Local filmmakers capture CoMO on camera
Published May 7, 2008
If you were to base your impression of Todd Sklar solely upon his portrayal of the lackadaisical, “on-the-road-to-nowhere” Scott, the main character in his first full-length feature film, “Box Elder,” you would be wrong. Very wrong.
Unlike his character, who has no sense of what to do with his life other than to ponder his potential and eat a lot of sandwiches, Sklar, 24, has an ambitious agenda that includes road tripping across the nation promoting “Box Elder” and planning out his next film projects. He’s so busy, in fact, that when asked where he was, Sklar had to pause and think for a second before reciting the next few weeks’ planned stops, which included Atlanta, Athens, Ga., St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago.
Sklar is one of a number of young filmmakers who has had big years in his short career. MU sophomore Randy Prywitch completed three projects this year, including his first full-length film “American Gothic” and a short film called “The Girlfriend Claire,” which premiered at the Department of Student Activities’ Silver Screen Film Festival, held April 12. “The Girlfriend Claire” won a prize for best comedy at the festival.
“I would say that (“The Girlfriend Claire”) was my favorite to make above all because I got to make this project with some of my best friends,” Prywitch says. “We filmed it this past March, and it took us around three days to film, and we had a blast making it.”
Prywitch wishes more events like the Silver Screen Film Festival existed in Columbia, but he says he thinks more events will occur as continued interest expands.
“If events like Silver Screen continue to take place I’m sure we can build a more solid filmmaking community here in Columbia,” he says.
Sklar says acceptance from the Columbia community was like a fairy tale come true for production team and him. Sklar spent three years developing the script; he filmed throughout much of spring 2007, and came back for three weeks in September to re-shoot much of the film after getting feedback. He says the film straddles a fine line between serving as an indie-art film and a “dick-and-fart-joke” comedy.
“In Columbia you have the feudalism of a college town and a bohemian art town, and that creates the same type of dynamic and attitude that you’d usually find in bigger cities like New York or Chicago or Minneapolis,” Sklar says. “The film couldn’t have flourished here, or anywhere for that matter, without both types of communities supporting it.”
“Box Elder” follows four friends through their adventures in college, which include skipping classes, adopting stray animals, romantic relationships failing miserably and the overall anxiety about what each should do with his life. Sklar was nervous about the reaction he would get in Columbia, especially because all of the scenes were filmed on campus and around town. But he was quite pleased with the film’s reception. Its initial run at Ragtag Cinema was extended, and it continues to play the first Saturday of every month.
“I was really blown away by the reaction we got,” he says. “I thought everyone was going to hate me. You don’t want to feel like you’re co-opting the place where it was filmed and that people there would think it was offensive, but I’m really happy people got it.”
Sklar and his cohorts are engaging in a guerilla-type distribution plan, in which they are running around the nation screening the film on college campuses and in large cities. They’ve built a buzz online and Sklar says they will tour again in the fall with other films during a wider release.
“We had the idea to create a rabid following,” he says. “It’s an incredible feeling. As a filmmaker you’re blown away that people are coming out...we’re taking it to our audience.”
Sklar says having the film’s premiere at Ragtag greatly aided the film tour. He says it was an added honor to be one of the first films played at Ragtag’s new home on Hitt Street after its opening during February’s True/False Film Fest.
“(David Wilson and Paul Sturtz) were gracious hosts,” Sklar says. “It felt very appropriate to open there. We felt very happy to bring in a new audience that might not normally go to Ragtag, and expose those people to new things. It’s a flagship art house in this country which a lot of people here don’t necessarily realize, and the engagement there added a lot of validity to the seriousness of our distribution plan.”
For now, Sklar plans to continue his road trip through the beginning of summer and will start new projects with friends in the near future. Prywitch will begin work on his next full-length feature, “Seventeen Degrees,” after MU’s final exam week.
“Ever since I was a kid, movies have always been my passion,” Prywitch says. “I have become more interested in filmmaking and am hoping it will be a part of my future.”