The college of LAE teamed up with the Avalon Theater to give a free screening of the short film “February” with a Q&A with the film’s writer and director Nathan Deming on March 10. The film follows Miguel, a recent Mexican immigrant, and his struggles with the culture change, racism and fitting in within small town Wisconsin.
The film is part of Deming’s ongoing “Year Project”, a film series Deming envisions to encapsulate life in WI. Each film is set in and based on a different month of the year, while the films themselves are set and filmed in the same small town.
After the film, Deming appeared to answer questions the audience had about the film and the filmmaking progress. When asked about his inspiration for the film, Deming stated, “The latino population is the largest and fastest-growing minority group in Wisconsin, and I felt they are a key perspective in the state. I’m also trying to incorporate the feeling of each month as I film them, and February feels like it’s a limbo and I wanted to incorporate that as well.”
Deming also commented on the struggles about making a film in Wisconsin. “The reason you don’t see many films that are filmed in Wisconsin is because there is no support from the state.” He explained that most states have tax incentives to film in their state, but Wisconsin does not. Additionally, there is no central establishment connecting filmmakers to actors within the state, making finding people local hard to find.
Deming seemed to view this as a blessing and a curse, because despite the higher costs and trouble in finding actors, he added, “There’s a real sense of community behind it, where I put out a bunch of calls saying ‘Hey, I’ll be here at this time on this day, make it if you can.’”
People interested in learning more about the film, or its companion film “January”, can go to februaryfilm.com to watch both films and learn more about the process and people involved. Deming also encouraged those interested in film in Wisconsin to check out Action! WI to help support filmmaking in Wisconsin.
