Exuvia Film Spotlight

Today’s film spotlight focuses on the feature film Exuvia directed by Anthony Harrison.

What is the title of your film and what inspired said title?

The film is entitled, “EXUVIA” with a byline of Shed Your Skin. Like a lot things I write, the titles almost always reveal themselves, usually about halfway through the first draft. I usually give any script a very dull, yet descriptive title when I start writing, just so I have something. This one was called “Nanny and the Boy” When the final titles do show up they are usually inspired by something someone says or a major theme or thru line, and they are always ‘light-bulb’ moments.

Tell us a little bit about the story and origins of your film.

‘Nanny and the Boy’ basically tells it all as far as what I wanted to write about. Since we had next to nothing for a budget, I wanted to create a project that did not rely on locations or FX, but leaned heavily on performances. I’ve been an actor for more than 35 years, so it’s a craft a feel that I truly understand and also know that it is the ‘deal-breaker’ for any film, especially lower-budget ones. I truly aimed to highlight fantastic and believable performances captured within a very dramatic and life changing period of time. For the ground level of this story it was actually an article about a young Ukrainian girl who was taking care of her drug-addicted mother. I thought what if this young woman tried to break free and live a perfect ‘Mary Poppins’ life.

Any films or filmmakers that inspired this film?

Other than the films of my childhood like Rocky and Godfather, two films still stand out as filmmaking masterpieces. “Matrix” which is visually stunning and mind-bending and original. The second is “English patient”, which is actually my true favorite on every level. The film that truly gave the encouragement to get into independent filmmaking was “She’s Gotta Have It” Made on a budget and all about the acting and storyline.

What is the goal of the film for you?

I would love for as many people to see it as possible, mainly to showcase the incredible performances we captured on film. Or should we say, ‘digitally captured’ now? Honesty, the joy of making films, especially shooting and editing,  is almost completely enough for me. I am not in it for the money in return, although I know it is strongly connected to making the process of my next film a good deal easier, especially in regards to the comforts while shooting.

What has the journey been like getting the film into production?

My producing partner C. Ernst Harth, who played one of the lead roles in “Joe Finds Grace” made things move very smoothly. He has a great mind for organization and is meticulous about everything when it comes to important details. He also has a number of decades in the film business, so the crucial elements of the process are very familiar to him. As I have a number of things on my mind as writer/director, and in this production cameraman, having someone like him around was essential. It was filmed with a camera (Panasoninc GH5) which looks very much like a single lens reflex camera, so no one questions you when you start filming in public locations like shopping malls and parks. I used to joke about how it turned guerilla-filmmaking in Ninja filmmaking. No one saw us, or so it seemed. Maybe after take three of some sequences we did start to get attention. For equipment, I bought a camera and gimbal and some basic lights and what I think was bloggers type mic. In the months before I had worked as an actor on a Disney series called, “Siren”, so I had cash to purchase this equipment and then get on with filmmaking. As a note, my previous film, “Joe Finds Grace” was funded by a Toyota commercial that I did.

One thing you learned from this project?

Can’t think of anything I learned on this one, but I did have it reaffirmation of knowledge: a very high percentage of the joy of filmmaking does come from crafting the story, capturing the performances and turning into a watchable piece of entertainment. Everything after that is icing on the cake.

How can folks find you and your film online?

We’re still trying to get it out there and either find an extremely wise distribution company or developing our own plan for spreading the good word.

For now, people can find details, info and the trailer on IMDB or go to our website at www.exuvia-film.com

Any last pieces of advice for fellow filmmakers?

With an unblinking eye, capture honest and moving human struggles, then put them together with a completely connected sound score in a way that makes you sit back and say, “Hell ya! That’s even better than I hoped for!”

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