An Industry Case Study
Narrative | Dramatic Features
Film Name: Call Me Brother
Genre: Drama
Date: the completion date for the film 20xy
Director: David Howe
Producer: David Bukstein
Writer: David Bukstein
Cinematographer: David Bukstein
Production Company: name
Budget: Production – 20k, & post – 15k
Financing: Kickstarter – 15k. investors – 20k
Shooting Format: Digital
Screening Format: 1.85 :1
World Premiere: Florida Film Festival
Awards: Special Jury Award for Performance at Florida Film Festival (Christina Parrish & Andrew Dismukes). Best Narrative Feature, Best Director, Best Ensemble, and Best Narrative at Chain NY Film Fest
Website: http://www.callmebrother.com
The Official Trailer for Call Me Brother
Watch The Trailer for Call Me Brother directed by David Howe
A Short Biography of David Howe
David Howe is known for The Woo (2017), Match (2014) and Remember to Forget.
The David Howe Interview
indieactivity: What is your film about?
David Howe (DH): Call Me Brother is a coming-of-age raunchy teen rom-com about a brother and sister separated at a young age, and reunited in their late teens for a weekend only to discover they have feelings for each other that they can’t deny.
The world around them is often toxic or hyper-sexualized, making the relationship of the siblings a strangely pure and honest one… the film takes the audience on a ride through preconceived notions of what love can be. It was written by Christina Parrish, who also stars in the movie, and with her I helped craft the world utilizing the local comedy scene in Austin, Texas.
Tell us about the festival run, marketing and sales?
David Howe (DH): We premiered at the Florida Film Festival where we won the Special Jury Award for Performance for our leads Andrew Dismukes and writer Christina Parrish. After that we played at the Chain NY Film Fest where we won Best Narrative Feature, Best Director, and Best Ensemble Cast. We played at several other festivals including Charlotte Film Fest, Arizona Underground, and the Julien Dubuque Film Festival.
In 2020 we partnered with Leomark Studios for distribution, which has been a big help with press coverage! Through them we are releasing on VOD and Blu-Ray in December, and I really recommend the Blu-Ray as we really tried to pack it with special features. In November we have a limited release theatrically in Austin and New Orleans, with a nationwide release in virtual cinemas.
Give the full Official Synopsis for your film?
David Howe (DH): Call Me Brother is a coming-of-age raunchy teen rom-com about a brother and sister separated at a young age, and reunited in their late teens for a weekend only to discover they have feelings for each other that they can’t deny.
The world around them is often toxic or hyper-sexualized, making the relationship of the siblings a strangely pure and honest one… the film takes the audience on a ride through preconceived notions of what love can be. It was written by Christina Parrish, who also stars in the movie, and with her I helped craft the world utilizing the local comedy scene in Austin, Texas.
Development & Financing?
David Howe (DH): ommates at the time, so the workshopping process was natural and ever-present… often us just trying to make each other laugh as much as possible. The film employed the talents of the local Austin comedy scene for the cast. We ended up running a kickstarter to fund the production along with our producer David Bukstein procuring additional investments.
All in all it was a “tiny” budget that we made to stretch out throughout our 14 day production. The film was shot and scored by my brother Justin Howe, who I also edited the movie with. Having my brother involved as DP was crucial, it made our communication on set very smooth.
Production?
David Howe (DH): Pre-production was over the course of a couple months as Christina and I workshopped the script, went through extensive shot-lists, cast the movie, ran the kickstarter, and assembled the crew. Filming took place over 14 days in November/December surrounding a 2 days Thanksgiving break. About half of that we shot in Crockett, Texas, where the cast and crew all shared a house that we were shooting in that belonged to Christina’s grandmother.
It was a blast, like a weeklong sleepover where we were working the whole time. All the family home stuff was shot there, as well as locations and exteriors. The rest we shot in Austin at friends and crew members’ homes and local locations. We converted our producer’s house for the party scene, which took about 2 days over the Thanksgiving break while most of the cast and crew were on break. After filming wrapped my brother Justin began work on the initial cut of the film from Chicago, Il.
Once he completed the first rough cut I took over the edit with lots of timing/take changes, removing some scenes, and general tightening and sound design. We screened this cut to a test audience in Austin, which then prompted us to shoot an additional scene and some establishing shot pickups afterwards which then became the festival and final cut.
Festival Preparation & Strategy?
DH: The last thing we did before our festival run was music licensing, which was handled by a Music Supervisor Dominique Preyer to replace all the temp music we had in the cut. Then we handed the film off to our Sound Designer Morgan Honaker who recorded foley and mixed the movie. We applied to festivals that had an edge to them. And might not be put off by the taboo subject matter of the movie.
We ended up premiering at the Florida Film Festival, which was huge for us. Surprisingly, we won the Special Jury Prize for Performance for our two leads and everyone loved the movie. More and more festivals began to pick us up, including the NY Chain Film Fest which gave several awards including Best Narrative Feature, Best Director, and Best Ensemble. I won’t lie though, the festival circuit was tough.
Not a ton would accept us based on subject matter, and festivals are such a political process anyway, knowing someone who works it is honestly the best way to get in. Everywhere we screened accepted us on our own merit. We didn’t really get any PR until we partnered with Leomark Studios for distribution.
The Release?
DH: We released Call Me Brother officially on November 6, 2020 in select theaters and nationwide in virtual cinemas. The VOD and Blu-Ray are releasing early December on Amazon and The Alamo Drafthouse Alamo At Home service. We were helped hugely by our distribution partners Leomark Studio, which helped with release platforms and PR. As we all are first time filmmakers, this partnership has been crucial for our release.
Advice from the Filmmaker?
DH: Work hard with people you trust. Don’t try to do everything, you’ll end up half-assing a bunch… There’s only so much someone can do. Extensive planning beforehand can help especially if you’re working with a tight budget, but ultimately the best advice is teaming up with people with lots of drive and experience. Film is inherently collaborative, so as soon as you start making it an “auteur” single person experience the whole thing suffers.
Also, don’t let it get to you if people don’t gel with your movie. All the projects I’ve worked on have been polarizing, which is something I pride myself on. Boldness always pays off if you go for it! It won’t be for everyone, but no movie ever is. It’s much more important to affect people and really speak to those who get it than try to appeal to everybody.
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