Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
EC: As a child, I was always fascinated by the filmmaking process; by the fact that a person could start with a simple idea and turn that idea into a script, and that script could be turned into an actual MOVIE. That fascination always stayed with me.
Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
EC: Natalie is a short film about bullying. It is being featured by the Miss High School America Pageant program as part of their B.R.A.V.E. initiative (Building Respect And Values for Everyone). It is currently being screened at schools across the United States.
Q: What else are you working on?
EC: I am currently finishing up Ryde, a short film that I made with Ryan Seamy featuring Ketrick “Jazz” Copeland and Joe Bocian. My feature film, Beware The Lake, a supernatural teen thriller featuring Jonathan Lipnicki and Anja Knebl will be in stores in December. And I am in pre-production on my next feature, My Own Sky, a drama that will go into production in the Spring of 2018.
Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
EC: The characters in my films are named after a certain theme. For example, all of the characters in Ryde are named after band members of Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave. Because I can.
Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
EC: You can find out more about me and my work at the woefully out-of-date www.chestnuttreefilms.net. I’m working on that!
Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
EC: The Emerging Filmmakers Project is like no other venue of its kind in the country, and Denver is very fortunate to have it. It is like the beating heart of the local filmmaking community.
Natalie will screen at The Emerging Filmmakers Project on Thursday, September 21st at The Bug Theatre.