On Campus News

Erin Sanger, a recent graduate from Tisch School of Visual Arts, discusses her thesis film �Bombshell�, which won first place at this year�s First Run Film Festival. She talks about inspiration for the film and the casting of it as well as the way the main character evolved and adapted when the part was cast.

Can you tell me a little about the film and what made it a story you wanted to tell?
"Bombshell" follows a group of suburban kids who become complicit in a hate crime over the evening of the Fourth of July, and how their actions affect themselves and their relationships to one another. I knew I wanted to tell a coming of age story that examined issues of gender and sexuality in contemporary America so I pulled from both personal experience and research to compile the first draft of the screenplay.

The film's main character is a ten year old little girl. How did you choose the actress for the part and how did you find directing a child a different from directing adults?
I originally tried to cast the film myself but found the process extremely difficult as the content of the script was controversial and many parents didn't take a student film seriously. I ended up sending a request to the Casting Society of America, who forwarded the script to several casting directors. The ones we used, Lewis and Fox casting, took an interest in the project after reading the script and offered to cast it for us. This was one of the most important moments in pre-production for us, as they found basically the entirety of our cast, including Sofi, who played the protagonist, and was truly incredible in the part. In terms of how directing children is different, I found I could result direct the kids, which I wouldn't do with adults. By result direct, I mean tell them the result I want them to achieve - i.e. "happy," "sad", etc. I've oftentimes found that adults will give inorganic performances with such directions, but kids on the other hand don't intellectualize these emotions, and could achieve a performance I wanted from such basic directions.

Looking back at the filming process and you initial plans for Bomshell do you feel it turned out as you expected? And what aspect of it do you think turned out the best and why?
My original concept of the protagonist, Daisy, was much more rambunctious and innocent than how Sofi ended up playing her. Sofi infused Daisy with such quiet wisdom beyond the years of her character. I really think this turned out to be one of the strongest aspects of the film - her performance. She's so incredibly compelling to watch on screen, in her moments of action, but even more so in her moments of silence. I'm so grateful we cast her, she elevated the character to a level of complexity I had never anticipated.

You received first place at the Wasserman Awards for the film Bomshell. How did you decide to submit the film to the awards and what did you learn from the experience?
There was really no dilemma in terms of submitting the film to First Run. Basically, if you're film is done by the deadline, you submit because there's absolutely no reason not to. There was a vast amount of such strong work I was so honored to be featured along with.

What are you future filmmaking plans?
I'm about to relocate from Brooklyn to D.C. to direct my first documentary. I have been working on a feature script for some time now and hope to either direct or sell it afterwards. Otherwise, I'll either put the Wasserman award money towards my next project or to trying the expat thing in Europe for a while.





Resources:

Official Site