Shiri Film Spotlight
Today’s film spotlight focuses on the short film Shiri directed by Micah Coate.
What is the title of your film and what inspired said title?
“SHIRi”.
FROM THE WRITER GRACE YEE: The idea for SHIRi popped into my mind when I saw a gorgeous guy in line at the grocery store who was too busy swiping on a dating app to notice the pretty girl standing right next to him! (No, I wasn’t the girl, just the observer). I wanted to make a film that reminds us that we are here on this earth to connect with people, face to face, and I wanted to do it through comedy because laughing is my favorite thing to do!
I think the best romantic stories come from real-life, human-to-human interaction. My favorite is about a man and a woman sitting on two different trains, stopped at the same station, about to head in opposite directions. As they looked out their windows,and not at their phones, they locked eyes, prompting the man to jump off his train and board the woman’s, just to talk to her. They are now happily married. True story! (But also not me!)
Tell us a little bit about the story and origins of your film.
Through comedy, SHIRi brings awareness to this technology addicted generation to connect with each other face to face. We hope that people will be more conscious of the world around them and be present to capture the magical moments of life. This film was also produced, directed and written by three women, and filled with diversity from the cast to the director of photography, showing a successful combination of inclusion to create this project.
What has the journey been like getting the film into production?
There were a lot of funny or crazy things that happened during the road to production. The first morning of shooting Grace (Shiri) put on her dress and immediately broke out into hives! We had no way to get 6 other identical dresses that the other Shiris would wear later in the film, so wardrobe had to be on standby to pull the dress off of her immediately after each take. Then, while filming at Santa Monica Farms, one of our production vehicles got a ticket for parking in the loading zone right in front. I ran out to try to bargain with the officer to no avail, but he did tell me that we had the ticket and the car could be left there the rest of the day. During the coffee shop fantasy scene, when Gina walks down the street in slow motion, cars and pedestrians would literally stop to check her out and stare straight into the camera. What should’ve been 3 takes took 11!
How can folks find you and your film online?
Check me out on social media! We are looking for distribution for our short film with a company that will play it on tv or on short film platforms like IFC. Stay tuned!
Any last pieces of advice for fellow filmmakers?
Do it because you LOVE it. Filmmaking is not easy and takes a lot of time, so you need to really want to spend the time making movies and giving your all to it. Make sure your Team is really in and a huge part of you getting your filmmaking. Filmmaking is a Team sport and everyone involved needs to be fully in it from the EP all the way through to the people that won’t even be on the set. It is vital you make your Team a solid foundation for you. Also, never ever let anyone tell you can’t do it. Make it happen and all things will fall into place. You got this!!
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