YOU CAN DO THIS!

Yes, most movies we see have big budgets, bright lights, and famous people, but YOU CAN make a movie with your cellphone. These directors did:

Director Sean Baker, Tangerine

In 2015, Sean Baker released a gorgeous film that was shot entirely on an iPhone 5s. Baker was some how able to keep that fact a secret until it’s world premiere at Sundance Film Festival. Aside from making a film on a tiny camera and a micro-budget, Tangerine also broke new ground as it represents a buddy comedy that puts a transgender person in the leading role.

Director Matthew Cherry, 9 Rides

Released in 2016, Cherry shot this film entirely on an iPhone 6s. It follows one night in the life of an Uber driver, on New Year’s Eve. Dorian Messick plays the driver of many faces: “the somewhat creepy driver, checking out his more scantily clad passengers in the rearview mirror; or he’s the angry driver who’s killing your New Year’s Eve vibe when you and your friends just want to be as carefree and annoying as possible; or he’s the driver who gets a little too personal during small talk; and he’s the black man who gets pulled over and harassed by the cop who finds it hard to believe he hasn’t been drinking. The film asks not that you fall in love with Missick’s Everyman, but insists that you consider how different he can be, from one ride to the next, and how absolutely normal—and sometimes boring—he (and his job) can also be at times.”

excerpt from Paste Magazine

Director Hassan Fazili, Midnight Traveler

“The refugee’s story is most often told by others — journalists, NGO workers, and other outsiders who strive to faithfully convey traumatic experiences far removed from their own. When assassins target Afghan documentarian Hassan Fazili in 2015 after he makes a film about Taliban fighters who have laid down arms, he must flee with his family. Midnight Traveler traces the Fazili family’s years-long, unpredictable journey out of Afghanistan and westward along one of Europe’s most notorious smuggling routes, with stops in refugee camps in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary. Along the way, Hassan, wife Fatima, and their two young daughters document their interactions with other refugees, smugglers, and police, collecting diverse perspectives on the refugee experience.” They use the only means available: their cellphones.

excerpt from ITVS