There’s also a religious tone to American Prom. Are these the kinds of stories you want to tell?
I grew up with a beautiful, personal relationship with my faith, but ultimately I am drawn to making family friendly films that deliver powerful messages. I like to think of American Prom as a crossover film – faith-friendly, not faith-based. As such, my hope is that we are able to spread positive messages about spirituality, change, and acceptance with the power to reach many more teens and their families.
As a religious film, it’s a bit gritty in terms of language and subject matter. Did you ever find yourself tempted to clean up the story?
I was actually offered a pretty good distribution deal if I changed a lot of the story. I ultimately decided to leave it as is in hopes of reaching a much wider audience. Too many faith-friendly films preach to their audience only. I wanted to reach the teens who should watch this, not just the ones who already would.
“…kept the budget low by tailoring the script to one location that offered multiple options for interior and exterior shots.”
Your cast is primarily young adults and teens. How did you cast the film and what were some of the tricks to getting a natural performance from a young cast?
I was fortunate to know and work with most of the cast through my acting school prior to COVID-19, which gave me a really good feel for their strengths and how to get the most from their performances. I took this personal knowledge and put it into the script by creating and writing characters specifically with their talents in mind. However, as I mentioned earlier, I couldn’t risk being on set with my wife battling stage 4 cancer and all the unknowns with COVID-19. So I spent a month on Zoom sessions with the actors prior to production – essentially “pre-directing” the movie with all the lead/supporting cast before filming even began.
American Prom is a low-budget film. What were some of the tricks you employed to make your dollar stretch?
With COVID impacting so many people’s livelihoods, I chose to personally put up the money instead of seeking investors to produce the micro-budget indie. I kept the budget low by tailoring the script to one location that offered multiple options for interior and exterior shots. I also kept the gear and crew extremely minimal. During the actual production, the hired crew consisted of a single cameraman/DP and an audio person for most (but not all) of the one-week shoot. Beyond those two crew members and myself, it was the actors and parents pitching in to make this movie possible – from lighting and boom holding to script supervising, props, and wardrobe! Fortunately, they were able to learn plenty of production skills from an on-set experience program offered by my acting and film school before the pandemic. They were true professionals on set – both in front and behind the camera.
It is my hope that American Prom reaches a young audience and makes a powerful impact but also serves as an inspiration to newer filmmakers to go out and make a movie… no matter what budget they have to work with.
Where is American Prom available to watch?
Currently, American Prom is available on Amazon Prime and VUDU.
