FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT: Andrew Morgan, Co-Director of SLEEZE LAKE: VANLIFE AT ITS LOWEST AND BEST

Set among the foggy memories and ephemera of a subculture lost to time, SLEEZE LAKE tells the story of Midwest Vans LTD, the world’s largest custom van club, and its members, young blue collar outcasts who took to the open roads in shag-carpeted vans. On Memorial Day weekend in 1977, these irreverent, hedonistic “vanners” erected a ramshackle resort town around a small pond (“Sleeze Lake”) and threw a party. When over 20,000 people showed up, all bets were off!

SFF Blog Contributor Connor Ryan and Program Director Jeff Schmidt caught up with Co-Director Andrew Morgan, a proud vanner himself!

SLEEZE LAKE Co-Director Andrew Morgan's van.

Jeff Schmidt: Andrew, we understand that you have a "deeper" connection to the van scene beyond the film... can you explain?

Andrew Morgan: My connection to the van scene does go a bit deeper than simply making a few films around it. I actually found vanning pretty organically when I purchased a 1973 Dodge van in the summer of 2011. This was precipitated by spending a lot of time having fun traveling around in our buddy's 1977 Dodge Van. So, after I purchased my own, I spent a fair amount of time scouring the internet looking for any info on vans and very quickly came across the whole vanning subculture. As fate would have it, that next year in 2012, the big national van event, known as the Van Nationals, would be a mere 90 miles outside of Chicago. We packed up the vans and made the trip (and our first film VANNIN’) and my life has never been the same. Flash forward a few more years and I find myself a member of Midwest Vans Ltd. (MVL), the club at the center of SLEEZE LAKE. MVL has been holding the same party on memorial day weekend for over 45 years. To me, the tradition and the niche Americana is something I want to help continue. It’s the weird sub sects of culture that make the world worth living in for me.

Connor Ryan: SLEEZE LAKE captures such a specific moment in history, and the people who were part of it seem to have a clear sense of how it came about and what it meant. Do you think something like it could happen again in America? Or to put it another way: do you think this film offers a guide for ordinary people to create something extraordinary?

AM: I’m not sure that an event like Sleeze Lake could ever really exist in today’s world. I think that’s something that makes the story special. It represents a time and place gone by. The world is such a connected place these days, and I think the freedom and looseness experienced by attendees at Sleeze Lake was brought on by the sense that you could go off for a weekend and be who you wanted to be without the whole world watching or worrying about things ending up on social media. I hate to sound like a pessimist, but I can’t help thinking that if something like the Sleeze Lake party existed today you’d have large corporations and “lifestyle” brands swooping in to grab their piece of something authentic. The idea of the festival is very much widespread these days with events like Lollapalooza, Coachella, and (probably more apt) Burning Man, but I think the difference lies in the fact that they only offer the facade of an epic “time of your life” weekend. I mean, to be fair, time is what one makes of it; but Sleeze Lake existed in a time when you got a paper flyer in the mail, hopped in your van, and didn’t really know what you were going to show up to. It was a true adventure and the party was true gonzo ingenuity. The keys to the asylum were given to the inmates and most people were none the wiser.

JS: On a scale of 1-10, if you had been old enough to own a van back then, what is the likelihood that we would see you featured in the film?

AM: 10. If I’d been old enough and had a custom van, I’m pretty sure I would have made the journey down to Sleeze Lake and had my mind blown. I think most people in the region (and outside of it) with a custom van showed up for that party.

Vanner for life, Andrew Morgan.

SLEEZE LAKE: VANLIFE AT ITS LOWEST AND BEST streams as part of Salem Film Fest from Friday, March 19 - Sunday, March 28. Tickets to view the film can be purchased here.

BLOG BITE: Raquel Cepeda, Director of LA MADRINA: THE [SAVAGE] LIFE OF LORINE PADILLA

In LA MADRINA: THE [SAVAGE] LIFE OF LORINE PADILLA, writer, producer and director Raquel Cepeda, a native New Yorker stays close to home, chronicling five decades of history through the eyes of Lorine Padilla, a beloved South Bronx matriarch and former “First Lady” of the Savage Skulls gang, as she struggles to remain visible in a rapidly gentrifying community that she helped rebuild in the 1980s.

SFF Selection Committee Member Kereth Cowe-Spigai, caught up with Cepeda, a self described "proud as f*ck dominiyorker" ahead of her film's New England Premiere.

