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.
