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Vickers Theatre hosts screening of ‘The Funeral Photographer’
ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET
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BY FRANCESCA SAGALA
“It’s a funeral – it’s going to be a weird.” Only supporters who were granted access to a screening of “The Funeral Photographer” at The Vickers Theater Sunday, Oct. 16, could appreciate the significance of this phrase that’s uttered by Curtis Edward Jackson.
Written by Mark Strauss, a Sawyer, Michigan, resident, the film was directed by Ashley Thompson.
The 17-minute film by Subtexter Films, in association with Cutters Studio, stars Tara Hazel Walsh, Curtis Edward Jackson and Timothy Weinert (who’s acted in “Chicago Fire”). The film also involved several locals, who served as extras.
The film was shot over a threeday period in December 2019 at Wagner Family Funerals-Pobicik Chapel in Three Oaks.
“It came from his mind, came through his heart, he worked with his hands - and he brought all these people together with the help of a great cast and crew,” Peter Carey, who plays “Bill” in the film and whose acting credits include “Reel Steel” starring Hugh Jackman, said of Strauss.
For Strauss, it was the first time anyone was viewing a life-size version of his story – including Thompson.
“This is the first time I’ve seen it on the big screen – I watched it on a 36-inch television, so it doesn’t count,” she said.
Thompson graduated from University of Illinois in Chicago, where she studied photography before making her way into film making. Other films in her resume include “I Miss Jamie When She’s Gone” and “Get Well Soon,” which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival.
Thompson and Strauss both worked at the film into the coronavirus pandemic, which involved many hour-long Zoom calls.
“To get it to this final stage - the ending process and sound design and score and coloring - there was just so much screen time, so it’s really great to have it be finished,” she said, adding that she’s “never worked three years on a short film.
Seeing it viewed onscreen – in front of a theater packed with people – was an affirming experience for Thompson.
“You ask yourself ‘Is this good? Is it not?’…You watch it so many times, you’re like ‘I need fresh eyes’ - so I feel like I came out of this with fresh eyes now and it’s really great to see it all come together,” she said.
For Strauss, the film had its genesis in a spark of an idea that lit up his brain years ago.
“I wrote down the title many years prior…I made some notes and woke up one Saturday morning and within a few seconds, I envisioned the whole story as a short film,” he said, adding that he wrote the first draft in one day.
There was then a “lot of
Ashley Thompson and Mark Strauss revel in their support at the screening
Mark Strauss speaks at the Afterglow at The Acorn
Mixing and mingling before the screening Mark Strauss presents the Best Director Award to Ashley Thompson
Mark Strauss welcomes the crowd to screening
Zach Hackett, the new owner of The Vicker’s Theatre, welcomes the crowd
Peter Carey welcomes the crowd to the screening Supporters gather for the Afterglow at The Acorn
Guests mingle at the Afterglow at The Acorn
The cast and crew participate in a question and answer session at The Acorn collaboration” with Thompson and Greg Stephen Reigh, the cinemaphotographer.
“We all continued to morph the story,” Strauss said.
Strauss said that the film was “really a community project,” from the locals who supported it through a Crowdfunding effort to get the film off the ground to the local coffee shops and restaurants who gave food during production.
Strauss said a film is created three times: When it’s written, when it’s shot and when it’s edited.
“With our director, Ashley, and she and I working with our editor Kevin McGurn for six to seven months editing – that’s where it all came together,” he said.
The film’s also already garnered a “Best Directors” award at the Grand Rapids Film Festival. Strauss said that it’s in five other festivals, including the New York Shorts International Film Festival, the largest short film festival on the East Coast, as well as a few Chicago ones, and has been accepted into the Chicago Reels Short Film Festival.
The film’s also in six ones out of the country out of the almost 60 ones to which they’ve applied.
In the making of the film, Strauss wanted to give back. He connected with Patricia Quinn, who’s the founder of Final Farewell, an organization that provides money and resources to families who can’t afford a funeral for their child. A charity screening will be held in the future.
An “Afterglow” celebration was held at The Acorn Center for the Performing Arts, which was the site for some of the auditions.
Walsh said the audition process was the “most comfortable audition I ever had.”
“And that was because of Mark and Troy (Daniel Smith, the producer) and Ashley were in the room and made it such a welcoming place to play,” she said.
More memories were made after shooting began.
“It was the most magical set that I will ever experience in my life – the crew was just dancing together,” Walsh said.
For updates, follow The Funeral Photographer on Facebook.
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