If anyone can be said to be a champion of independent filmmaking in Arizona, it's Alan Williams. This Friday night The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St., will show three of his short films:"The Pigeon Sanctuary," a special, updated 15th anniversary edition of his 1994 student thesis film, and revised versions of two later short films he made in 2007, "On a Clear Day," and in 2008, "Human Condition."
Williams is on a mission to bring together local filmmakers with local business owners to use the filmmaking and acting talent we have in Arizona to create film projects that will benefit the local economy, as, he points out "The film industry from outside the state is not coming here."
Zocalo: Were you tempted after completing your film studies at the U of A to migrate to LA or New York to pursue a traditional career in the film industry?
Alan Williams: Absolutely. It's a little different now, but by the time you get to the end of the film studies program there's only a handful of people who have stuck it out. Of the six or eight of us diehards, some did go to LA or New York, and a couple went to USC to get their graduate degrees. I seriously considered doing that. But at the time, in 1993, the independent film arena was looking pretty promising in Arizona. There was a lot of activity, and I was determined to make it as an independent filmmaker in Arizona. I figured I could do it. Around 1994 it just dried up. Everyone was going to Canada, and New Mexico was having some success with their incentive program, while [in Arizona] it literally came to a screeching halt. I had started a new family, and decided I just couldn't take my wife and a new baby to LA with nothing. So I decided to make a stand here.
Zocalo: After "The Pigeon Sanctuary," your first venture out of film school was Guerilla Cult Cinema. You wrote several feature length screenplays. Did you see your future then as being a screenwriter, rather than being involved in the production end?
Williams: I did. I had teamed up with a man named Alvin Baker and another gentleman named Mike Plant to form Guerilla Cult Cinema. At that time, the hip thing to do was write your own screenplay, find somebody to produce it with, and then you got to direct it. So, together we wrote a screenplay about a group of black soldiers who go AWOL in Somalia, and discover some gold. At that point greed takes over. We were actually talking to Ice Cube about the project, but it fell through. Then, a couple years later I got a call from an agency in LA, telling me to check the trades, because they're getting ready to shoot a film in Arizona that's very similar, called, uh, I can't remember ["Three Kings" (1999) , written and directed by David O. Russell from a story credited to John Ridley]. But Ice cube was in it. We kind of let that go, but we never really learned if they stole our idea.
It taught me I had to hone my screenwriting skills, and I'm still glad I went that route. There wasn't a screenwriting class at the U of A when I went there. As a director, if you don't have a good screenplay, you've got nothing.
Zocalo: Watching the making of documentaries of "On a Clear Day" and "Human Condition," I was struck by the good natured way you took a lot of the setbacks you experienced in making these films. Do you think having the kind of temperament to take these setbacks in stride is almost a requirement for an independent filmmaker?
Williams: Yes I do, particularly as an independent filmmaker. With the limited resources, you've got just a handful of people. If you lose control you could effectively demoralize the whole crew if they think it's all falling apart. Probably the two motivating factors were to keep my own head screwed on right, and the people who were coming through for me. It wasn't their problem, it was mine. Also, that degree of crisis management comes from my experience as a firefighter and a paramedic. Because you can't lose control when you deal with things I have to deal with in my day job.
Zocalo: In addition to the short films you are showing Friday night, there's a preview of your new feature length film?
Williams: It's a six minute "teaser." We took a scene and some action sequences and went out and shot that. It's a teaser for a drama film we're trying to get off the ground called "Zero Saved," based on my experiences as a paramedic in a busy EMS unit. There's a little bit more to it, as the burned out paramedics take drastic action to escape the intense stress of their jobs. The poster shows an ambulance full of money driving out into the desert.
Zocalo: So there's a heist element?
Williams: Yes, but it's not like saying we go around robbing banks. If you talk to any paramedic, they will tell you that what paramedics do is never accurately depicted in movies, or on TV. The hope is that people will come out of this movie with a real understanding of what it's like, and also a better appreciation for it.
Zocalo: The other new project on your website (OrganizedChaosProductions.com) is "4th Ave, Inc."
Williams: I'm glad you brought that up. There's a producer in Phoenix who made a film called "Mill Ave. Inc." He exposed how Mill Ave, ten years ago, was much like what 4th Ave is today, but the big commercial interests, the Gap, etc., came in and drove all the little independent businesses out. They put up this faade of it being the same, but it's not. It's lost its soul. Then he contacted us to do a similar documentary on 4th Ave, which he sees as the antithesis of what happened in Phoenix. With all these independent businesses, artists, and musicians, it has mostly stayed the same all these years. So, he wanted us to make a film about how these people have managed to fend off the corporate giants. They don't get a lot of support from the city, but have banded together under the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association. It's like this unique oasis where you can find things you can't find anywhere else. So, we've been interviewing business owners, artists and musicians, and asking them why they like to play music, make art, or own a business there.
Zocalo: When do you anticipate this film being ready?
Williams: In about two months. It's currently being edited in Phoenix by the same person who edited Mill Ave, Inc."
First screening is at 8pm. If it sells out, there will be another showing right after (program last a little over an hour). Ticket price is $5 at the door.
