Braaking Newz is a drama between two successful news anchors Lorra and Anna delivering the newz with unexpected appearance of Bigfoot, the comedian and the President. It was our pleasure to interview Peter Boiadzhieff, the director of the film.
What draws you to filmmaking and the cinematic language?
It was a dream as I was a kid to be a film maker, but in reality, all my life is like a movie. I am not quite sure if I am living the dream as a kid or the dream is consuming me as an adult. I was fascinated with the old movies that I watched on my black and white tv. It was that simple time, no cell phones, no internet, just two channels on the tv. I really love the movie “The Great Dictator” by Charlie Chaplin what a great illustration of cinnamic language. One day I would be able to create my own version of “The Greatest Dictator”, but this is for another topic.
Let’s, get back in the real world. I found that the film creation is giving me a freedom of imagining and creating characters that are not possible to exits in reality. In other words, the film making for me is the way of life, that some one said I want to be a normal, what is normal mean. I do not want to be normal, I wanna be … you will see in some of my other films what that means, after all I am already the main character in my own movie, my life.
Do you believe in film schools or does making a film teach you more than film school?
I love this question and thank you for asking me. Do not get me wrong I love to take some of the film schools, but just taking the school or the class is not enough. Let me give you an example in software development, many times people asked me, which class I should take that I could become a software developer. Well, you can take all classes available in that topic, but to become a software developer it takes patient and lots of year to practice, what you learned and constantly learning. It is the same with film making because you took a film class does not make you a film maker.
In some cases, I asked them back, why do you want to be a software developer? In 99 percent answer is because I want to make these big bucks like you. Pretty much I get the same answer from people for film making, they simply believe that just one film is going to make them billionaires. Let’s them believe and I love those dreamers.
However, I do not like how the system works, for everything what we do we need to take a class, or earn a degree in order someone to hire us, or just to be a houseman in the hotel you need to have a degree. Hypothetically speaking, if I just earned a degree of how to drive a car model Nissan, then can I drive car models like Toyota, Kia, Bmw, or Porsche. Oh, I can’t because I need to have a degree for each of them.
Again, I believe in film school, but not in the price and in most of the time the school is overpriced. Once I take the school then George Lucas will hire me and I will skip all the casting calls because I already took the school.
For me film making is a process that gives me joy, excitement, and fulfillment. I love any aspects of it, from the script, casting the actors, filming, editing, and finally releasing the final cut.
What makes cinema stand out more than the arts for you?
I am a huge fan of art particularly in oil paintings. I think is some case the film could be considered as Art film, but I am not quite sure if the Art could be a film. It might be, I am not sure, in these days anything is possible. In other words, the film is most advanced form of art, however art, let say the painting does not includes sound and movement.
For me, the cinema, the film you can watch it on the big screen you can tell the story, develop characters, you could surprise the audience with something unexpected. In other hand I can stare at the painting with hours and try to figure out what the artist wanted to convey, is there are a hidden message …
Finally the film could be considered as an art, but the art could not.
Did you choose a certain directing style for the making of your film?
I did not know till now that someone already named the director’s styles. In my own vision I like the scenes to get be done in timely manner and I really hate that someone from the crew says, this is not possible to be done. Well, I will be the first that will make it happened. After reflection from my last projects my directing style goes more similar like “The dictator” style, that I do not like but in most time is necessary when you want the things to get done in short time period.
However, I love to use the “The confrontationalist” where I am in dialogue with the actors about creative decisions and how to handle different type of scenes.
How did you choose the cast and the crew of your film?
This was not easy task for me, I consider myself one person camera and one crew that give me more flexibility. I created a cast call in Imdb, and few other sites, and was able to cast few of the actors. The crew and the rest of the actors I got from the film group ForkShop in Norcross Georgia, that was part before the covid-19 started.
The best success to cast the crew or actor for me when I volunteer to be part of other film project. That gave me ability to see the person have a conversation with him or her and see how they are working on the set.
How did you fund your film and what were some of the challenges of making this film?
This is very interesting question. I am self-funding my short films, also I own most of the equipment, lights, cameras, mics and etc. Also, I am editing my films that gives me a big advantage and dis-advantage, because I ended up with 10 different versions of one film title. I am not a big studio and my script is not that crazy that will require 100K dollars, but at some point, it will be great that I can hire people to perform the job for me.
Do you consider yourself an indie filmmaker and what would most be the most difficult thing about being an independent artist?
I think that I am consider myself as indie film maker, because my films are to express different ideas not for the purpose of money, I could add that my film projects are more of passion and … you will see it in my next film project.
The most difficult thing for me is to organize the people, cast the actors. What I meant it is difficult to start the new film project, but once I started it is keep going and the actors and crew are coming on the way.
What is the distribution plan for your film?
My distribution plan was to create film the film and published online. For example, I am using Vimeo Pro on demand which is really great. I used Amazon Prime one of my short film “Braaking Newz” was published and another was rejected.
I had conversation with AMC Theatres to have premiere of my first movie “The Secret Project 53” in one of their location near to my house, but the pandemic hit and that premiere does not happen.
I prefer to use Vimeo and also created several DVDs, had several sells from my web site.
What is your cinematic goal in life and what would you like to achieve as a filmmaker?
I did not set goals for myself, but so far, I was able to get several official selections for my films, I was awarded best first-time director for my short film “The Secret Project 53” by Hollywood Blood Horror Festival and recently I few days ago I got award for best supporting actor in my film “Braaking Newz” by Golden State Film Festival.
I would like to be able to use more combination of green screen and also to be able to finish a fight scene.
Also, I need to finish my next few projects that I filmed but did not finish editing, also complete my series of rafting videos, and the next episodes of “Braaking Newz”. Also, I love to have more meaningful content and mystery to my films. I want to complete a music video and a feature documentary film up to 2 hours.
What kind of impact would your film have in the world and who is your audience?
I am not quite sure what kind of impact my film would make in the world, but maybe I am already making a small impact working with very talented actors that one day will be famous. Let’s leave this question to the future, this is not my goal.
I really do not like this question who is my audience, off course my audience is everyone, the film is made for general audience.
In fact there will be people that might like and people that do not like film, at this time I do not have enough data to collaborate and narrow down to age group, or particular group type. I would say that my film is for general audience.
Thank you so much for interviewing me, it is my pleasure, again Thank you!