It is with great pleasure for us to interview Chris Beauchamp. He had a burning desire to make movies since he was a little boy in middle school. In 2016, he made his very first movie called Batman v Arrow: Return Of Heroes. He was very nervous making his first movie and wanted to make it as good as possible. It came out on August 14th, 2016. The film got over 300 views on YouTube and motivated him to make more movies. After his first film, he went on to make 3 more movies and ended up getting a small role in the upcoming TV show, Chaos Crew.
O N E follows the story of a mysterious figure, who is the last person on earth. Throughout each day, he searches for survivors in hopes that there is someone out there.
What draws you to filmmaking and the cinematic language?
There are many avenues and areas of what draws me towards this form of expression. But mostly, it is due to the undying search for answers within myself. There's always a love for wanting to simply tell stories and for creating them from the ground up. But I've noticed, more so now with this film, that there is always something rooted in these stories that connects to my present in ways I wouldn't have been able to find if I didn't tell that story. Stories have been oddly enough my ways of understanding more to who I am and how I operate on a daily basis. And the unknowing of my connections through the course of crafting them is what I love the most about it. Once I'm invested, it's almost like I'm turning myself off and allowing whoever it is I'm playing or telling take the driver's seat for a short while and see what happens. It's the unconscious slip and then the revelation months later of not only what happened was not my own but realizing more of the fundamentals that are myself within that. Because, well, I wrote who it was I was playing. So there was a reason why the character acts the way they are. I get a much more better understanding of how I act and what I do through this mysterious experience that I take with my stories; much more this film than I have with others in the past
Do you believe in film schools or does making a film teach you more than film school?
I never went to film school once I began telling stories. I just got a group of friends together, had a camera and we just started filming...something. And just speaking from my own experience, I find that getting the courage to just experiment and try it out and the willingness to want to keep trying and improving is what was much more valuable for myself. I don't like when someone has to become technical or mechanical when it comes to making films. It gets boring really fast for me. I love the experience of just searching for what the story needs and then the creation of it months later. And to be clear, I care about the technical elements as much as any other filmmaker. But if it came down to how I've learned things or go to a film professor, I would take my path anyday anytime.
Does cinema stand out more than the arts for you? Why?
I don't believe certain art is above any other forms of art. It's all lovely forms of expression that help those creating to represent themselves in a certain fashion. It's our place for therapy and comfort at the same time. That all being said, Cinema has been my place of therapy for the past three years now and I don't feel like giving it up yet or ever right now. But everyone has their own way of expressing themselves and I don't believe one is above any other.
Why do you like to make films and where do you see your career in the film industry in ten years?
I love how I feel during it and after it. I feel that I have a sense of purpose and a drive. I'm almost always feeling like I'm on an adventure. I hope to grow in the future; perhaps head out of my town to other places to push my career forward. Maybe heading off to LA sometime in the future. But mostly, I just hope I get to tell my stories and get to be able to express myself through them truthfully and honestly. This project, O N E, I can definitely say has the most truth I've ever put into one of my stories.
Do you consider yourself an indie filmmaker and what would most be the most difficult thing about being an independent artist?
I don't like to label myself as anything really because you set an expectation with a certain title for people. I just simply refer to myself as a storyteller. And the only expectation out of that is..well.. just telling stories. And that's simply what I just love doing and to be known for career wise. The difficulties with operating on no budget or small budget is the restraint and limitations. But for me, that's where the fun is and where the most creativity is sparked from. And also it's easier to manage versus having to handle something more costly and expensive. I can definitely say that O N E is the biggest film I've ever done and through our limitations also the most rewarding and fulfilling.
What is the distribution plan for your film and how are you planning to reach a greater audience for your project?
Right now, O N E is having a festival run and being sent out to festival circuits. It is available to watch online for free on YouTube and Vimeo (under the name Francis Beau for both). I don't have any plans for distributing it. But if someone were to reach out to me about that, I would definitely be open to talking about it.
What is your cinematic goal in life and what would you like to achieve as a filmmaker?
My goal really is just to be able to tell my stories and to be able to just express how it is I'm feeling. And hopefully within that, the audience can be able to connect to certain elements within my stories as well. I've always said if you can't connect with what you're making, then how do you expect the audience to do so? The audience knows if you're connected. And I always wish to be connected to whatever story I'm telling. Either it being my own or someone else's that I'm participating in, if I'm not feeling it or connecting, then I have a hard time being able to do it at all.
What kind of impact would your film have in the world and who is your audience?
My hope with O N E is that those who see it have an interesting discussion about it. It's a story that isn't meant to be taken in one possible direction. What I've loved about stories is the interpretation that comes with them even when they're not intentionally being so. I love the wiggle room for perspective and I'm excited to hear people's perspectives of this story and what they see within this character and the circumstances surrounding him and I ultimately hope that within all of it, it asks them hard questions and within it generates interesting answers to questions that really have no right answer to them.