Emily Bridger is an actor/writer/filmmaker from St. John's, Newfoundland. Her interest in film and literature began at a very young age, and a love of acting followed, when she enrolled in theatre class in her final year of high school. Since then, she has performed in various plays and short films within St. John's. In the winter of 2007, Emily began work on her first venture into filmmaking with NIFCO's First Time Filmmaker program. Since it's completion in 2008, the film, 'Epilogue', has screened at various festivals in Canada. Emily now lives in Toronto where she is currently writing her next short film, as well as pursuing other acting and writing opportunities.
moovy.ca: Let’s go back to the very beginning, what is your favorite movie and why?
EMILY BRIDGER: I actually had a discussion about this question with my boyfriend, Mark, the other day. One of his all-time favorite pastimes is rating ones movie preferences, so it’s a pretty common occurrence. Anyway, he guessed that my favorite movie is ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’. I was sort of thinking ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, but now I’m not so sure. I love both of them, and they really struck a chord with me the first time I watched them- so much so that I continue to watch them over and over again. I love tons of different kinds of movies, and my preferences change from mood to mood, but I think I tend to be attracted to movies that are ever-so slightly dark, relationship-based, and honest. I love to watch bizarre behavior of well-written characters. I think that Wes Anderson and Charlie Kaufman both do that so perfectly in all their films. And Sofia Coppola. She’s awesome.
moovy.ca: Has what you look for in a movie changed since you started making your own films?
E.B.: Making my own film really has changed the way I watch them. I’m much more attentive, now, to things like the cinematography, the editing, the art direction, etc. of a movie. Before I’d sort of enjoy the movie as a whole and maybe pay particular attention to the acting. Now I tend to attempt to dissect it, and figure out what makes any particular movie work or not work. Mark also has a habit of pausing and rewinding parts of movies that he likes. That used to annoy me. Now I find it interesting…sometimes.
moovy.ca: What made you decide to become a filmmaker?
EB: I don’t think I ever really made a conscious decision to become a filmmaker. It started out more as creating a way for me to act. Acting jobs in the winter in Newfoundland aren’t exactly everywhere. Mark had made a film with NIFCO’s first-time filmmaker program a couple of years back, and a few more since then, and he suggested I submit a script. At first I thought that that was a completely ridiculous idea, and I was sure that no one would let me be in control of an actual film. But then I decided to write a short film, submit it, and see what happens. It went step by step from there, and I sort of expected someone to pull the plug on the whole thing because it didn’t seem to make any sense that I was allowed to make film. Since the film’s been completed and I’ve gotten to reflect on the whole process, I’ve finally become conscious of the fact that this is something that I would LOVE to do again, and continue to do.
moovy.ca: Epilogue played in The Nickel Film Festival in St. John’s, Newfoundland and in Montreal at the YoungCuts Festival as well. Were you super excited when you heard the film was accepted in those festivals?
EB:I was so unbelievably excited when I found out my film was accepted for these festivals! I was so happy about the Nickel because, for one thing, I’m always looking for an excuse to come home for a visit. It was also really nerve-wracking, since this is the first film I’ve ever been involved with, so it was the first time I’d ever been a part of any sort of festival. I haven’t been to many, to tell you the truth, so I was pretty nervous. The Nickel was also the first time that anyone I knew (besides the people involved with the film) got to see ‘Epilogue’, so I was pretty nervous about that as well. But it turned out great- no one disowned me or anything.
It was also pretty cool, getting accepted to YoungCuts. My brother lives in Montreal, so a few people I know got to see it. It’s far different, though, being there while someone watches something you wrote, directed, and acted in, and just hearing about someone seeing it. I also just found out I was accepted into the Atlantic Film Festival, which I’m super-excited about. I’m hoping I’ll be able to go to Halifax for the screening.
moovy.ca: So when you decided to make a film what did you do?
EB: I submitted my script to NIFCO’s [Newfoundland Independent Filmmaker Cooperative] first-time film mentor, Roger Maunder, and from there things seemed to happen pretty fast. Roger is awesome. He’s got a lot of experience filmmaking himself, so he had a lot of tips and suggestions, but he never really pushed me in any direction. He was a great guide. He warned me about acting in my own film. He said he’d done it before and it can be very difficult. He was right. I’m glad I did do it, but I’d definitely advise a new filmmaker to consider other options. It can get pretty hectic.
moovy.ca: Were there a lot of resources available to you as a first time filmmaker?
EB: There were a ton of resources available for me! I was set up with a professional crew, all who had so much to offer. I had great equipment at my fingertips. I was able to edit my film at NIFCO. I really couldn’t believe it. It was such a wonderful opportunity.
moovy.ca: What was the most daunting part of the process?
EB: I found the technical stuff the most daunting, for sure. It’s hard to imagine what goes into making a movie until you actually step onto a film set-, which I had never done before. I can’t say the writing is easy either, but at least that’s something I’m a little more familiar with.
moovy.ca: Did you find it difficult to move from the written word to the visual image on the screen?
EB: In a way, it was difficult. I mean, when you write about a character, you get decide how they’re feeling, how they say the things they say, how they move, everything. But when it comes to projecting that on a screen, it’s really left up to the actors who are performing what you wrote. Maybe they’ll interpret the script differently- perhaps better than you imagined. There are definitely a lot more variables when you go from written word to actual film.
In another way, though, it can make things easier. Like that old cliché “a picture paints a thousand words”. Writing is difficult, for me anyway. I can rack my brain for hours trying to describe a certain scene I have in my head, and still never find the right words. Once you’re on set, though, you can kind of just do what you can to make the set look like what’s happening in your head. If that makes any sense.
moovy.ca: Was it difficult making the transition from acting to directing? What do you like best?
EB: It was difficult making the transition from actor to director. I found it even more difficult, I think, to transition from writer to actor. It’s a very strange thing, to have to act with a script that I wrote, and re-wrote, and read thousands of times. It was difficult to try to make it seem authentic. With the directing, I had to make pretty much all the decisions before shooting, since I was in every scene. I made a pretty detailed storyboard and then Roger sort of had to be my eyes on the day of the shoot.
I don’t know anymore! I think I like acting more. But that might be because I’ve only directed once and wasn’t really sure what I was doing. And sometimes I’ll get these ideas in my head and then think of how I would try to direct that particular idea and how much fun that would be. These days I seem to be thinking a lot more about writing and directing than anything else.
moovy.ca: What would you like to have more help with?
EB: That’s hard to say, really, because I had so much help making this film. I don’t know what more I could’ve asked for. I had all these experienced, talented people surrounding me throughout the entire process. Looking back, I don’t know if I could have been taught anymore going into the shot; it was sort of a “learn as you go” thing, for me anyway. I guess one thing I would’ve liked more helped with would be the writing, since that was the only thing I really did on my own. I have a bunch of almost finished scripts. I’m all over the place. I plan to have at least one of them finished within the next couple of weeks, and hopefully, somehow, I’ll get to shoot it within the next year!