born in the United States but raised in Turkey, Gumusgerdan grew up making videos for YouTube and came to the United States to study\u2014as his father had done and encouraged him to do. He studied marketing as an undergraduate at FIU, then transferred to the University graduate program to pursue his love of film.<\/p>\n Gumusgerdan spoke only sketchy Japanese and parlayed with his producer and actors\u2014who spoke only Japanese\u2014to convey instructions and dialogue.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was all so guerrilla-style, back and forth, and I have the camera in my hands the whole time as the DP [director of photography],\u201d Gumusgerdan explained.<\/p>\n Both his lead actor and Walker\u2019s won best acting awards for the festival. Gumusgerdan\u2019s actress has won awards in other festivals, and he will travel back to Tokyo for a showcase there together with her.<\/p>\n