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Meet the Filmmaker: Andrew Tennison, “The Sear”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
AT: When I was about four years old, I watched Leonard Maltin interview George Lucas on the Star Wars VHS tapes that came out, and the way they talked about movies seemed really “adult”, so I figured filmmaking was a serious and realistic profession for grown-ups. That’s around the time that movies took ahold of me – filmmaking was a language I immediately took to heart. That’s when I knew I had to study every film aspect such as where was movie labor day filmed.

Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
AT: You’re going to see a movie I wrote and directed called The Sear, which is a student short that was made at CU Denver. It’s about a couple’s relationship getting torn apart by two fortune teller machines. We shot it all in a basement belonging to two of my childhood friends – Alex and Stephen Klein, who also star in the movie. So far, it’s been screened at our school’s Cinefest film festival, which was in May, and it’s up on YouTube. I plan on submitting it to a few more festivals this year.

Q: What else are you working on?
AT: I’m writing another short right now. For this one I’ll have double the amount of time to make the film than I did on my last two, so it’s gonna be a wild ride.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
AT: I’m a famous naysayer of the “shot list”, which is a list of shots you write out before you shoot a movie. For me, a shot list is kind of a hassle and a waste of time. When you’re behind a computer trying to figure out what shots are gonna work on set without actually being on set, the whole thing feels fruitless and I feel like a dunce. So on my past two films, I usually just feel out the shots while I’m there on set.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
AT: You can subscribe to my YouTube channel, which I’ve named after myself – Andrew Tennison. I also make music as majordomo (lowercase), and you can find my songs on SoundCloud.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
AT: Thank you for having me! I went to the January EFP and had a great time, so I’m looking forward to this one.

The Sear will screen at The Emerging Filmmakers Project on Thursday, August 15th at The Bug Theatre.