Before he made the movie Upstate Story, filmmaker Shaun Rose had only a few shorts and another abandoned feature under his belt, and the film was pretty much as indie as it gets: skeletal crew (and none at all on some days, with Shaun being both in front of and behind the camera), limited cast, shot in big parts in Shaun's own home, and made on a very low budget. And the film still ran into its problems, be it noises from the neighbours, Shaun's own kids threatening to run into shots, and ultimately Shaun having to abandon his apartment and being forced to finish the movie beforehands. But it was really after principal photography that the problems with making the movie really began, ranging from Shaun having to work two jobs to make ends meet, to a break-up, to a stroke, depression, and whatnot. So it took 4+ years, and several script revisions, to get post-production on Upstate Story finished and then Shaun having do overcome his own insecurities to have it released - to ultimately very positive reviews and a handful of awards from festivals ...

Now the awards Upstate Story has collected notwithstanding, the film can hardly be called a "big" movie (in a purely big budget Hollywood sort of way), as mentioned above, it's as indie as can be, and very personal as that, as many of Shaun Rose's autobiographical details were woven into its plot - and that's exactly what makes this documentary much more interesting than any blockbuster's cookie cutter making-of, it lets one feel how much love, how much emotional and physical effort can go into a movie off-Hollywood, how little it takes on the outside and how much on the inside to just pick up a camera and "shoot what you know". So even should you never have seen Upstate Story (which is sure worth checking out), this makes a rather fascinating watch.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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