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Meet the Filmmaker: Ben Makinen, “Anthropocene”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
BM: I love filmmaking because it is lucid dreaming.

Q: What are we going to see at EFPalooza? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
BM: Anthropocene is a montage: footage shot throughout Colorado while making my documentarby Jazz Town (currently in post prod.). My intent was to have it serve as an interlude within Jazz Town, but by the time I finished editing it to the original music I wrote it had become too long for an interlude and begged to stand alone as a short.

Q: What else are you working on?
BM: I am also shooting music videos and behind the scenes docs for various bands in Denver and Boulder through my film company Bmakin Film. I also write and produce music: recently did the score for Kelly McAllister’s short Strong Tea. More at my website www.benmakinen.com
I also work and teach as a drummer: I play drums every Monday night at Elchapultepec and every 4th Thursday I lead a jazz jam session at the Bear Creek Distillery. Every 2nd Thursday I play at the Golden Moon Speakeasy in Golden w local blues legend David Booker…

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
BM: I am working on a feature length film titled JazzTown. I have interviewed Dianne Reeves , Ron Miles, Art Lande and (former) Gov. Hickenlooper among many other local luminaries…This project began as a way of honoring my mentors who gave me a start as a jazz drummer here in Denver back in the 80s. As I collected interviews from my elders I realized I could encompass a broader spirit of jazz by expanding the film to all ages of musicians and thereby capture the tradition of passing the torch from one generation to the next as a way of keeping jazz alive.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
BM: One weird thing about me is that I did Tai chi with Francis Ford Coppola on the set of the Outsiders in Tulsa Oklahoma while working as an extra. The wrap party was epic…

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about EFPalooza or The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
BM: I am thrilled to have been invited into the fold by EFP. I look forward to growing with the film community here in Denver and I hope to build new friendships through making film.

Anthropocene will screen Saturday, February 23rd at 6:00 p.m. at The Bug Theatre as part of the Experimental & Animated Shorts block during the 2019 EFPalooza Film Festival.