What’s it like being an independent filmmaker in Minnesota?
CM: Well, it’s interesting. It seems the Minnesota film community is very disorganized. There are so many people coming and going that it never seems to have enough time to establish something concrete. A lot of good (and bad) film actors get crazy and move to L.A. where they languish in obscurity. A lot of directors or writers will make a few shorts, maybe a feature and then disappear (or graduate from film school). There don’t seem to be that many people that can really claim to be “established” here. On the flipside, it does seem there is a general sense of wanting to make the scene more “coherent.” Many have made the effort, Minnewood being the best example, but few have truly succeeded. The problem is, like any scene in any town, people tend to break off into cliques. A lot of people have very distinct “what-can-you-do-for-me” or “I-would-love-to-help-but-it-doesn’t-benefit-me” attitudes that don’t really lend themselves to organization. I even admit to occasionally being part of
