Have you ever thought about drawing inspiration for your characters, from your own family? How do you accomplish that in a way that protects them while also being true to the story?

In this episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins and director of Wildflower, Matt Smukler, discuss:

Taking a documentary piece and turning it into a narrative feature

Being as authentic as possible while not losing his family in the process

Knowing immediately who would be casted as the main character

Leaning on the screenwriter and main actress to help him tell a young girl’s story

Not wanting the audience to recognize his director’s hand

Using a feature editor versus a commercial editor

The things he wish he knew before making a feature film

How a game of tennis helped him find a producer

Having his teenage daughter write songs for the film 



Memorable Quotes

“I got really really lucky. I had all my first choices in this movie.” [15:05]

“I do feel like, as a family unit, they are all individually these wildflowers who can exist with very little in terms of human intervention in some ways.” [16:13]

“I did want this to feel like it was just happening in sort of real time, in front of us.” [20:02]

“I’d rather be in business with someone who's got the hustle than a bunch of credits.” [33:33]

“Figure out a story that’s got a beginning, middle, and end that you love and just go do it.” [44:20]




Mentioned Resources:
Wildflower is Now Available for Streaming


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