Kereth Cowe-Spigai: Filmmaking can involve periods of travel and being away from home. When you're on the road shooting, what do you miss most about home? Conversely, when you are at home, what do you miss most about being on the road shooting?

Raquel Cepeda: In the kind-of recent past, before Covid, what I missed most was not training at my home boxing gym: Mendez Boxing. I feel most creative when I'm in my city, and generally, aside from my husband and kids, I just always miss New York almost as soon as I leave her. What I love most about traveling, aside from experiencing new things and learning different perspectives is the sojourn in itself. Someone I met in Morocco once told me that when God created humanity, S/He replicated us 40 times so that the compulsion to seek one another out was baked into our DNA. That is an idea I feel on many levels.

Lorine Padilla and Raquel Cepeda during filming of LA MADRINA: THE [SAVAGE] LIFE OF LORINE PADILLA

KC-S: Think back to when you embarked on your first film project. If you could give your past self one piece of advice about film, what would it be?

RC: I would have also been more proactive about hiring a good lawyer from the jump -— development to release — because, wow. And I would have advised myself to think about partnerships. I would have also strongly advised my past self to listen and trust more in my intuition.

KC-S: This question is optional and totally off-topic: A fun way to get to know a person is to eat their favorite food. What's yours? Share a recipe if you feel so inclined!

RC: I love breakfast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My favorite staple is green plantains or platanos, They are cheap, easy, and filling. Sometimes, when I don't have a lot of time in the morning, I will just peel and throw one in a pot, boil it, and mash it with butter, a little bit of hot water, and olive oil. That's called mangu. I usually top it off with sauteed red onions with vinegar, and half of an avocado.

Lorine Padilla with US Congressman Ritchie Torres walking through the Bronx.

LA MADRINA: THE [SAVAGE] LIFE OF LORINE PADILLA streams as part of Salem Film Fest from Friday, March 19 - Sunday, March 28. Tickets to view the film can be purchased here.

BLOG BITE: Chelsea Christer, Director of BLEEDING AUDIO

Director Chelsea Christer, BLEEDING AUDIO

Director Chelsea Christer is a longtime fan of indie rock band The Matches and chronicles the ups and downs of their musical journey in her documentary BLEEDING AUDIO. SFF Contributor Connor Ryan caught up with Christer for a quick chat prior to the film's Massachusetts Premiere at Salem Film Fest.

Connor Ryan: BLEEDING AUDIO is remarkable for its music, certainly, but so many characters discuss so many other sensory details and experiences. How do you account for this in a work? How do you create such layered textures? To ask it another way: what do you think this film smells or tastes like, and why?

Chelsea Christer: The description of the strain and hard work that goes into touring for a musician was an important thing for me to capture. We were fortunate enough to have an extensive repository of archival content that captured the sweat and the mess of touring in a van, so SHOWING the textures of being on tour wasn’t the issue—so I knew in our interviews I wanted to get the feelings behind those images captured to fill out the texture in a way that gave the imagery emotional weight.

I feel like while as consumers and fans, we outwardly have an understanding that touring is “hard”, but I intentionally wanted to get into the grit and the firsthand feelings of touring direct from the musicians’ testimony. I wanted to dispel the “glory of touring” shimmer that we cast on our artists, and take away that filter to make you truly feel the sweat and the exhaustion that comes from such a labor intensive part of being a musician.
The shorter answer of the question is.. the film probably smells like 3 day old sweaty red jeans, and tastes like garlicky chips and salsa leftover from the green room at the venue the night before.

Filming BLEEDING AUDIO

BLEEDING AUDIO streams as part of Salem Film Fest from Friday, March 19 - Sunday, March 28. Tickets to view the film can be purchased here.

FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT: Justin Monroe, Director of HOLY FRIT

HOLY FRIT is making its East Coast Premiere at Salem Film Fest, after premiering and winning the Audience Award at Slamdance last month. SFF Program Director Jeff Schmidt caught up with Director Justin Monroe to discuss his career as a narrative filmmaker and making his documentary debut.

Jeff Schmidt: This is your first documentary film, but you have been working in narrative film for quite some time. Can you tell us the differences and similarities of working in these different genres?

Justin Monroe: I’m sure there is a much bigger list I could come up with, but what jumps out immediately as the differences and similarities are these:

DIFFERENCES:

1. The magic moments are really real

2. The approach to making a documentary is completely flipped on its head from a narrative.

When I’m working on a narrative project, I’m always trying to capture magic moments that are visceral, emotional, fun, alive… but at their core, I want them to feel authentic. I’m always trying to help the crew and actors get past the "make-believe," and work with me to help the scenes and moments come alive in a very real way… to create a bridge for the audience to truly "buy-in" to the story as a real experience (even if it’s a fantasy).

