Production Stories
I have a favorite reality-check quote: “You can get a lot done if you don’t care who gets credit.” I had that reminder hanging on my office wall for many years: ironically, I don’t know who said it. It’s a challenging idea, but it kept my eyes on the prize…
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Not all film festivals are created equal. There’s a very small handful of “majors” like Cannes, Berlin, or Sundance, where stratospheric deals are made, celebrities parade, lives of undiscovered talent change forever. There, the world gets a glimpse of what they’ll be watching in the coming year while some films…
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The release of any film is a long-term campaign. When I was a young filmmaker, I thought the finish line was just getting the film done—as if it would magically find an audience for itself just by existing. Now I know that it requires loads of research, knowledge about existing…
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The movie Praying the Hours, finished just a week or so ago, has hundreds of names listed in the end credits. Those names reflect the scores of people and resources it takes to make a film. Both in front of and behind the camera, it requires people who are willing…
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Last Saturday we pressed “print” on the final stage of the feature film Praying the Hours. Sound Designer Scott Weber, Composer Lauren Meares, Editor Patrick O’Neil Duff, and I spent 11 hours in the loveliest new studio at Smart Sound Post in Glendale, with the best treats. Sunday I was…
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An ancient story tells of two monks, the younger searching for meaning: Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far as I can, I say my little office,I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and, as far as I…
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by Lauralee Farrer, director It always seems that just when it’s most important to post, most interesting, there is least time for it. Blog posting for me, like journaling, is nearly always frustratingly anticipatory or reflective, losing the amazing energy of the “now” of filmmaking. Rather quietly, and without fanfare…
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by Lauralee Farrer, director In a little more than a week, after years of work, the first installment of Praying the Hours will be seen publicly. The story of None has become very dear to us and we are glad to put it out in the world. The fact that…
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by Patrick O’Neil Duff, editor Today I turn 32 years old. My life consists of daily interaction with my two-year-old daughter, my four-year-old son, and fifty-some-odd college students. In other words, I live in a cesspool of unwashed hands and runny noses, surrounded by individuals who don’t know how to…
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Yesterday you were a boy, today blind passion makes your blood swell. You do not mean to seek lust but joy; you have been chosen as a groom whose desire is only for his bride. But the spirit of lust pulls at you, even ordinary arms suggest nakedness. Even pale…
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