Samuel Lodato – Remi Milligan: Lost Director

 

Many people enter the film industry through a family member or friend. In your case, how did you enter the film industry?

I didn’t have the fortune of knowing anyone in the film industry and I didn’t go to a dedicated film school as my parents couldn’t afford it – I took English Literature and Creative Writing at University instead. My entry point in the industry was through classes and events at Raindance. That’s where I made my first real contacts in the world of film. With each short film that I worked on my network expanded and opportunities started cropping up.

 

Why did you decide to make movies?

I fell deeply in love with film and the film-making process from a very young age and it has tormented me on a daily basis ever since! I can only explain it as an ‘urge to make films.’

 

Tell us about your project, why did you start it and how did it come about?

I first came up with the idea for Remi Milligan: Lost Director almost twenty years ago – which makes me sound older than I am! It was supposed to be a 3-minute short about an eccentric filmmaker. For some reason or other, that short never got made and the years passed. Then about 6 years ago I finally mustered the courage to commit myself to making my debut feature. I didn’t have much money at the time (still don’t haha) so I knew that if this film was going to be my calling card, I needed a premise from which I could yield high production values on a tiny budget. And that’s when I remembered about this idea that I’d had all those years ago.

 

Had you previously been in another project? How was your experience?

Before making my feature I’d worked on seven shorts. I wrote and directed four of those, co-directed one and acted as a location sound recordist and dialogue consultant respectively for the other two. All were wildly different experiences, but they don’t compare to the huge undertaking involved in making a feature film!

 

The best and the worst of this project is…

For me, the best part of this production was shooting scenes for one of the films that appears in Remi Milligan: Lost Director. That film was Killer Pencil: Curse of the Inanimate Objects – a paranormal horror b-movie we shot on VHS about a man who is stalked and terrorised by his own pencil, after it becomes possessed by a demon. The worst part of the production was having to navigate Covid/the pandemic as well as Brexit, because we had an international cast & crew – many of whom had to fly home to figure things out.

 

If you could go back in time, would you change anything about filming or pre-production?

We’d planned to shoot a particular scene that would have had considerable impact on the overall tone and mood of the film. Unfortunately, the actor involved in this scene had a scheduling conflict which would have meant shooting this scene 3-4 months later than planned. The production had suffered several delays already (mainly due to Covid and Brexit) so in the end we made the tough decision of scrapping the scene altogether. 

 

What do you expect from festivals for your project?

Good, clear communication is very important from the festival itself. In terms of what happens to my film at the festival – I’m not obsessed with winning awards (although it would be nice, don’t get me wrong). What matters most to me: audiences/viewers engaging with my film, the chance to make contacts and friends in the industry and having conversations that lead to potential distribution. 

 

Do you have experience in film festivals, how has your experience been?

I’ve never been to festival with a feature film before now. My festival experience has been with short films, and it’s been a mixed affair. One of my first shorts was screened at Raindance 2012 (out of competition) and that was cool. On the other hand, some of my shorts were selected and screened at festivals, without me knowing because the festival didn’t inform me at the time.

 

Many of the projects we receive are self-financed, without any producer behind them, which makes all the processes very difficult. Can you tell us what the pre-production process was? Did you do it, did they help you?

Remi Milligan: Lost Director is purely self-funded. I didn’t even try going to investors as I didn’t want to be indebted to anyone nor relinquish any creative control. And crowdfunding wasn’t an option as the premise of the film hinges on viewers believing that the events of the film really happened – meaning, there was no way I could truly ‘sell’ the idea to contributors without spoiling the whole point of the film. It took 4-5 years to raise enough money to start shooting, and then I had to continue pumping my own money into the film throughout production. I did all kinds of things to raise money: I sold my childhood videogames; I took on extra jobs; I saved a percentage of the monthly salary (from my day job); I took out loans; whenever I received gift cards for Christmas or my birthday I would convert these into cash by buying items then selling them on eBay. It was a lot of hard work. I made many sacrifices and tried to save every penny. I’d be remiss to not mention my wife, who donated to the project as well!

 

And your film preferences? What do you look at in a movie? Acting, direction, production, cinematography, soundtrack etc…

My eye tends to almost instinctively focus on shot composition first and foremost. But I try to do a comprehensive breakdown of any film I watch. From actor performances to musical score, dialogue, cinematography and more.

 

Your three favourite movies?
Very tough to choose three, but I would say: Taxi Driver, Blade Runner, and the Truman Show.

 

And your directors?
Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, and David Lynch.

 

Can you recommend us an independent movie that you wouldn't recommend to everyone?

Inland Empire by David Lynch. 

 

And the reason for this choice?

It’s an experience like no other. 

 

And to finish, tell us three movies that you hate but that most people like.

Hate is a strong word, but I dislike these franchises: Fast and the Furious, Twilight and the Hunger Games. 

 

Watch the official trailer of Remi Milligan: Lost Director https://vimeo.com/lodatostudios/lostdirectortrailer

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Official film website: https://lostdirectorfilm.com