https://vimeo.com/ondemand/loneliness
LONELINESS IS SOUL (91 MIN., ©1998)
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Two young women (played by Meeka Schmalle and Jessica Heidt) rent an Oakland apartment where an itinerate musician (John Balquist/yahn soon) occasionally crashes. His presence in the household acts like a truth serum, somehow suddenly prompting everyone, including a strange "gift-giver" (Alexander Marchand) and prying landlord (Hal Croasmun) to tell their strangest real-life stories. Balquist's own hilarious real-life tale about taking magic mushrooms on the beach in California should help convince the viewer that the only really "safe" path in life is to go directly for one's dream "full out," holding nothing back.
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A collaborative feature written/directed by John Balquist, James J. Coakley, Hal Croasmun, Morgan Schmidt-Feng, Alexander Marchand, Michael Rogers and Rick Schmidt. Director of Photography - Morgan Schmidt-Feng. Editor Mike Rogers. Produced by Morgan Schmidt-Feng and Rick Schmidt. CAST: John Balquist, Meeka Schmalle, Jessica Heidt. Hal Croasmun, Alexander Marchand, Paul Baker (musician).
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Director's Statement” By Rick Schmidt (Co-Writer/Co-Director/Co-Producer, Executive Producer of LONELINESS IS SOUL)
To my mind, what makes LONELINESS IS SOUL (94 min., Color, Copyright 1998) so special, so fresh and energetic as a movie, is the method by which it was created. Almost every aspect of the production defies current standard beliefs. Can a movie be conceived, cast with non-actors and professional actors, locations chosen and scenes shot; can music be composed, and editing be completed - can all these tasks be done from start to finish by a filmmaking team of collaborators that includes several untested/untrained people "off the street", in just 10 days? That's how this movie was created. And although I've participated as a Producer and Writer/Director on eight features created by this crash-deadline collaborative process through my FEATURE WORKSHOPS (including BLUES FOR THE AVATAR which premiered at the International Film Festival of Figueira da Foz /Portugal in 1996), being part of this magical process remains, for me, more humbling than anything else. How is it possible? Can we expect "location miracles" every time? How can non-actors give such great performances? How can we shoot before we know the complete story? How can an editor pull all this improvisational material together into a cohesive cut in just one week?
The answer to the question "how do we do it" begins with the process of selection of collaborators. I select up to ten people who find my "Workshop" website on the internet and contact me via an e-mail submission form for upcoming FEATURE WORKSHOPS. So I receive their name and address, and mail back a hard copy application. From returned application, which asks for basic information about their education (from formal to the "school of hard knocks"), their commitment to moviemaking, and a "real-life story" as writing sample, I get a sense of the person, whether he/she can be emotionally open enough, savvy enough, to withstand the process of improvisation that basically rules the set and editing during the 10 days of production, proceeding with no planned storyline. I've had to learn not to be judgmental toward people, realizing that basically everyone has something to say when a creative opportunity is offered.
The movies made by FEATURE WORKSHOPS benefit from this interaction between myself and complete strangers from different parts of the country (and the world...one fellow from London just attended the August '98 workshop to help collaborate on our 94 minute movie entitled MAISY'S GARDEN ).
Wait a minute. Did you say "We shoot even when you don't know what the movie's about?" Yes, that's right. I think of making movies in this manner as a sort of "role playing game," with real-life people and serious/funny issues leading our developing story along.
The essence of LONELINESS IS SOUL began with securing access to an apartment where two of the actors/non-actors lived in Oakland, California. Morgan had helped produce a digital video feature for one of the roommates, John Balquist, and asked if he and his actress/roommate Jessica Heidt might want to participate in a FEATURE WORKSHOP. When they agreed (John joining us as a co-writer/co-director a well) we happily had a portion of our cast and a main location established. When Meeka Schmalle, the lead actress of a feature John Balquist had written and directed, LEARNING TO CRAWL, also agreed to jump in, it seemed we had the potential of an interesting "love triangle."
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/loneliness/195076451?autoplay=1
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Loneliness is Soul (91 min., ©1998, Feature WORKSHOPS). How a 10-day, "start-to-finish" indie feature with no-script WON BEST SCRIPT, 'Main Feature Competition, Figueira da Foz Intl, Portugal.