Grimmfest Interview with Clapboard Jungle writer and director Justin McConnell

Grimmfest’s first Easter Edition kicks off on the evening of Thur April 1st, 2021 with our preview night, and then continues across the evenings of 2-5 April, with a series of feature film premiere double bills with supporting shorts and Q&As with the cast & crew of each feature. In addition, there’ll be an exclusive pass holder double bill and an ARROW double bill both of which can be accessed any time across the weekend.

There’s so much to watch you won’t have time to get bored this Easter!

Writer-Director Justin McConnell offers a candid portrait of the film industry, and a survival guide for the modern independent filmmaker, as he chronicles several years of his struggles to get films made.

What are some of the challenges you encountered making this film, given it spans so many years?

Justin McConnell: A big challenge was to keep enthusiastic about the project over all that time. If I stopped turning the camera on myself or just grew tired of the routine for any given period of time, that would result in a big hole in the story. And that did happen a few times so in post we had to fill those gaps with voiceover and montage. The rest was just forcing myself to keep pushing forward to get it done, because it was such a long time and so much footage collected, once you face the post-production phase and you’re looking at a mountain of footage, a voice inside goes “that’s going to be SO much work, maybe we take a break and watch a movie?” or “I really have a bunch of client work I have to get done to keep proverbial food on the table, I should do that first” so the process can really drag out. And finally finding the story arc and structure in post is a big challenge when you’re working with so much footage, trying to cut about 300 hours down to 98 minutes is daunting, to put it lightly. Luckily I had Kevin Burke editing with me and Darryl Shaw advising through the edit, so it wasn’t a task I was facing alone.

Are there any fond memories of any particular guests you’d like to share?

Justin McConnell: I’m always going to remember the interview with Guillermo Del Toro I shot at George A. Romero’s place. Just having those two people that have helped form my appreciation for film as a medium in the same room was incredible enough, but after Del Toro left George and his lovely wife Suzanne bought us all dinner, and we ate, drank and talked about movies in general. It was just a pleasant time where you could relate to people on just an even human level instead interviewer and intervewee. That’s pretty much where most of the fondest memories come from while shooting this, in that the majority of the ‘idols’ I’ve met over the years have shown me that everyone is just a human being, for better or worse, and it helps remove that awe and grounds you in the reality of the business: nobody is an anointed one, we’re all just trying to make our way. And of course all the travel to fests and markets around the world are experiences I’ll take with me always.

How would you sell ‘Clapboard Jungle‘ in one sentence?

Justin McConnell: A survival guide for the modern independent filmmaker.

What do you hope people take away from ‘Clapboard Jungle’?

Justin McConnell: Their own copy of the film via Arrow’s Blu-ray! I kid, of course, but this question is primed for me to just answer with a sales pitch. What I really hope is it does different things for different people, depending upon where they are coming from. For just casual viewers I hope they get a clearer understanding of how the independent business works and what goes into making lower budget indie movies (or any film made outside the studio system). For more established filmmakers I’m hoping they get a reassurance of the steps they took in their path and a sense of solidarity from those on the same mission they are. For younger aspiring filmmakers I hope the film serves as a litmus test as much as an educational tool. If a younger filmmaker watches it and thinks “that’s so much work, I don’t know if I have that in me!” I hope it’s a reality check that maybe they aren’t cut out for the business. But if they watch it and think “I don’t care how hard it is, I’m going to do this!” then I hope they realize they’re already a filmmaker, and they already have what it takes, they now have to put the work in and create, even though there’s no guarantee of success.

We can’t wait for cinemas to be open again, what film would you love to see the guys at Grimmfest screen to a packed audience?

Justin McConnell: I’d love to see a big audience react to the Australian film BAD BOY BUBBY. Curious to see the crowd squirm. Great film, but so messed up.

What’s the best horror film you’ve seen for the first time recently?

Justin McConnell: Ken Russell’s THE DEVILS.

What have you got lined up next?

Justin McConnell: I’m in post-production on the 8 episode companion educational series to CLAPBOARD JUNGLE, which will be complete by Summer (release date TBD), I’m still actively trying to get multiple projects off the ground (the priority being MARK OF KANE), and I just signed on to direct a documentary adaptation of Caelum Vatnsdal’s seminal book on Canadian horror history, THEY CAME FROM WITHIN. And gradually writing some new music for my project CATHODE RAID (a follow-up to the album I released last Fall). Beyond all that, a lot of client work, and trying to survive the pandemic we are all still in.

Interview by Sean Luby. Find out more and book your tickets HERE and check out the trailer below: