BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, ARIZONA, USA – We returned from Zambia on the evening of Monday, September 4th. After four weeks of traveling and a tough three-week film shoot, most of us would have preferred nothing more than to take a week or so off to rest up BUT we’re trying to make “THE” festival submission deadline. So, we’re all hard at it. We’re hip deep in post production on BAD T!MING and VOICE OF AN AFRICAN NATION. Instead of going to bed in the “Pink Palace” each night, we go to our own homes for a warm meal, a soft bed and working showers. In the morning, we congregate (again) to keep pushing these films to completion.
In all my years as a teacher, I’ve never seen such determination and dedication from a group of people. The more amazing thing is the amount of trust they place in each other. Each member of the group counts on the others to give the production their best work. In school, there were always “slackers” … students who did almost nothing, started late on everything and hoped to “squeak through” on minimal effort. FilmZambia is definitely a capstone project for this crew. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks.
Whenever I’m working on a screenplay, I go through phases were I positively HATE what I am writing. Right after I finish a script, I can’t stand it!! I always have to put it in a drawer for a couple of weeks. I abhor it. All I can see are the mistakes. After a few weeks, I’ll take it out and read it and I find myself liking what I’ve written. I sometimes think I’m clever.
The same thing happened in Zambia. It was such an effort to finish this film! The last couple of days were EXTREMELY stressful. The long flights home didn’t help. I was worried that it wasn’t going to come together or, worse, if it did come together, it wouldn’t look or sound good. What a pleasant surprise I’ve had for the last few days. As we capture the footage, log the documentary tapes and review the storyteller footage, I am SUPER HAPPY and EXCITED about what I’m seeing. The footage is looking good. The actors are believable. The sound is (mostly) good. Some of the 2nd Unit footage is incredible. As our trip to Zambia fades, the films are taking shape. Who knows what else will be materializing with this group?
