What We Talk About is a naturalistic slice-of-life film about an ex-couple who meets for dinner and over the course of the night, realize that their distorted views of each other do not match the reality of their present.
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This film is an attempt to tell a realistic love story and to show that sometimes people don't always get back together, but that that's okay. The film is being shot on Super 16mm film, which is incredibly exciting. The soft grainy look of Super 16mm will highlight the nostalgia the characters feel for their past relationship. Furthermore, we feel it is important to take advantage of the medium before it is lost to us forever, especially as students when equipment is more accessible to us than it will be once we leave school.
What We Talk About is an undergraduate thesis film at The University of Texas at Austin. The film school, housed with in the Moody College of Communication, consistently ranks in the top 10 film schools in the United States. Richard Lewis, longtime film and television producer, is the faculty adviser for this project.
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Kelsey Hockmuller is an Austin-based independent feature filmmaker, whose work has been shown at Austin Film Festival and JamFest Indie Film Festival, among others. What We Talk About is her most personal short film to date. Kelsey is currently in her last year as a Radio-Television-Film major at the University of Texas and works as the Social Media Director for Other Worlds Austin SciFi Festival. She fell in love with Super 16mm film during production of her last short, Marcus Takes Flight, and is excited to be shooting on it again.
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Olivia Biehle is in her last year at the University of Texas, double majoring in Radio-Television-Film and Mathematics. She has produced several short films including Night Shift, Ronnie Monsters and Hunting Season. Olivia is dedicated to making sure this film is completed on time and on budget!
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Isaiah Rendon is a student passionate about the theory and practice of cinematography. Some of his credits include Marcus Takes Flight (with Dir. Kelsey Hockmuller), Heart of a Thief, and When I Was a Young Girl I Had Me a Cowboy (also shot on Super 16mm). Currently, he is working on every project possible to prepare for a freelance career as a photographer and set technician.
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We are filming
What We Talk About on 16mm film. This will allow us to capture the honesty of the story, and the beauty and romance of our late night restaurant setting.
Processing costs of 16mm film is very expensive. We don't want to sacrifice the film's authenticity and quality because of this, though.
That's where you come in! All of the funds raised through this campaign will go directly toward film processing costs. Your help will literally allow this film to be made.
And your contribution definitely won't go unnoticed. Check out the right-hand panel for all of our thank you perks.
If you have any questions or think you may be able to contribute to this project in other ways, let us know. We're looking forward to making this film with you!
