“CLARE is a short proof of concept for an upcoming feature film I’ll be directing. I don’t want to give too much away, but the short is essentially about an emotionally vulnerable teenager’s inappropriate relationship with her high school teacher and her teacher’s husband. It’s also a comedy.” Filmmaker Lauren Minnerath on CLARE which screens at SxSW 2022.
I hear you are back! Tell me about your previous experience here at the festival and what you showed.
I attended SXSW several years ago as an editor for a short called MUTT. Between the parties, food and screenings I had a total blast. There’s a palpable electricity in the air when SXSW is happening and I’m so excited to be a part of the festival’s first in-person event in two years. I met people at my last SXSW who I’m still good friends with today, so I’m looking forward to that feeling of discovery and community once again.
How did you first hear about SxSW and wishing to send your project into the festival?
SXSW is a household name at this point so I’ve known of it for a while. I can’t put my finger on why, but my film just felt like a SXSW film, so my goal was for it to premiere in-person here.
Tell me about the idea behind CLARE and getting it made!
A few years ago I sat down to work on a feature script inspired by some childhood memories and family tragedies and the first draft poured out of me in a week. It’s a coming of age story about a high school senior who develops an inappropriate relationship with a teacher-slash-mentor after the sudden death of her older brother. I knew I wanted to direct it, but I also know what a grueling uphill battle getting a first-time feature financed can be. I decided to reverse-engineer the feature into a short, then applied for a fellowship with the Jacob Burns Center’s Creative Culture program. I got in and they were instrumental in providing me the support and infrastructure I needed to get the short made. We used their grant money plus a credit card to finance the production, then launched a Kickstarter to pay off the credit card and pay for post. Family, friends and some very generous angel investors contributed which helped immensely in getting over the finish line.
Who are some of your creative inspirations? Any particular filmmaking talent or movie that inspired you?
I mostly drew on memories from my teenage years, but when I referenced other films they would usually be the kind that deftly balanced humor and tragedy. I remember Manchester by the Sea was one. I think adolescence is so awkward you kind of have to infuse it with some humor if you want it to feel real.
How did you put this together from a technical viewpoint? What sort of cameras/lenses did you use and/or did you have any creative challenges in making it?
We shot the film on an ARRI Alexa mini and used anamorphic Zeiss primes generously provided by Zeiss to Burns fellows free of charge. They make the movie look a lot more expensive than it was in reality. To keep costs down we crammed what should have been a three day production into a two-day shoot and our first day was absolute madness. It’s a miracle we shot all the pages we did. Near the end of the day we were falling behind schedule and shooting a scene outside when a blizzard hit, which was chaotic and stressful but ended up looking amazing in the final product.
What would you suggest to film festivals as a way to show more short films or make them more accessible to audiences across the country?
Nothing beats in-person, but I think this new hybrid model is great for getting people who can’t attend to see the films.
If you had one piece of advice to offer someone to get their start as a creator or filmmaker in the industry, what would you suggest?
Be humble, learn from people who have more experience than you, trust your gut and don’t take this industry too seriously. I guess that’s more than one piece of advice but I think that’s all vitally important. Success can be hollow and fleeting and at the end of the day all you have in life is your integrity.
And finally, what is your favourite short film of all time?
Hard to pick just one but maybe THE STRANGE ONES by Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliffe.
This film and many others like it will be showing at South By Southwest taking place March 11-20. For more information point your browser to www.sxsw.com!