You want more filmmaker interviews? We've got 'em! Welcome to another edition of Filmmakers in Focus, with five Narrative Spotlight films under the microscope.
Which of these talented directors is afraid of snakes? Who likes to stormchase in their filmmaking downtime? Which one thinks that movies are just plain stupid? Find out here! Hint - one of them is Joss Whedon.
Click on a title below to read the conversation, then start planning your SXSW with our film schedule.
Vincent Grashaw on Coldwater
Image courtesy Coldwater
Tell us a little about your film.
Coldwater is about a teenage boy who is sent to a juvenile reform facility in the wilderness. As we learn about the tragic events that sent him there, his struggle becomes one for survival with the inmates, the counselors, and with the retired war colonel in charge. Even though the story is fictional, this story sheds light on some disturbing issues going on today in America's privatized juvenile rehabilitation system.
Why did you start making films? 
Vincent Grashaw, courtesy Coatwolf
I started making films because like any form of expression, filmmaking always felt most suited for me and I have no clue what I would do with my life if I weren't making films. I think I would go insane.
Have you been to SXSW before?
I attended SXSW Film Festival in 2011 for a film I produced called 'Bellflower'. It was a fantastic experience, especially when Tim League attended our cricket eating contest party. If I were to give any tips, it would be to hang out at the High Ball as much as possible. I was sad to hear that it is under renovation this year and will not be open. It was a great place for breakfast, interviews, bowling, karaoke, dinner, and drinking.
Tell us a random fact (or two!) that would help our attendees get a better idea of who you are.
Whether I am directing or producing, I don't intend to focus on just one niche or genre. I'd like to think I have a colorful interest in storytelling and the types of films an audience would be interested in seeing. Coldwater is socially relevant and deals a lot with choices, consequences, and in a way discovering your own identity in the process of growing up. This doesn't mean my career will focus on films only about the human condition, or films that are socially relevant. I love horror, comedy, dark dramas, and I plan on dabbling in everything.
Mitchell Altieri on Holy Ghost People
Image courtesy Holy Ghost People
Tell us a little about your film.
A nineteen-year old girl enlists the help of an ex-Marine alcoholic to infiltrate a sinister Appalachian snake-handling church to find her missing sister. It's a fun and intense ride- snake-handling, Gospel rock and roll- it plays like an old Southern Gothic novel.
Why did you start making films? 
Mitchell Altieri, courtesy
Holy Ghost People
I started at the young age of nineteen. I was inspired by offbeat films like OVER THE EDGE, THE WANDERERS and anything David Lynch. So I would borrow cameras from a public broadcasting studio and would go out and shoot short movies with my friends about growing up in a rough, blue-collar neighborhood. That lead me to shoot my first feature film a few years later. Never stopped after that.
Till this day, it's the only thing I know how to do. I love to film and tell stories.
Have you been to SXSW before?
I have not and very much looking forward to it! Do you have any tips for me?
Tell us a random fact (or two!) that would help our attendees get a better idea of who you are.
This is my first venture outside the horror genre in a handful of years. I didn't start in that genre but always loved artistic horror films. After my last movie The Thompsons, I really wanted to get back to my roots, the storytelling I always wanted to do; gritty, American tales. Holy Ghost People was the perfect film for me.
I'm also petrified of snakes. So it was rather interesting trying to direct on a set filled with real live snakes!
- Add Holy Ghost People to your schedule here
- Click here to read all Filmmakers in Focus interviews to date
Joss Whedon on Much Ado About Nothing
Image courtesy Roadside AttractionsTell us a little about your film.
It's Much Ado About Nothing, the original text in a modern setting. It's a classic Shakespearean dramedy, with a bit of a noir edge.
Why did you start making films? 
Joss Whedon,
courtesy Michael Buckner
Why on earth would I do anything else?
Have you been to SXSW before? What are you most looking forward to?
I came last year for The Cabin in the Woods and had a great time. My tip is, try to squeeze in a day where you don't have to shill for your film so you can really enjoy the fest. And see something small and weird, that you wouldn't see anywhere else. Hey, MY movie's small and weird! Super total hint!
Tell us a random fact (or two!) that would help our attendees get a better idea of who you are.
I am revered throughout the film world for my punch up on Waterworld.
I look very much like Channing Tatum, thanks to strenuous hours of photoshop.
I don't have any pets, but if I did, I'm pretty sure they would eventually rebel and make ME their pet in some science-fictiony way.