What I absolutely loved about filming the documentary was, when you captured a magic moment, it really was REAL. You get to watch this dynamic reality unfold before your eyes… it really just happened.

In the other difference I mentioned about the approach being flipped on its head, what I mean by that is the order of getting a documentary made versus a narrative is almost the exact opposite.

Getting started on a narrative film takes a ton of effort up front… You have to work on your script until it’s ready, which can take a long time, or you have to find the perfect script you want to make. Then you have to raise the money to make the film, go through the long casting process, hire a crew, work out a schedule, book the locations… the list goes on and on.

To get started on a doc, all you need is a camera, a microphone, a sturdy will and a true passion for the subject.

However, the post production process on a narrative versus a doc is flipped as well. On a narrative, the edit already has a blueprint. In most cases, you have a good script ready to guide the process, so you know exactly what story you’re telling. You don’t always know the exact story you're telling in a documentary - at least I didn’t. I knew the broad strokes, but I had to really find the movie in the edit. This greatly increased the amount of time I spent on the post production process.

For me, it was much easier to get started on a doc, and much harder to finish. However, one good thing about it being harder in the end was… Since I had spent so much time filming the movie, there was no way I wasn’t going to finish it. All of the blood, sweat, tears and time I had lost on the production process gave me all the motivation I needed to complete the post production process.

SIMILARITIES

The main similarity that comes to mind is this… It doesn't matter if you’re making a doc or a narrative, it all comes down to great characters and great conflict. It’s wonderful that you believe strongly in the story you’re documenting, but if there aren’t interesting characters for a person to connect to, or real conflict for the characters to overcome, the film probably won’t be that enjoyable to watch.

JS: After your experience with HOLY FRIT, do you hope to work on both types of films moving forward?

JM: Yes… I am dying to make another narrative, where I have a little more control over crafting a story at its roots. But I cannot deny that documentary filmmaking got its hooks into me deep… I would absolutely love to make another documentary.

JS: What advice would you give to first time documentary filmmakers?

JM: I know this going to sound cliche, but my advice is… JUST START. Get a camera, get a microphone, and get going. It’s that simple.

Of course, as I said above, you need a good story, with good characters and good conflict. You have to find a story and subject you love enough to stay with for years. But once you have that (and you’re armed with enough crazy), the best thing to do is… JUST START.

Don’t get caught up on all the complicated reasons for why you can’t get started… JUST GO FOR IT.

HOLY FRIT streams as part of Salem Film Fest from Friday, March 19 - Sunday, March 28. Tickets to view the film can be purchased here.

BLOG BITE: Gwanjo Jeong, Director of NOCTURNE

Seong-ho is autistic and a gifted musician. His mother raised Seong-ho and his younger brother Geon-gi on her own, pushing both to study music but she seemingly devotes most of her time into furthering Seong-ho’s career, leaving Geon-gi feeling neglected. She hopes that the riches and fame that come with an international career will provide for Seong-ho after her death and that Geon-gi will take care of him.

SFF Blog Contributor Connor Ryan caught up with NOCTURNE Director Gwanjo Jeong ahead of the film's US Premiere at Salem Film Fest.

Connor Ryan: NOCTURNE is such an intimate portrayal. How do you get your subjects comfortable with the idea that the camera will be so close so often? To ask it another way: do you tell your subjects how they'll be filmed?

Gwanjo Jeong: My goal as a documentary filmmaker is to reveal the truth in this world. It is tough work to show the life of other people... Every protagonist in the film wants to show themselves as a "good" person rather than how things are in reality. But, for documentary filmmakers, that's the worst situation. To avoid that situation, the only thing I can do is to make the characters feel at ease. My shooting strategy is 'to live with them'. While this movie is a record of them, it is also a record of the director's life. There was no need to tell them how they would be filmed. They could imagine the final cut to see the way the director treats them, it's enough.

CR: How much of the vision for your film do you share with them ahead of time?

GJ: I always told them this story would be a hopeful one, as to say, a happy ending. They didn't believe it, but I really wanted it to be. It took ten years for it to come true.

NOCTURNE streams as part of Salem Film Fest from Friday, March 19 - Sunday, March 28. Tickets to view the film can be purchased here.