Armin Siljkovic, ‘What it took to make my neo-noir debut, Death Waits for No Man’

Uzal & Lily in Death Waits For No Man

Death Waits for No Man is a neo-noir, it’s about a woman who seduces a lone drifter into killing her abusive husband. It’s very much a film noir in style and substance – a dark story filled with dark characters.

indieactivity: Did you start writing with a cast in mind?
Armin: No, I never really write with a cast or actor in mind, I think that can be limiting for a writer sometimes.

indieactivity: How long did you take to complete the script? (Do you have a writing process?)
Armin: It took about a year and lots of rewrites to complete the script.

indieactivity: How was it financed?
Armin: It was financed independently by myself, my producers, and a group of investors. That’s usually how a small indie film gets financed these days, especially one’s first feature film.

indieactivity: Is there anything about the independent filmmaking business you still struggle with?
Armin: I think all independent filmmakers have the eternal struggle of “finding the money to make the film”.

indieactivity: How long was your pre-production?
Armin: We spent about 2-3 months in pre-production, mainly scouting locations and figuring out all of the behind the scenes stuff that has to be ready before the camera rolls. But before then, I had spent months on my own on the look of the film, the music, etc.

indieactivity: What was your rehearsal process and period?
Armin: I worked with the actors individually on their parts. Then we had a short rehearsal just before we started filming so cast could get to know each other and feel comfortable with their characters.

Death Waits For No Man the Truck scene

indieactivity: You shot Death Waits for No Man in 12 days. How long were your days?
Armin: They were very long and very hectic, which wasn’t a surprise to anyone because we knew it would be like that when you’re filming and entire feature film in just 12 days.

indieactivity: Did the tight shooting schedule make it harder or easier? How did it affect performances?
Armin: A tight shooting schedule always makes things more difficult, especially when you have a dialogue heavy movie like this. We were lucky to have great actors who came to set prepared and ready every day.

indieactivity: How much did you go over budget? How did you manage it?
Armin: We actually managed to stay pretty well within our budget. There are always those little things that you can’t predict, but overall, we made the film within our budget.

indieactivity: How important is marketing? Do you think a project can make any dent without it these days?
Armin: I think it’s hard to get noticed without good marketing. You can make a great film, but people have to know about it in order to see it. So it’s important to plan for some sort of marketing and a way to get the word out about the film once it’s done.

indieactivity: What was the experience like of working with such a small shooting crew?
Armin: It was quite good, every time you work with a small crew, you get to know people better, and that means you’re working better as a team because everyone knows each other.

indieactivity: The film looks stunning. How did you get such a good look when shooting so fast?
Armin: Lots of preparation and knowing and being really specific about how you want the film to look. I had Ted Hayash a great cinematographer and Allie Franke, a great production designer and art director who did a tremendous job on the film. The film’s look wouldn’t have been possible without them.

indieactivity: Did you look at rushes? On what format?
Armin: No, I never looked at rushes on Death Waits for No Man. There was just no time for that.

indieactivity: What were the advantages and disadvantages in the way you worked?
Armin: Most of the film takes place in one location, and the advantage of that is that you don’t have to do a lot of company moves – you stay at the same place and you can settle into a nice routine. The disadvantage was our limited time, for sure.

indieactivity: What else have you got in the works?
Armin: I’m in the early stages of development for my next film, and that’s all I can say for now.