FILMMAKER OF THE MONTH • JANUARY 2022 • LUKAS HUFFMAN

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LUKAS HUFFMAN

January Filmmaker of the Month

Lukas Huffman is an award-winning writer and director based in Vermont. Huffman’s narrative feature film, WHEN THE OCEAN MET THE SKY (2016), won more than a dozen awards worldwide and was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival Circuit. He has been commissioned to create films for networks and organizations such as The New York Times, Vice Media, ESPN, The Boston Globe, The National Wildlife Federation, and more. His digital series DEAR FUTURE (2018), won a Webby Award. Huffman's obsession with folk music and field recordings have culminated in his most recent film, NIGHT MUSIC. 

Connect with Lukas:
Website: https://huffmanstudio.tv/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huffmanstudio/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lukas.huffman.3

 

FILMMAKER INTERVIEW

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

Since I was a teenager, I have been attracted to cinema. I have always been aware of how powerful of an effect it can have on an audience. But, I had never thought that filmmaking was something that you can actually do until much later when I was a professional snowboarder. I was doing stunts in front of the camera and finally saw how films were made. At some point, a few friends and I decided to make our own snowboard film. After making a few of those, I wanted to start making more narrative driven films. The kind of films that affected me. So, I brought my DIY snowboard filmmaking approach to traditional narrative films.

• What are the specific qualities that, in your opinion, make a film great?

I personally love films that transport you to other worldly environments. This can be in documentaries that build a strong sense of place about a situation that is new to me. Or a fiction film that weaves its magic to transport you to other periods of time or to fantastic places. Cinema, when done well, has the unique ability to transport the audience somewhere new and surprising.

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

Each film has its own challenging phases. Sometimes it takes a while to get a project started, but then once you do – it seems to create itself. Other times, a project may start strong then become exhausting by the second year I’ve been working on it. In the big picture, it’s hard to continue plugging away at making independent films year after year, and project after project. I may have an idea that I think is really important and inspiring, but I know it could take 2-3 years to develop, finance and then produce. In that sense, the most challenging part is having to rededicate myself year after year to this career! What inspires me to keep plugging away is the opportunity to fall in love with a story and then follow that passion. In order for me to do great work, I need to love the story. It’s such a pleasure when I fall for new material.

• How do you know when your story’s finished, when to walk away?

It is so hard to know when to walk away. At each phase of the project, be it writing, pre-production, filming or editing, I never feel like the material is complete. After doing this for over ten years, I have come to learn that this unresolved feeling is just part of the process. But, I have developed an instinct about when a project is 95% complete. At this point, any of the work I want to do would be unnoticeable to an audience. So, at this stage of the process, when I know that I’m the only person who would notice what I want to change, I start to wrap it up. The film may not be exactly what I want – but, it also can’t be anything different. That’s when it is time to offer it up to the audience.

• What is your favorite aspect of film production?

I love the discovery of the story. This is the part of the process when you only see the opportunities in the project. I try to be super open and see the best version of the project. I will understand how meaningful the themes are. Or, I will see how innovative filmmaking techniques can be used. At this very first part of the process I am dreaming up the story and basically falling in love with the project. I am building the passion that is needed to stay intensely dedicated to the project through its completion. Then, the deeper I get into the project, the more I must square my story dream with reality. The filmmaking process is mostly about creatively solving problems. I really enjoy the “love at first sight” inception of an idea when it seems like nothing can go wrong.

• 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?

I have screened two films in BFF over the past years. I initially sent a film because of the reputation I had heard about how inclusive of a film community they create. As a person who has spent time in the mountains I was also attracted to the cross section of mountain and arts cultures. Our first screening in 2016 was a blast. The festival takes time to look out for filmmakers. They also were thoughtful in the programming of films. It’s nice to see a festival curate films that are in conversation with each other. Both of my film screenings have showed me how my work engages with other films in meaningful ways. It’s nice to find festivals like BFF that feel like intimate experiences, yet showcase films that have world class quality.

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

The short film, Night Music, which I screened in the 2021 Breckenridge Film Festival is currently in development as a feature film. I’ve just finished the final drafts of a feature length version of the John and Alan Lomax story. It’s been a blast to scale up the story and let the characters have much more in depth arcs. I am now meeting with producers about building the filmmaking team with the effort of bringing it to market. Our aim is to be in production by fall of this year, 2022 so that it can be screened by 2023.