October 22, 2011 – Zombie Girl: The Movie screened at the 2009 Slamdance Film Festival to a sold out theatre. The documentary tells the story of 12-year-old filmmaker Emily Hagins and the two years she spent directing her feature-length zombie film, Pathogen. Directors Aaron Marshall, Justin Johnson and Erik Mauck received the 2009 Spirit of Slamdance Award for exhibiting a passion, talent and commitment to the independent film community. Zombie Girl is currently playing on Slamdance’s Video-On-Demand outlets.With the help of her mother as agent, crew, and biggest fan, Emily launches an epic adventure in genre filmmaking, battling everything from budget shortfalls to self-doubt, all while coming of age as a teenager. Emily has the vision and her mom has the driver’s license. Together, their journey is an enlightening look at a growing world of young moviemakers and the bloodiest mother/daughter story you’ve ever seen. (www.zombiegirlthemovie.com)
Check out this footage from the 2009 Slamdance Film Festival featuring a Q&A with the filmmakers and the Zombie Girl herself.
Slamdance: How does Zombie Girl fit into your repertoire?
Aaron Marshall: Zombie Girl is a bit unique for me, since it’s my only documentary. But the story creation process of sculpting 150 hours of footage down into a 90 minute film was more akin to screenwriting than it was to narrative film editing. So there are definitely similarities between the style of Zombie Girl and the screenplays I’ve written.
SD: How do you typically distribute your films? What has worked, for you?
AM: The egalitarian nature of modern film viewing is such that very few exhibition formats command a monopoly of the audience anymore. Consumers can choose their time, place, and format of media consumption. For Zombie Girl, we found that we were able to more easily reach an audience by having it available in multiple formats. In foreign territories it is still playing mostly on television, but in the U.S. we combined TV distribution with DVD, iTunes, theatrical screenings, XBox Live, Hulu, Netflix, etc. So far, we’ve been happy with the results.
SD: Describe the magic moment when it all came together for Zombie Girl.
AM: It was sitting in a theatrical mixing room with our sound mixer, watching the final pass on the big screen. That crazy, disjointed, three year process of documentary filmmaking had actually produced a finished product. From that point on I got to watch Zombie Girl as an audience member just like everyone else.
SD: Do you consider your "target audience" when creating or writing your films?
AM: Yes, I do consider my target audience. Especially if I’m working within the conventions of a specific genre. However, the person who inevitably sees the movie more than anyone else is me, so if I don’t like it, it’s going to make for a disheartening process. So I strive to create something enjoyable for an audience, but I just make sure that audience also includes me.
SD: What is your next project?
AM: I’m just finishing a new screenplay. It’s a comedy, and I hope to take it into production soon. But in the meantime, I’m also starting another script. It’s kind of a relief to be back working on projects with a script!
Check out the TRAILER for Zombie Girl: The Movie in the Slamdance SHOWCASE.
Check out this footage from the 2009 Slamdance Film Festival featuring a Q&A with the filmmakers and the Zombie Girl herself.
Slamdance: How does Zombie Girl fit into your repertoire?
Aaron Marshall: Zombie Girl is a bit unique for me, since it’s my only documentary. But the story creation process of sculpting 150 hours of footage down into a 90 minute film was more akin to screenwriting than it was to narrative film editing. So there are definitely similarities between the style of Zombie Girl and the screenplays I’ve written.
SD: How do you typically distribute your films? What has worked, for you?
AM: The egalitarian nature of modern film viewing is such that very few exhibition formats command a monopoly of the audience anymore. Consumers can choose their time, place, and format of media consumption. For Zombie Girl, we found that we were able to more easily reach an audience by having it available in multiple formats. In foreign territories it is still playing mostly on television, but in the U.S. we combined TV distribution with DVD, iTunes, theatrical screenings, XBox Live, Hulu, Netflix, etc. So far, we’ve been happy with the results.
SD: Describe the magic moment when it all came together for Zombie Girl.
AM: It was sitting in a theatrical mixing room with our sound mixer, watching the final pass on the big screen. That crazy, disjointed, three year process of documentary filmmaking had actually produced a finished product. From that point on I got to watch Zombie Girl as an audience member just like everyone else.
SD: Do you consider your "target audience" when creating or writing your films?
AM: Yes, I do consider my target audience. Especially if I’m working within the conventions of a specific genre. However, the person who inevitably sees the movie more than anyone else is me, so if I don’t like it, it’s going to make for a disheartening process. So I strive to create something enjoyable for an audience, but I just make sure that audience also includes me.
SD: What is your next project?
AM: I’m just finishing a new screenplay. It’s a comedy, and I hope to take it into production soon. But in the meantime, I’m also starting another script. It’s kind of a relief to be back working on projects with a script!
Check out the TRAILER for Zombie Girl: The Movie in the Slamdance SHOWCASE.