Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
BN: I have always loved movies, but I have not always wanted to be a filmmaker. Growing up I thought maybe I would be a comedian, maybe a writer, I flirted with the idea of rocket physicist. When I got to high school I had settled on becoming a journalist. I had friends who expressed interest in film making; but they aimed their passion more towards the technical capabilities of modern cameras and special effects. I found what they talked about interesting, but not as a potential career path. What I always loved was storytelling. In my tenth grade English class my teacher assigned the class a group project to write, film and edit a short film. I blew off most of my other homework to focus on writing a script, that ended up being 30 pages long, about a high school student who wanted to beat up and humiliate a classmate in an underground fight club in order to steal his date to the prom. I thought the script was fantastic. It was okay. But I was so excited about the idea that I realized maybe I should try to be a screenwriter. This led to me deciding to go to CU Denver to study film. And, as I continued to brainstorm and work on movie ideas, I thought I might as well be the one to make the movies that I write.
Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
BN: I have always loved movies, but I have not always wanted to be a filmmaker. Growing up I thought maybe I would be a comedian, maybe a writer, I flirted with the idea of rocket physicist. When I got to high school I had settled on becoming a journalist. I had friends who expressed interest in film making; but they aimed their passion more towards the technical capabilities of modern cameras and special effects. I found what they talked about interesting, but not as a potential career path. What I always loved was storytelling. In my tenth grade English class my teacher assigned the class a group project to write, film and edit a short film. I blew off most of my other homework to focus on writing a script, that ended up being 30 pages long, about a high school student who wanted to beat up and humiliate a classmate in an underground fight club in order to steal his date to the prom. I thought the script was fantastic. It was okay. But I was so excited about the idea that I realized maybe I should try to be a screenwriter. This led to me deciding to go to CU Denver to study film. And, as I continued to brainstorm and work on movie ideas, I thought I might as well be the one to make the movies that I write.
Q: What else are you working on?
BN: Currently I am using my time off from school to develop a few scripts. I am working on a feature length script which I hope to produce the summer before my senior year. I am also writing/outlining four different short film scripts. One is a short version of the feature script. One is a short version of a feature script I will eventually write. All four are potential scripts for me to make in my sophomore production class, or independently, this fall or next summer.
Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
BN: I believe that in order to tell good stories a storyteller must experience the world and people around them. (That’s not weird, that’s just a way of me saying I like to/want to travel). I also grew up very outdoorsy, and have been a rock climber since high school. That is why after high school I took a gap year in which I worked, then lived in a van for six months to drive around the west coast and rock climb. It was a wonderful experience that has prepared me for the fact that I will probably have to live in a car when I eventually move to LA.
Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
BN: People can follow my Instagram: @benjamin.neufeld.photography. There I post pictures I have taken casually or professionally, and info/updates about my films.
Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
BN: I am extremely excited to be a part of the EFP. I have heard great things from my teachers at CU Denver. I am proud to be a part of the growing Denver film scene.
The Intern will screen during The Emerging Filmmakers Project on Thursday, August 15th at The Bug Theatre.
