LUCKY ALIEN, 15min., USA
Directed by Jasmin Please Haugstuen
"Lucky Alien" is a gripping short film that explores one woman's fight for love and dignity against the merciless bureaucracy of immigration, shedding light on the dark corners of a broken system. This social drama with a sprinkle of dark humor will evoke feelings and moments of intense suspense, witnessing uncomfortable but real situations that happen everyday on these country borders. With it’s fast-paced dialogue and seemingly endless levels of hell, the cast of characters in this world of limbo will make you laugh and cry, and hopefully inspire conversation and actions for change. - BASED ON A TRUE STORY

https://www.instagram.com/luckyalienfilm/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
Honestly, while this was happening to me there was a point where I saw my reflection sitting there crying holding on to my Teddy Bear and I told myself I would make a movie about this one day. When I came home I tried contacting news outlets in Norway telling them my stories so they could warn people about this - but I never heard back. I never got any opportunities to tell the story in a way I felt was going to reach as many people as possible. This could happen to anyone and I don't think anyone is prepared for this, so I wanted people to know to be very careful. I wrote a blog post about it and hoped maybe it would garner some attention - it did not. 10 years later and I still have travel anxiety, but I felt distant enough from the trauma to be able to tackle it as a film - so it felt like the right time.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Since it wasn't really an idea, it was something that happened to me - over ten years. When I decided to make it, it was probably around 8/9 months of fundraising, preproduction and then eventually shooting, and another year in post, still trying to fund the editing, color grading and festival submissions. A long time! I probably could have spent more time tinkering with it in post, but I felt done. I just wanted to send it on it's merry way and hope it would reach the right people and make an impact. I needed to move on to a lighter subject. But I'm very proud of it, even though it's not perfect.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Not fun.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Funding. I could not have done this without the support of people who donated. I worked pretty much full time begging and scraping while crowdfunding and it took 6 months to raise 15K, and I didn't even have everything we needed when we started shooting. So I was terrified I wasn't going to be able to pull it off. The locations had to be nailed down too which is hard with a low budget, AEROMOCKUPS were amazing and helped me a lot and we were able to work out a great deal with them at their really amazing airport and airplane sets. It was the first film I wrote NOT writing around locations I already have, it HAD to be set in those locations as it was based on a true story - That was challengning.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
It was so great. Just wonderful hearing that people appreciated being sort of alerted to that this happens (although its become a super topical thing of late and more people know now) that was one of my biggest goals. I also loved how every single one of them commented on Noa's performance. She is an incredibly talented actress and carried this film, I immediately sent it to her so she could see for herself what an impact she made. I also loved how people could appreciate that it was told through a privileged POV, which sadly sometimes is a more effective way to get people to pay attention and empathize.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
When I was watching them as a kid, wasn't sure in what capacity - just that I wanted to be a part of the circus somehow. Initially I wanted to be an actor, but fell in love with the collaborative process so much that I wanted to be even more involved.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Probably Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban hahaha

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
I really think the really well curated and set up networking experiences are the best. A lot of the time it feels like people are just there to see their own film and they don't care about anything else. But when a festival starts off with a great networking event with a speed dating setup so that you don't have to muster up the courage to approach people - but there's a facilitated way to meet people, I find that I care more about other people's projects and connect more naturally.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
It feels impossible, and like a numbers game, and sometimes rigged. The platform is user friendly and okay, but you really have to spend time looking at the right festivals.

10. What is your favorite meal?
Gah that's hard. No. I can't. I love foooood

11. What is next for you? A new film?
SPACE T.I.T.S ! My next project is a Sci-fi 10 minute proof of concept for a feature fllm. It's a Barbarella meets Star trek, with an all female cast set in spaaace with silly stuff, practical effects, puppets, awesome costumes etc.