Hilary Weisman "Loves Her Movie"

by Amy Steele

Click here for a video streaming clip from
"I Love My Movie"

"In 1999, there isn't anything that can hold a woman back," stated Boston filmmaker Hilary Weisman over a beer at the Kendall Cafe in Cambridge, MA, recently. "I have the personality type to be a director, and what is difficult [about it] has not been gender-based."

The determined 27-year-old Boston University Broadcasting and Film graduate has already completed a short, her debut feature "Life's Too Good," and her most recent work, "I Love My Movie." As with many independent filmmakers, financial backing is the significant obstacle. Weisman managed these with a business plan, a lawyer from Volunteer Lawyer for the Arts, and the monetary support of relatives, friends, and other investors.

Her latest film chronicles the guerrilla approach to the filmmaking process. The ingredients: Hilary, three friends, a camera, and a road trip to Mexico. She worked from a one-page film treatment where her character, Hilary, is a desperate filmmaker trying to make a movie. She describes "I Love My Movie" as a cross between a documentary and fictional work.

"I didn't know what would happen, and I enjoyed working that way," Weisman explained. "I learned conventions of that style."

After filming, Weisman retreated to the sanctity of Vermont to complete editing. She co-owns an AVID nonlinear editing system, which makes the process much easier because she does not need to rely on anyone else. She worked alone in Vermont, but friends would visit on the weekends and watch the movie with her as it took shape.

"There were 60 hours of dialogue to make coherent. I had to see what people had to say, and that makes the process different on each project. I loved all parts of the process with this film. I didn't want to make it bad. I made it good, and that is very satisfying. I learned about myself and my friends." About it’s future, she said "I hope to sell this to the Independent Film Channel, Sundance Channel, or PBS because it is so unconventional."

The Boston film scene is very supportive for Weisman. She feels comfortable living and working in the East Coast environment, where she grew up. ("I like living here. I feel loved here," Weisman stressed.) Her goal is to make solid movies, and she is confident this is something she can accomplish in Boston. The enthusiastic director enjoys traveling, but feels that New England serves well as her base locale.

"I used to think I should be different places and desired to be places," said Weisman, "but now I'm happy where I am." To pay the bills, Weisman is a full-time freelance producer for the television program "Wild Wild Web." She manages to schedule her film work around the day-to-day work required in the series. This summer, she plans to write a teen movie. Weisman writes as often as she can in different genres. She keeps a chronicle of ideas for films as well. Directing seems to be the real attraction to what Weisman describes as "a horrible business."

"I have the ability to control things, the skill to organize, and can see every facet of the process. I can get things done and keep people happy. It is a metaphor for life--how to draw your life the way you want it."

Copies of "I Love My Movie" can be purchased at BuyIndies.com. 

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