Filmmakers of the Month - March 2024 - Brian Beckman & Miriam McSpadden

Miriam McSpadden first picked up a camera when she was 19 years old while studying theater in undergrad. Prior to that she had always been in front of the camera as her background was in acting and dancing. When she stepped behind the lens, Miriam fell in love with cinematography and editing. She became even more impassioned when she realized how few women were represented in the technical fields of film. Her work has been featured on outlets like NBC, ESPN, and PBS. Her work over the last decade has won her 8 Mid-South Emmy awards. Go On, Be Brave is Miriam's debut as a director of a feature documentary film. 

Brian Beckman’'s journey to film has been unorthodox in every way. At the age of 23, Brian founded a non-profit that now employs 24 Rwandans who use soccer to work with kids who are experiencing homelessness. Starting a non-profit at the age of 23 didn't afford a budget for photography and film, so Brian taught himself. He has always had a deep passion for telling marginalized stories and has honed his craft over the last 15 years by partnering with individuals within underrepresented communities to ensure filming and storytelling is empowering for all involved. Go On, Be Brave will be Brian's debut as a co-director of a feature documentary film.

Filmmaker Interview 

Tell us your backstory.  How and why did you get into filmmaking?  

Miriam - I first picked up a camera when I was 19 years old while studying theater in undergrad. Prior to that I had always been in front of the camera as my background was in acting and dancing. Once I stepped behind the lens, I fell in love with cinematography and editing. I became even more passionate when I realized how few women were represented in the technical fields of film. Over the last decade I have been fortunate to be mentored under award winning cinematographers and editors who work for media outlets like NBC, ESPN, and PBS. I honed my unique sense of storytelling through my upbringing as an athlete, dancer, and actor. My background as an athlete has equipped me to pick up a camera and run, sometimes for miles, to capture the intimate and poignant moments that take place far off the beaten path. As a dancer, my deep connection to sound and music infuse my editing. I want to transport an audience into the feeling of each scene. And my experience as an actor has informed my ability to approach each person with curiosity and empathy. Her work over the last decade has won her 9 Mid-South Emmy Awards.

Brian - My journey to film has been unorthodox in every way. At the age of 23, I found myself as a research assistant at a large University, utilizing my degree in Exercise and Sport Science. The job was not the right fit for my ambitions. When approached by a non-profit to travel to east Africa (Uganda, Rwanda) to put on sports camps, I didn’t hesitate to put in my 2-weeks notice. That was in 2009. Since then, I founded a non-profit in Rwanda that uses soccer to work with kids who are experiencing homelessness. 100% of the 24 people on staff are East-African. Starting a non-profit at the age of 23 didn’t afford a budget for photography and film, so I taught myself. I have always had a deep passion for telling marginalized stories. I honed my craft over the last 15 years by partnering with individuals within underrepresented communities to ensure filming and storytelling is empowering for all involved. Through my work I have won 2 Mid-South Emmy Awards.

We began making films together after getting married to each other.

What’s harder?  Getting started or being able to keep going?  And what drives you to continue making films?  

Both of us are go-getters and love the thrill of a new project. So getting started has never been too hard. We find that with every project we have worked on there comes a time of hardship, where every person involved has to make a choice. That choice is whether this project is worth fighting for to see to its end, or whether it’s better to move one. People can disagree, and oftentimes do, but if a team is united in the goal of seeing a project through to its end, then a multitude of differences can be overcome. But if there is a breakdown in partnership or within the team and that goal is lost, then sometimes projects become untenable. We have found it’s vital to not be afraid of these moments but to realize that they are a part of the process and will ultimately illuminate whether the project is worth fighting for.

The beauty of film is that films can remind us that we are not alone - even in our deepest pains. We continue to make films because we want people to not feel alone. And ultimately that is worth fighting for.

Why did you choose to submit to the Breckenridge Film Festival? What do you look for in a festival where you hope to show your film?  

We have always adored Colorado and the outdoors. On days off from shoots we have been known to do 10-15 mile hikes. We also feel that communities like Breckenridge really understand the deep importance in the stories we are passionate about telling. We want to tell stories that lift up and celebrate groups who have been disempowered and do it alongside the communities we are highlighting. That’s why we couldn’t be more proud that our debut feature film was Go On, Be Brave and celebrated a young athlete living with ALS who refused to let the disease have the last word. She shone a light on that community and on issues of inclusion and disability in sports. We knew that a community like Breckenridge would understand that what Andrea did should have been impossible, and that you all would celebrate with us.

You are a collaborator.  Did you make any connections at the Breckenridge Film Festival that have led to collaborations with other filmmakers? 

Breckenridge was an incredible festival for collaborating with other filmmakers. We are still in contact with several filmmakers that we met at the festival and are continuing to talk with them about being indie filmmakers and what we are each learning about the industry. This has been vital as first time directors. While we have not worked on any projects with filmmakers we met at Breckenridge (yet), down the line there is a real possibility of working on projects together. And most importantly at Breckenridge we met a community that cheers on and celebrates each other. We still receive and send messages with filmmakers we met at Breck cheering each other on in our successes.

What are the next project or projects you are beginning work on? 

For the past several years we have worked on short form documentaries for a host of clients from PBS to ESPN. We are continuing to do a lot of that work, but also exploring new ways to scratch our creative itch. We always want to expand what we can accomplish and to jump into the next adventure. To that end, Brian is currently writing our first narrative short that Miriam will direct with the hope of eventually getting into making feature narratives as well as feature documentaries like Go On, Be Brave. Beyond that we have several ideas that inspire us for future documentary projects and are working on carving out the time in our busy schedules!

Brian still has a full-time job running the non-profit and together Miriam and Brian continue to travel to Rwanda twice a year (where we currently are as we write these answers!)

If there is one or more thing you think would make the film industry better, what would it be? 

We wish there was more money and especially marketing put into non-tent pole films. Being on the festival circuit this year exposed us to a whole world of films that we otherwise would have never seen and we wish that more people were aware of the incredible amount of beautiful films that are being made especially in the indie world. Festivals like Breck do an incredible job of celebrating independent films and we are so grateful for all of the opportunities our film got as it screened over 100 times in the last year. But this is such a golden age of indie film and of incredible young directors and we wish these films would get more and more exposure. 

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