If I can use the word "viscera" in a sentence, get ready to hear a use of the word "viscera"!
I think movies are stupid.
- Add Much Ado About Nothing to your schedule here
- Click here to read all Filmmakers in Focus interviews to date
Adam Rifkin on Reality Show
Image courtesy Our NixonTell us a little about your film.
Reality Show is a darkly comedic satire about reality TV producer Mickey Wagner and his amoral attempt to re-invent the genre. Mickey's revolutionary idea is to pick an average family and put them under all encompassing surveillance...without their knowledge. Unfortunately Mickey soon realizes that the family is boring. In a desperate attempt to salvage the show, Mickey begins to interfere by injecting conflict to create drama. As the show gets better, the family starts to disintegrate. Mickey rationalizes that all will be ok in the end, for once the episodes begin airing, fame will heal all wounds.
When did you start making films? 
Adam Rifkin,
courtesy Reality Show
I grew up loving movies from as early an age as I can remember. My first love was monster movies. The classics; Frankenstein, Dracula, etc. I figured out pretty early on that someone had to behind making them. I didn't understand at that age what a director was, I just knew that someday I wanted to make movies too. The first movie I saw that opened my eyes to the idea that film can be more than just scary monsters and rubber heads was One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. I saw it when I was quite young and it really had a profound effect on me. Suddenly I realized that films can make you cry. Can make you think. Can change the way you look at the world. After that I became a real student of film. All kinds of film. I watched movies constantly. I also spent all of my play time making little movies with my friends. It was always fun...and it still is. I feel so lucky that I get to live out my childhood dream and actually make real movies for a living.
Have you been to SXSW before?
I've never had a film in SXSW before but I love Austin. I actually spent several months there making a film a few years back and I was beyond impressed with the town. Austin is a city that really appreciates movies. I'm looking forward to spending time watching movies, debating movies and enjoying movies with a crowd that I know really understands movies.
Tell us a random fact (or two!) that would help our attendees get a better idea of who you are.
I'm a firm believer in never asking for permission to pursue your passion. If you want to make movies, just make them. Don't wait. I know it'd be great to have millions of dollars to make your magnum opus, but in the meantime, if you have $57 in your bank account, make a movie for $57! The technology has finally caught up with people's ambition. Shoot it on your phone if you have to. The cheapest production value is talent, and if you have some you can take any restriction and turn it into a creative challenge. Do it! I dare you.
I love movies. All kinds of movies. I also love telling all types of stories. Funny stories, sad stories, scary stories etc. That's why I feel beyond lucky that I've been able to spend my career so far making all kinds of movies. Big movies, tiny movies, family movies, tragic movies. In Hollywood it can often be perceived as a liability if you're not easily categorized into one box, but I've never been a subscriber to conventional wisdom. When an idea hits me I've learned that the best thing for me to do is to run with it.
- Add Reality Show to your schedule here
- Click here to read all Filmmakers in Focus interviews to date
Goetz Brothers on Scenic Route
Image courtesy Quid Pro Quo Investments LLCTell us a little about your film.
Our film is about life-long friends who have drifted apart and are on a road trip when their truck breaks down leaving them stranded in the desert. Nobody can pick apart a man like his best friend, and as the elements grind them down we see these two question each other’s lives and decisions with unwavering brutality. Verbal agitation leads to violence and what begins as an inconvenience becomes a very real struggle to survive, one that raises questions about both who they are and who they can be.
Why did you start making films? 
Goetz Brothers, courtesy
Quid Pro Quo Investments LLC
We grew up watching our father perform on stage on Broadway. At one point in a show, the lead had to toss a baseball off stage, and get it thrown back to him on stage. As youngsters, we would wait in the wings and toss the ball back on stage-- since that moment we were hooked on furthering the suspension of disbelief.
We've also always loved telling stories and what better medium to use than film?
Have you been to SXSW before?
"We have shot a couple of spots in Austin and love coming back- the crews and gear are always top notch.
SXSW is one of those festivals you hear so many great things about, we are very excited about premiering here and can think of absolutely nowhere better we'd rather be spending our mid March!
Tell us a random fact (or two!) that would help our attendees get a better idea of who you are.
We made our first film together at the ages of 5 and 9. We have 7 kids between us. Film that made us hooked: ET. When not filmmaking, we're stormchasing. (The two have a lot in common.)
