“Bobbycrush” filmmaker Cam Archer returns with a look at the painful world of teenage sexual awakening in his latest feature Wild Tigers I Have Known.
We spoke with Cam about his film.
How did “Wild Tigers I Have Known” come to be? ^ It was a day to day process. Wrote the script. Submitted to the Sundance Lab. Got into that. Then I re-wrote the script. We cast it. Raised a little bit of money. Shot it in August. Edited through, uh, a few nights ago. And now it’s going to show at the dance.
What were some major obstacles in getting this film made? ^ Raising money was tough. But isn’t it always. Finding the right kids was tough, too.
But that’s nothing new either. Everything was really rushed. But I just had to make the film, or so I kept telling myself. So the obstacles would kind of just blend into one another, and somehow we were able to just go out there and make the film.
I find that filmmakers sometimes wait around too much for their films, which only creates more obstacles. If you feel passionate about something, you should be able to shoot it on yer cell phone.
How did you assemble your cast? ^ I cast the first kid I met, Malcolm Stumpf, for my lead. Julia Kim, my casting director, knew about him, and immediately I just knew he would be right for the part. And, more importantly, he was cool with the role. He understood that it was just a role. I can’t imagine being 14 and taking on what he did for my film. Very brave kid. Patrick White and Max Paradise, kids also in the film, we found through open auditions. Again, very brave kids.
Kim Dickens, Fairuza Balk and Tom Gilroy all came on for the film, and I got to tell you it was strange to be working with all of these real actors. I was so used to using kids I knew, or friends of mine. Now I had all these people who did this for a living. It was a nice new thing.
Was it difficult working with kids? ^ Of course. But making a film should be difficult. I do want to take a break from ‘kid movies’ though.
What would you like for this film to do for its audience? ^ Hopefully they’ll sit through it. I think it’s a smart film and that can be damaging, challenging. But just maybe if they sit through it, they’ll find it rewarding.
What was the first thing you did upon finding out you were accepted to Sundance? ^ I thought I might throw-up, but I didn’t. I think I called my brother Nate first. He did all the original music, sounds and the sound design.
Watch the trailer for this film online>>>
