Indie Horror

We had the opportunity recently to interview young Indie Horror Writer and Film Director Nadine L'Esperance about what drew her to filmmaking and also her new zombie film Maya’s Journal.

                                                

IndieHorror.Net – Tell us a bit more about yourself.  What drew you to filmmaking? Which Filmmakers do you admire the most?

Nadine –Well, first of all, I have always been drawn to the horror genre since I first saw Creepshow when I was 5.  I won’t name a certain family member who snuck me in the theatre.  I was shocked that there were such movies out there and have been addicted since.  I have since then watched movies from every perspective and have been fascinated by it all. There are lots of amazing filmmakers out there,hard to decide.. Sam Raimi, John Carpenter, Jen and Sylvia Soska.. To name an awesome few.

IndieHorror.Net – We had a chance to watch your film – Maya’s Journal.  How did you come up with the story for the film?

Nadine –Actually how it came about was using DIY filmmaking, there was a contest for zombie shorts going on and I said to myself I can do this! I basically made a story around what was available to me and how I could use every aspect of it. In fact if it went according to my original story, it would have had a group of teenagers in there too. They ditched out on me. I also like kids in horror movies. It adds to the creep factor.

                                         

IndieHorror.Net – With a run time of almost 16 minutes, how long did it take to complete the film from shooting to post production?  Was the film expensive to produce?

Nadine – I shot one 12 hour day in Kelowna British Columbia and one 12 hour day in Vancouver British Columbia 2 months apart. The Kelowna shoot was actually shot over Easter weekend April 2011.  The big expenses were make-up, a new camera, because my cat launched my other one off my desktop and sound equipment which I didn’t end up using because it didn’t work very well. I did run out of blood near the end so all the end scenes are one or two shot deals. The editing itself had many problems - crashes, file corruption, rendering problems, etc. You name it…it happened! It took me a month to figure it out. I almost quit. I didn’t and it was a very awesome achievement for me. It was fully available online on Dec 2011.

IndieHorror.Net – It looks like your family plays a major role in the making of the film.  Have they always been so supportive of your aspirations?  Did the subject matter of the film bother them at all?

Nadine –They played a very big role as they were most of my actors. Nobody hesitated when I asked them if they would act in my zombie movie, even my parents. My parents have been supportive in whatever I do. My mom’s best advice - Do what makes you happy! They weren’t bothered by the subject matter because they know it’s fake. But in general they are not horror fans.

IndieHorror.Net – We had the chance to watch Maya’s Journal on Black Flag TV.  Do you plan on submitting the film to the various Indie Horror Film Festivals for an even wider viewing?

Nadine – After Dead on Film it has been screened at Zombiefeast, Jennifer’s Bodies and the upcoming Shock Stock. These are all film festivals. All of this happened over a few short months. I have plans on entering in a few more already but I won’t say which ones as to not jinx it!!

IndieHorror.Net – What can we expect next from Nadine L'Esperance?  Are you working on any upcoming projects you can share with us?

Nadine – I have two more projects in mind - One I’m writing right now and one for the future. I can’t really say yet what they’re about but the one I’m writing now will have zombie-type things in it, murders and children. Lots of blood and gore but with a dark humor storyline.
  I have met so many wonderful people in the short 6 months that my film has been out. Many awesome websites have given me a shout out. Such encouragement helps to fuel the next one. Thank you IndieHorror.Net for taking the time for this. Much appreciated!

For more information on Nadine L’Esperance and to view Maya’s Journal, head over to

http://bluegirlfilms.blogspot.com/