Interview with Filmmaker Jacob Seidman (FALL TO FAME)

FALL TO FAME was the winner of BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at the June 2020 Chicago FEEDBACK Film Festival.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Jacob Seidman: I wanted to create an opportunity for myself. Being able to build something from scratch, meeting and working with so many talented and collaborative people is what I enjoy doing more than anything else.

As a gay man I tend to write LGBTQ content, my goal is always to create material about people, not about people who are different. I want everyone to have a moment or a character that they can relate to throughout the piece.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

Well the initial script sat on the shelf for year after I wrote it. I dusted it off and reworked it with my writing partner Ashlee Curtis. And once I brought the script to Matt Lynn at Bridge the Divide Media, the process was about 10 months from start to finish.

3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?

Romantic. Closure.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Luckily we didn’t really have a lot of obstacles! We pushed back production dates a few times so that we could coordinate with the actors we truly wanted to be part of the piece.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I was so honored to hear the feedback from the audience members. I loved hearing people discuss the duality of the interview situation in the piece, the conversation within the conversation. This is exactly what we were hoping to achieve. It is great that people are getting that moment from the piece, but was also very fun to see how excited people were to discuss it.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?

I tend to write about subjects centered around a relationship or a breakup…I should probably try therapy, but I write instead!…As an actor in Hollywood I wanted to explore the idea of doing whatever it takes to be successful, and whether it’s fully worth it or not.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Probably “Singin’ in the Rain”. I can do all the dance numbers for you too!

8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?

I love FilmFreeway, I’ve used it for many years for multiple projects and I have always had a great experience.

9. What is next for you? A new film?

I currently have a web series online that was fully filmed in quarantine, @searchingforjoshbrolin on Instagram. A light and fun comedic series.

I also wrote and filmed a fully quarantine short film with three actors filming at home, in three different states, and a virtual director overseeing on Zoom.

And when live theatre is a thing again I have an original play “#CommitmentIssues”, that will be premiering at some point in the future.