Filmmaker Interview: Flood Streets Creators Share their Process, Inspiration and Challenges with NOVAC

On February 17th, NOVAC will host a private screening of the independent feature film, Flood Streets. Shot by locals on location in New Orleans, Flood Streets explores New Orleans’ bohemian counterculture in the year following Hurricane Katrina. The film interweaves multiple storylines of eccentric characters coping with both their shared and individual hardships after the storm.

NOVAC was thrilled to sit down with husband and wife creators, Joseph Meissner (Co-writer, Director, Cast) and Helen Krieger (Writer, Producer) to hear their thoughts, inspirations and challenges in making their first feature film, Flood Streets.

THE STORY

N: What made you want to tell this story?

J: Initially the impulse came when we were evacuated. We had no idea what was waiting for us when we got back and had to think how we would start over. We decided we would combine our ambitions on a project we could produce together… a Short Cuts set in New Orleans. The major theme is the decline of the American empire that people can relate to all over the world.  I want people to see how these characters are coping with this unfamiliar feeling of not having things on demand like hot water and basic infrastructure.

H: There are so many people that were coming from outside to document our stories post Katrina, the majority of which were doom and gloom stories. Because they were not from New Orleans, there was a lot they didn’t catch. We here, get a distance on our grief and often deal with tragedy through comedy. So soon after Katrina there was still a sense of who we are and through humor we confronted it head on.  If you are from here you know [doom and gloom] is not how we handle it.

N: You are both transplants, but have lived in the city since 2001. What drew you to New Orleans and in particular, the Bywater Neighborhood where your film is predominantly set?

H: I have always been drawn to cities that have some kind of history. Here, there is a sense of history and diversity of culture, and an entrepreneurial spirit of those who stayed after the storm. Everyone has a kind of hustle and lives by their wits. In New Orleans there is an appreciation for the artist’s life. Bywater has so much of that – so many working artists.

N:  Helen, You have been writing in other formats for some time. You started the Bywater Marigny Current when you moved here and you have written fiction as well. What made you transition into screenwriting and how was that process for you? Do you plan to continue writing film?

H:  I am more interested in whatever is the best way to tell a story than I am interested in the form.  I have written short stories all my life. [Screenwriting] is a more communal way of telling a story.  I like both forms and i think both  have their own advantages and I will continue to do both of them.  Screenwriting really helps my fiction writing.  Actors would ask questions I never thought before. A lot of their questions informed how I would develop the character. Nobody reads particular lines of dialogue more than an actor does.  They end up having such a great grasp of the rhythm of the dialogue. That inspired me to go back to my dialogue and look at it like an actor would.  I love the collaborative aspect of screenwriting, but I plan to keep doing both screenwriting and fiction. I still like the solitary nature of fiction.

N: Why did you choose to write a ensemble piece with multiple plot lines rather than concentrating on a principle character? You mentioned Robert Altman’s Shortcuts.

H: I think that it is more a matter of taste. When it comes to music I enjoy harmonies more than solo singing.  It is the same thing with stories. When I am writing, my supporting characters end up getting bigger and bigger. They fit under theme and play against each other. Eliminating or reducing any of the characters wouldn’t have been fair and there were so many stories that I wanted to tell.

J: Our biggest influence would be Short Cuts by Robert Altman. I wanted a loose improvisational style, natural feelings and long takes. We knew the film wouldn’t have a high production value and the writing and acting would be what made or broke this film.

THE FUNDING

N: Tell me about the funding opportunities for the film? Were there investors?

J: There werent many.

H:  We got a few grants. There was the NOVAC [Workforce Training Program]. I used that [program] for an accounting class which was really key because accounting deals with every department.  The teacher went over everything about a film set: basic rules and union rules. There was the LOUISIANA CULTURAL ECONOMY GRANT which I used to take an editing class at NOVAC.  NOVAC has been like my film school in a way. Overall we got $1500 in grants.

J:  The actual budget for the movie came from selling our house.

N: What were some other challenges you faced during the production?

H: The biggest challenge was coming up with a budget and trying to make everyone feel comfortable about it. People seem to know how you make a movie for no money and they know how you make an [indie] for $300,000 but not how you do it for much less than that.  Finding all of the locations was tough. We had a tiny budget for it. People gave us locations out of the goodness of their hearts.  I didn’t realize how much of a person’s house we would take over once we were there.  Handling all of the releases and working with SAG were all things that I hadn’t done before. It is really more of an art to doing releases than a science.  We had all of the musicians [in the film] and we needed a ton of legal help. The Arts Council has a law clinic and Ashlye Keaton (the entertainment lawyer at the clinic, [and NOVAC advisory board member]) helped me get all the music releases that we needed.  We had two kids [on set] too, and we had to make sure we followed all of the child labor laws. But everyone was super nice and willing to help us out.  A good friend of mine is a location scout and he gave me a list of best practices.  It was such a collaborative effort. I called in every favor I had in the city.

THE MUSIC

N: Tell me about the musicians. Music is a huge part of the film.

H:  Our movie is a little bit different than Tremé.  [Flood Street's soundtrack] is not the traditional mainstream music that people associate with New Orleans. There is a cross fertilization of kids who moved here and the traditional New Orleans music.

J: There is Clint Madgean who comes from the more indie rock/ punk rock background but has a fascination with traditional New Orleans music and making it his own, The Panorama Jazz Band, Loren Murrell, Debauche and the Zydepunks.

N: And of course, Becky Stark who is one of the principal actresses.

J:  We were thrilled to get her. She was our first choice from the very beginning. I had worked with her on a punk operetta in Austin and tracked her down [for the film]. She loved the script. She is a great actress and also a great singer.

THE CAST AND CREW

N: Your cast and crew were mostly natives or long time residents. What were the benefits of working with locals?

J:  Becky and Rachel are not from New Orleans but all of the other actors were either local or transplants.  It was so important to keep the authenticity.  They knew first hand what the characters were going through. I tried to keep a loose and improvisational style in the performances, and it was good to have natives who were able to stay within the bounds of reality. There’s not a ton of above the line stuff for local New Orleanians and it was great to get that out there.

H:  No one got paid what they should have been paid, but because it was [an indie] crew-members were able to do jobs they wouldn’t have been able to do on a bigger film. They could move up the ladder.  All of the crew was amazing.

WHAT NEXT

N: So what are your plans for Flood Streets?

J: Right now we are playing the festival lottery. We have to protect that premiere status. So we are waiting to hear back from various festivals. We will do a festival tour for a year or so and then release onto DVD.  The whole model for distribution is in a total flux. The traditional model is over and no one really knows what the new model is.  We have to feel through things and there isn’t really a well traveled path to follow.

H:  The festival tour is replacing theatrical distribution. We have other pieces of the film that we are bringing out bit by bit: a book of short stories that the film was based on and probably a soundtrack for the film. All the cultural pieces that went behind the movie, we want to make available as well.

DON’T MISS OUT

NOVAC is sponsoring an invitation-only sneak peek of Flood Streets on February 17, 2011. As a privilege of membership NOVAC offers invitations to private screenings and events. If you are interested in attending the Flood Streets screening or any of our private events become a NOVAC member or contact the NOVAC offices at 504-940-5780 for more details on membership. For more information about the film, and its cast, crew and musicians, visit the Flood Streets website.

Images (from top to bottom): Director Joseph Meissner, Writer/Producer Helen Krieger, image courtesy of Flood Streets, Clint Madgean with secondline band courtesy of Flood Streets, Lead Actress Becky Stark

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 20th, 2011 at 2:15 pm. It is filed under NOVAC Blog, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.