Life on the Farm is a follow up screenplay for an alumni of FilmQuest. In the short screenplays at the 2019 Filmquest film festival (website) Life on the Farm was recognized as one of the top 20. It was then singled out as one of the finalists (top 9).
Synopsis
Two strangers with no memory, wake up together on a farm where a kindly old couple look after them.
Laurel Vail shares where the idea of Life on the Farm comes from and what inspired her to become a filmmaker. She also shares other interests.
What was the inspiration for Life on the Farm?
It stemmed from wanting to film something in my home state of Idaho. The landscape is unique and there are a lot of isolated areas. Plus I wanted to find a way to incorporate the caves in Craters of the Moon National Park somehow, so that's why the climax ends up the way it does. I guess I started with a setting and then grew it from there.
What project(s) do you have coming up you're excited about?
I am going to try to expand this short into a feature. Most of the people that have read it say it feels like it needs more room to really be effective, so that's one of my next projects. I also have a few other pieces of writing to work on until I can afford to shoot another film. The great thing about writing is that it's free to do and I still feel like I have a creative outlet between films.
What was your early inspiration for pursuing a career in film?
I started acting in friends' films when I moved to LA which led to me pursuing it more seriously. Eventually I decided I needed to make my own film, and in doing so really fell in love with directing. Writing has become a great way to feel like I'm still being creative even when I don't have money to make a film.
What would be your dream project?
That's a good question. I'd love to direct a character driven action film. I'd also love to direct a high concept sci-fi film, especially something with time travel. I love a time travel story. I'd love to make something with a big budget for production design to really dive into world-building.
What are some of your favorite pastimes when not working on a movie?
I gotta admit I watch a lot of TV and movies. I've also been cooking a lot lately, which I find to be stress relieving after my day job.
What is one of your favorite movies and why?
Snowpiercer—it checks a lot of boxes. I am a sucker for world-building. I love interesting characters. I love movie violence. I love high-concept plots. It even has a musical number!
I also saw Laurel's short film What Metal Girls Are Into at the 2018 FilmQuest screenings which is now available on Amazon (link). For the 5e gamers out there, this one stars Matt Mercer.
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