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Meet the Filmmaker: Shannon Umetani, “One Fine Day”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
SU: I technically became a filmmaker awhile ago when I was in film school. Although I’ve worked in production ever since, I haven’t actually made anything of my own since school really. In the past year, Group Project was created by my sisters (Keiko Ozaki and Margaret Ozaki Graves) and me to work more on passion projects. My sisters inspire me with their incredible talents and we simply have fun creating together purely for the sake of creating.

Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
SU: “One Fine Day” is part opera music video, part anti-Asian hate PSA. It features the vocal talents of Margaret Ozaki Graves and was filmed at The Bug. It has not screened anywhere yet, so we’re excited to share it on the big screen. Our plans are to rack up more views on YouTube.

Q: What else are you working on?
SU: Aside from our day jobs, we aren’t currently in production on any other films at the moment, but we’re always talking about the next thing – another opera music video, an update to a documentary I made about Tibetan refugees in 2004, a narrative about how our interracial parents met or maybe even a podcast where we chat and commiserate about all being creatives.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
SU: Keiko spent over $150 on live butterflies, which completely blew the prop budget and necessitated an end-of-the film disclaimer. It was totally worth it though.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
SU: Groupprojectfilms.com

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
SU: Thank you very much for providing an outlet to screen our film. It’s never too late to re-emerge as a filmmaker.

One Fine Day will screen during The Emerging Filmmakers Project on Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at The Bug Theatre.

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Meet the Filmmakers: Tyler Borkowski and Trae Beneck, “Family Heirloom”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
T&T: We love film because there’s beauty in every aspect of creating stories, from the big scripted moments on-screen to the quiet moments behind the camera. It feels amazing to bring a team together to tell a story, and see how those voices come together.

Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
T&T: The film you’re about to see is called “Family Heirloom,” which is a short film that follows a family heirloom vase that acts as a silent observer to three generations of family trauma. The film exclusively centers itself on the vase and its immediate environment, and the audience eavesdrops on quiet moments that occur out-of-focus or outside the frame as we watch how these affect the family tree.

This film will be premiering for the first time at EFP! We’ve submitted it to a handful of other film festivals across the country and are hoping for it to be seen by as many people as possible because we believe its message is a very important one.

Q: What else are you working on?
T&T: Tyler Borkowski and Trae Beneck co-own a film production company based here in Denver called Wasteland of Wonder. WoW works with a wide array of clients on commercials, narrative shorts, documentaries, and brand development. The goal is to use the funds generated by the business to pursue passion projects and develop their portfolios so they can one day produce narrative film at the highest level.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
T&T: We’re a bunch of sellouts, and this our only passion project this year in a sea of corporate content. We justify it by telling ourselves that we’ll use the money from the commercials to fund the passion projects, but the truth of the matter is we really like money. Damn the corporate machine! Down with the man!

By the way, if you’re looking to hire us for your company’s advertising needs, please email us at wastelandofwonder@gmail.com! Long live capitalism!

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
T&T: www.wastelandofwonder.com is our production company’s website. It’s got our entire portfolio on it along with all of our contact info and socials!

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
T&T: EFP is so important for filmmakers in the Denver area because it can be such a disparagingly difficult place to gain experience. There’s a lot of commercial and reality TV work in Denver but as far as narrative work is concerned it’s a very limited market. EFP allows people making narrative-driven film a place to showcase their work and have it shared with other like-minded creatives in a fun and safe environment.

Family Heirloom will screen during The Emerging Filmmakers Project on Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at The Bug Theatre.

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Meet the Filmmaker: Cody Pape, “False Ego”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
CP: I am not sure I can call myself one yet but am working towards it everyday. I think about movies from when I wake up to when I fall asleep. I have become quite the cinephile over the last 10-12 years meaning with all the movies I have seen in that time, I believe there are still stories or versions of previously told stories that have not been told. My ultimate goal is to be able to make films fulltime in order to leave my current day job since I’ve been reacting to intolerance at the office negatively.

Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
CP: What you are going to see with “False Ego” is my first attempt at filming anything. I worked on a full length feature screenplay 3-4 years ago but never got close to finishing a first draft. During the pandemic, itching to get some sort of sense of accomplishment which was not happening bumping my head against the blank page, I decided to take a finished scene from said screenplay which I could produce myself with what I had at my disposal. The end of 2021, I put myself through my own film school and tried to teach myself the basics of each department within a production. After 2-3 months of locking the shooting script, shot listing, teaching myself about sound and how the hell to light a scene (which I may never know how), I casted two of my best friends as the leads and directed the scene in March of 2022. I then spent a month or two teaching myself post with the help of final cut tutorials on youtube. It should be noted that the scene is roughly 10-15 minutes into an unfinished screenplay. The False Ego short was purely a brief introduction into what all departments do for a film production and helped me figure out which one of the departments I might want to grab ahold of in the foreseeable future.

Q: What else are you working on?
CP: I am currently working on finishing a short screenplay about the current dating world for millenials. I hope to lock the script in early 2023 and direct it in the same year with the help of people I meet at the EFP!

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
CP: I couldn’t give you one specific thing. I think my existence and everything I do is weird. Ask one of my friends in attendance they could give you a better answer.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
CP: Nowhere yet! The False Ego is on youtube but it is still currently the only thing I have done. You can find me on instagram at c_pape19 or on twitter @cpape507 .

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
CP: I whole heartily appreciate what the EFP does every month. I have already met a couple people at the EFP that I wouldn’t have met any other way. I think I have the drive and knowledge to make great films. The one thing I learned from the False Ego process was that I can not do it alone. I am hoping the EFP can help me make the connections I need (specifically a very talented DP) to take my vision and ideas to the next level.

False Ego will screen during The Emerging Filmmakers Project on Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at The Bug Theatre.