Aussie filmmaker James Di Martino reveals The Faceless Man

 The Faceless Man is a project I have been working on for the last year. The script was written nearly a year ago and went through 17 drafts. Its amazing how much the story has changed from when it first started (for the better) and how much actors bring to changing the tone of the story.

The story while full on horror, draws on some very dark themes and personal experiences was actually a joy to write. Some characters are so crazy/wacky that writing them and seeing their arc over the course of the script was a real delight.

I had cancer at an early age which was always a horror story in itself and what I did with “The Faceless Man was draw from that experience and form a creepy monster that is a manifestation of that fear. I feel that every good writer knows trauma or tragedy and that enables me to dig deep and brutal in the writing process.

Production is going very well and having produced six (directed 4) shorts. I have a good method on how to run a smooth production with a quality standard. I work very closely with my DOP and core crew.

Marketing is always something that’s difficult because you need money. I am lucky I have a masters in marketing management and also teach Market Research as my day job at the university, which helps in planning out marketing strategies as well as pumping out creative content and videos that are eye catching. The biggest thing is investing in a good artist to bring the vision to life.

indieactivity: Did you start writing with a cast (You or any) in mind?
James: I always try and write characters for actors in mind, I feel this really helps to strengthen the story. I have worked with Albert Goikhman previously on “Five O’Clock” and really liked what he could so I made him a character in this film and its funny when people read the script they automatically said “Albert is playing Viktor ye?”.

Daniel Reader was another person I worked with on “The Immigration Game” and wrote a character that he absolutely loved.

One character was written with Andy Mcphee in mind and I was lucky to get Andy interested in my project. Its really hard when you need the actor to pull of that written character and not getting Andy was not really an option haha. Casting can make or break a film.

indieactivity: How long did you take to complete the script? (Do you have a process?)
James: Script was written nearly a year ago and went through 17 drafts.

indieactivity: When did you form your production company – and what was the original motivation for its formation?
James: Chapter 5 studios has been running for nearly 2 years. In that time we have become an award winning company producing 6 short films each going on to win awards. “Coinflipper” going off to win best short film at the Melbourne underground film festival.

indieactivity: What was the first project out of the gate?
James: The Lazy Barber (2016) was the first project we made, I was very new to film making them so we made heaps of mistakes. Made some more on “Coinflipper” “Painted World” and “Congratulations” but by the time we got to “The Immigration Game, 2018” and “Five O’Clock 2018” I was happy with what we have done and how much we improved.

indieactivity: What scene (that made the cut) was the hardest to write?
James: One of the last scenes in the film was quite hard to write. Not going to spoil but it’s a hard scene to get through that needed to be in the film. That and killing off my darlings is always hard. Especially when you build a relationship with them through the course of the writing process.

indieactivity: What works better in this latest production that mightn’t have worked in the last one you did?
James: While my other productions have been all shorts, I can say that this feature is 100X more work than the shorts we have done. So many moving parts, managers and crew to be in charge of. Strong leadership and creativity are key.

indieactivity: You are producer and director of The Faceless Man, what measure of input did it take to don these hats?
James: And Writer! Well it is hard, it takes a long time to wire your brain to be able to swap hats on the fry. This time around I have Rhys Sherring, Lucinda Bruce, Julian Barbor and Daniel Facciolo helping me out so that really helps limit the stress of producer. Having said that I do enjoy balancing between Director/Producer its not for everyone but it helps give me the power to make creative decisions as well as lead the production my way.

indieactivity: Is there anything about the independent filmmaking business you still struggle with?
James: Distribution is something that is alien to a lot of film makers in Australia, no one seems to understand and the deals are quite bad depending on who you get. We decided from the get go to target American market and thus are planning to attend the American Film Market in November this year.

The Faceless Man Cast

indieactivity: Where do you think your strengths lie as a filmmaker?
James: A lot of people don’t really understand what goes into Directing. Most people don’t even know what a producer does. And many people don’t know how to write at all. It took me many years to get the writing process down, I wrote many short films never to see the light of day. 5 feature scripts before this one. Two novels I wrote just waiting for publication really gave me a good understanding on how to craft a story.

Producing was something I understood by the 5th short film I made, they are the main man that gets the job done and the film made. A good producer can get a bad film financed and made.

Directing is a strange beast, it’s something that many people want to do but not many actually get it. Its almost like a cross between, Leadership, Fine tuning acting, Creative style, Organisational behaviour, visual style, Tone, preparation, Business skills (intelligence compromising), Time management, ability to motivate cast and crew, *understanding story (really important), referencing past films (Ability to look at films and reference styles accordingly) and most importantly, having a good shot list.

Without a shot list you would be relying on the director of Photography who is most likely already stressed to get the best picture he can. Without an understanding of the shot list then the film is doomed.

indieactivity: Let’s talk finance, How did you finance the film?
James: We are lucky to have a financed film. We got a private investor early. I am also an investor on the project as well as a Kickstarter campaign that has been going strong.

indieactivity: How much did you go over budget? How did you manage it?
James: At this stage we are within budget.

indieactivity: How important is marketing? Do you think a project can make any dent without it these days?
James: Very important and it’s a reason why people still go watch bad films. Trailers sell the whole movie and at the big level its all Market research, data and making something that attracts the most bums on seats.

At the indie level we are short on money and thus marketing is hard. Word of mouth is still the best and if you can make a “f***ing good movie then people would want to tell people about it.

The Faceless Man Crew

indieactivity: Can you tell us about your marketing activities on the project – and how it’s gone for you?
James: We invested a lot in our Faceless man design and while its not always good to show the design of the monster we needed to draw in people. We have reached 23,000 people within the week and have nearly 100+ shares with a competition that is also running. If people share the Kickstarter they go in the running to win $100 in cash.

We are also promoting cast and crew every day as well as Videos that are scheduled to roll out every couple of days

indieactivity: What do you hope audiences get from your film?
James: The Faceless Man was created with the horror audience in mine as well as targeting American target market. The film is set in Australia but it’s a fictional town. Australia is also very small in comparison to people that watch films in America.

I hope people get to watch an entertaining horror film that they enjoy and tell others to watch

indieactivity: What else have you got in the works?
James: I have two other feature scripts in the works. A crime story based off one of my novels as well as a Drama film that focusing on a ruthless theatre director (like JK Simmons in whiplash). I also have a TV series mapped out based on my short film Five O’Clock currently doing the festival circuit.

However Rhys Sherring is planning his next film (which will be chapter 5 studios second feature) a sci fi noir film which I will be a lead producer on.

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