THE COMMUTER, 11min., USA
Directed by Joseph Sauchelli
A protagonist struggles to cope with a rough commute in the only way she knows how.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
Really the urge to make something, particularly for cheap. When you know you are going to go down that route, you begin looking around at what you can use for free. Hoboken has this old fashioned train station I always admired and found cinematic, so I began to build a story around it. With college and my job I have commuted for quite some time, so I tried to bring that experience to this film – which immediately turned into a stressful thriller.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
The idea for "The Commuter" is several years old, however it took some time to feel ready and finally take the step towards making the movie myself. As I reflect on the finished product a lesson I have taken away is that no one is ever really ready to make a film, and it is a risky mindset to subscribe to. On one hand you want to make sure your script and pre-production planning is to the best it could be, however you must be careful not to lean on the excuse that "it's not ready" like a crutch.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Anxiety inducing

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Originally the thought of shooting at a public train station without permits was an ideal setting since you essentially have hundreds of free extras who are too distracted by their commutes to look at whatever it is you are filming. However, an obstacle you quickly learn with having an open set is the lack of control of others. The very first footage I shot was of our actress Bianca Linder sitting at a bench waiting for the next train, bored. Going into a shoot you are always on edge fearing what can go wrong and 10 seconds into the first thing I shoot a drugged out man approaches us and begins harassing her. I immediately start panicking – with a gorilla filmmaking approach you still do not want to be putting your actors in these situations. Luckily she's a warrior and was totally unphased by it. From that point on we had no problems for the rest of the shoot.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
Surreal to say the least. You are often used to the reactions from friends and family, which is always going to be some sort of bias attached. The majority of the reactions seem to genuinely be interested in the questions the film poses, which is very exciting for the filmmaker to witness.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
For as long as I can remember I have always loved movies and had an urge to make them myself. When I was young I would make stop motion animations using Legos or action figures, and as I got older and could afford a camera I transitioned to live action.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
That is tough, probably something by Stanley Kubrick. Maybe The Shining.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
The goal of all filmmakers submitting to festivals it's getting their work seen by as many eyes as possible. Anyway a festival can help with this is always ideal.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
FilmFreeway offers a very simple process for submitting to festivals which is great. It also does a good job at filtering through festivals based on subject/themes – if your film is of a particular genre it helps getting it seen.

10. What is your favorite meal?
I'm Italian so it would be sacrilege to say anything else.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I wanted to see how I could pull off a 10 minute genre short for cheap, my next goal is to make another genre film that would be at a feature length.