Filmmaker Bernardo Villela

For news on Bernardo’s upcoming projects you can visit http://www.miller-villela.com/ or if you just want to chat with him you can follow him on Twitter: @BernardoVillela




What is the current project you are working on?

I am currently in pre-production on a horror feature entitled All Hallows’ Eve, which I wrote. I have also toyed with the idea of a micro-budget chamber drama, which I also wrote as an alternative to the former.

How do you handle rejection?

 

I try not to focus on it too much, and move on to the next opportunity.

Did you always want to be a filmmaker?

It wasn’t always a conscious notion but I believe so, yes. In Junior High School my friend and I would discuss films and frequently complain about not finding anything good to watch." We’d say things like “You know what would make a great movie?” and go on from there. One day I just started writing the ideas down. It didn’t occur to me for a while that it was something I could actually pursue, so it was quite a natural thing.

 What inspired you to become filmmaker?

 

It goes back to that same time and place where I’d either watch movies or think about making one. That was the initial idea was to just write them. I was hooked on writing and writing screenplays and from then on once I put my finger on that passion I knew it’s what I wanted.

 What is the best thing about being one?

 

The creation. To be more specific the evolution of creation from taking to notes to writing a script to the meetings about the film to figuring out how to do certain things, to principal photography, to the edit. I know it sounds like I said everything but it’s really the journey I enjoy most; bringing a concept to fruition.

 

 What is the worst thing about being one?

 

Waiting for the next project to start.

What is the estimated number of projects you have worked on?

As a director I’d say the safe bet there is nine. There are a lot of exclusions taken into account when coming up with that number (projects shot in film school, projects solely for upload on YouTube and so on) basically what it boils down to is seven shorts and two television commercials.

Who is your favorite filmmaker?

 

Oh, that’s a hard one. I’m afraid I’d forget one. I’ll name a few and they’re each a bit different. The first filmmaker I remember searching for in video stores by name was Hitchcock. I love Bergman. I’ve always loved Spielberg, even more so after taking a course on him in college. My favorite, out of the New Wave, is Truffaut. I have an affinity for Argento. I could probably go on and on. I’m always seeking inspiration anew.

What is one piece of advice you can give to someone who also wants to make it in the movie business?

 

Stick with it, don’t stop pursuing it. There are plenty of stories out there of those who’ve gotten their breaks later on. Don’t give up.

 

 

 

What are some of your favorite American films? Foreign films? Television shows?

 

I try not to draw too much of a distinction between foreign films and American films. Each nation will have its own aesthetic, of course, but I like to watch and learn from as many different cultures as I can. I have a particular fondness for Hungarian cinema Satantango and The Annunciation being two of my favorite films I’ve seen from that nation. While on my blog I do have an annual film award, where I like to single out the best I’ve seen, I haven’t made a comprehensive list of my all-time favorites. Some of the films I have at one time or another cited as a favorite would be Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, My Girl, Milk Money, Artificial Intelligence: A.I. and Citizen Kane but I also love films like Psycho, Winter Light, Cinema Paradiso, I could just go on and on and on.

 

I don’t watch as much TV as I used to but of shows currently on the air I love Modern Family, R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour and Game of Thrones. Some of my favorite shows of all-time regardless of format are Family Guy, ALF, Seinfeld, Pit Pony and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

How would you describe your film education?

Long and varied. I went into college very green with regards to the technical aspects of filmmaking both creatively and crew-wise. As I said before it was sort of a natural thought: “Why couldn’t I study that?” I was always very interested in the arts but wasn’t one of those kids who grew up shooting and editing my own Super 8 and video pictures. I was a commuter traveling a great distance so when I went to Fairleigh Dickinson University-Madison I took a lot of electives and got grounded in theory. I took most if not all the courses they had to offer in that regard. Finally, when the commute caught up to me I transferred to C.W. Post- Long Island University. With a little help I was able to do a crash course in all the production courses, which I had done few of, and got a very well-rounded six year undergraduate education. I’m sure I’m not the only one and I no longer say that with a knot in my stomach and a grimace on my face because I think if I hadn’t I’d be worse off for it.

 How would you describe the film "scene" where you live?

 

Where I live in at the moment, it’s virtually non-existent. If and when my feature gets started, if it does shoot locally, we’d be re-invigorating the scene. The Delaware Film Office doesn’t even produce a production guide anymore so it may be necessary to lean on Pennsylvania and the GPFO for support. Obviously, I hope that’ll change but it’s not in the cards right now.

 How has social media changed the independent film industry?

 

I think its likely changed things for the better. Democratization seems to be the modus operandi of most of the advancements of the computer age. People can crowd-fund, they can promote, they can contact people and spread the word about their project better than ever before and there is perhaps more of an opportunity to get out there and make a splash. I think it’s rather exciting and the possibilities seem limitless.

 

What's your opinion on crowdfunding?

 

It’s not a method I’d be comfortable using myself but I don’t begrudge anyone doing what they feel necessary to make their project happen.

 How does independent film differ from the mainstream?

 

It’s obvious it differs in terms of budget and other reasons, but it shouldn’t. It should all be about the story. Regardless of whether one is salaried, and what that payment might be, professionalism should be paramount. All things serve the film and anything less is unacceptable, whether on a shoestring or blockbuster budget.

 You could go back in time and see any classic film being made. Which film would it be and why?

 

Wow, that’s a great question. I could answer it any number of different ways but if I can only pick one I just might have to say Casablanca. Simply due to the stories I’ve read about what a living organism that film was while it was in production, the script was constantly in flux and always being tweaked yet the end result is so polished and brilliant. That would’ve been a sight to behold.

 What's your favorite movie quote and why?

 

To pluck one favorite quote out of all of the films I’ve loved, to single out as the best, would be impossible. What I will do instead is cite a quote by Lillian Gish in The Night of the Hunter, which I think best describes my storytelling approach, my voice as some would call it: “You know, when you’re little, you have more endurance than God is ever to grant you again. Children are man at his strongest. They abide.” I pick that over something like John Hughes’ famous quote “I don’t think of kids as a lower form of the human species” because it’s in a positive place. In my writing I frequently feature characters who are children and the point isn’t necessarily “Kids are people too” but they’re better, stronger and more evolved in certain cases, Suffer the Little Children notwithstanding but there’s enough gray area in that movie that I can likely twist it to fit that logic too.

 What is your opinion on movie remakes and sequels?

I try and take each of those films on a case-by-case basis as I do not like to deal in absolutes. Therefore, I consider would I want to see a sequel to that film or should that film be remade but do not cast aspersions on either as a whole.

Sequels have been a part of film since time immemorial. What I do ask is that a story be done, sequels can happen whether you leave ample room for them or not but tell the story before you to its conclusion. Similarly, I wouldn’t say I’d never work on a remake I’d just have very different criteria for picking that project than most: I’d seek out a film that just missed greatness, or had a lot of potential and want to fine tune it.

 

What is your opinion on book to movie adaptations?

Considering that the film I directed just out of college, Suffer the Little Children, is an adaptation of a Stephen King short story, of course, I am fine with adaptations. I was very grateful to be allowed to make that film under his Dollar Baby program. I would not be averse to doing another adaptation someday. Adaptations, similar to sequels and remakes, are nothing new. It’s a much different process for both the viewer and the writer. However, it is a creative endeavor it’s not merely transcription but transformation.