A Case Study
Narrative | Dramatic Features
Film Name: The Orchard Girl
Genre: Thriller / Horror
Date: 2020
Director: Nicholas Dunlevy, Erin Elders
Producer: Eli Kooris, James Paxton
Writer: Nicholas Dunlevy, Erin Elders
Cinematographer: Manu Branna
Production Company: Pegalo Pictures. Ojai, CA
Budget: “A good producer never tells”
Financing: Indiegogo & Private
Shooting Format: Arri Digital
Screening Format: 1.85:1
World Premiere: FCGD – Dominican Republic Global Film Festival
Awards: “That after one false start, and several additional shoots we finished it”
Website: https://www.pegalopictures.com/orchard-girls
indieactivity: What is your film about?
Nicholas Dunlevy (ND): The Orchard Girl is about a fashion photography crew that heads to a remote ranch house for a shoot, only to get terrorized by a couple of local ghouls. The story origin comes from one of the lead actors, James Paxton, son of the late, great, Bill Paxton wanting to do another short film project after, Nicholas, Erin and him collaborated together on Penny Sucker that premiered at the Palm Springs International Festival, as well as screening at HollyShorts. In talking to James one day, Nicholas asks him “what kind of short do you want to do next?”, Penny Sucker was a grounded coming-of-age story about a father and son coping with the death of their wife / mother, so a grounded drama, to which he replies something “creepy”.
Nicholas then calls Erin, to announce James’ intention to do another short, replays the creepy part / note, to which Erin responds, “maybe something Polanski?”. Nicholas thinks on this while taking a walk, finds himself landing on Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion, and especially that baby-doll dress she wears and the long blonde hair, then thinks of James in that same outfit, in the dress, and a wig. Immediately loves that image and aesthetic, but wonders how applicable it is, and especially in what world would it correctly live in, and then it is hit by one word: fashion.
Tell us about the festival run, marketing and sales?
Nicholas Dunlevy (ND): We had our Los Angeles premiere at the top genre festival in the nation Screamfest in the fall of ’19. It has additionally screened at the Williamsburg Independent Film Festival, NOLA Horror Festival in New Orleans, PDX Extreme Festival in Portland, Defy Festival in Nashville, with most recently being at the Mile High Horror Festival and HollyShorts. Also, it is available to stream on the Ficto app, and working on a possible YouTube premiere additionally.
The Official Trailer for The Orchard Girl written and directed by Nicholas Dunlevy, Erin Elders
Give the full Official Synopsis for your film?
ND: “The Orchard Girl” is a modern take on the thriller and suspense film. Initially titled “Roman A Clef”, we wanted to create a film that was both an homage and referential to vintage thrillers of the 1960s and 70s, specifically those of Polanski, but to also to remix the story and style for contemporary audiences. Being able to blend a fashion industry aesthetic with horror, and taking cues from current topics such as gender roles, we are able to distill these to create a story rich with meaning while still delivering on all the creeps expected to be seen with a stylish genre film.
Development & Financing?
ND: In terms of development, as soon as the image of James having to dress up like a femme fatal for a fashion photo shoot was crystallized, it became about filling in the other characters, and in the style of a good 70s Altman movie, became about the ensemble cast, the photography crew that you see on the screen. We also took inspiration from an incident where a Production Assistant was talking up a storm to a bunch of townies at a liquor store in Joshua Tree, CA late one night, and was practically inviting these random strangers to come and party with a film crew at wrap. Nicholas and Erin recounted this story from the Penny Sucker production, it was Nicholas who got the PA to stop talking on this beer run, and played it out to a slightly more illogical conclusion in this film. As far as financing, we ran a successful Indiegogo campaign to raise a majority of the financing, and the rest was privately funded by the filmmakers and production company.
Production?
ND: The plan was always to shoot at the Paxton estate in Ojai, CA. We were all set for a December of ’17 start when the Thomas fire had other ideas for us. It literally burnt everything around Ojai, but the fire never went down into the valley, and needless to say, was a minor miracle. A continuous much love to all of the California firefighters that helped fight that blaze. Some of that charcoal terrain can be seen in the opening aerial shots for the film. Once shooting had to be rescheduled for the first quarter of ’18, it caused us to have to recast the roles of Anja, Wheelchair and Orchard Girl. So, no small feat there in also having to re calibrate.
After principle, which was basically an extended work weekend at summer camp, with the cast and crew staying in nearby AirBnB’s, there were two eventual additional shoots. Additional shooting one was done later in fall of ‘18, mainly to add a solid book-ending to the narrative, and additional shooting two took place in the spring of ’19 to give a little more weight to the story and lengthen the overall run time per our new distribution deal. We had the fortune of being able to edit, sit with it, go work on other projects, come back, decide to shoot a little more, screen at some festivals, come back, work on it again type of liberty and freedom that is very seldom, if not completely rare in our industry, almost like how Wong Kar Wai could break up principle photography on In The Mood For Love with long editorial periods.
Festival Preparation & Strategy?
ND: Honestly none. You literally end up spending too much money on festival entry fees regardless if you have a targeted plan or not. You just have to get it out there, and it’s smart, if not mandatory to budget for all the entry fees, that would be my recommendation. But just because you didn’t get into the top five, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply to the next fifteen, it just needs to get out there into the public realm. Like any project, a film just needs to get up on its’ feet to see if it can walk. And the more walking it does, the more it takes notice, and the more it takes notice, the more it can walk, and the more it can walk, well, the longer it can live on, and the longer it can live on the more accessible it can be, and that’s all we should care about as filmmakers, people having access to our art.
The Release?
ND: Straight to the festival route, specifically the genre one. Once that traction was going we were able to get deals to stream on the Ficto app, which launched around the same time as Quibi, but is still around.nCurrently working on expanding into a possible TV series or feature, and also possibly premiering on YouTube too. Some initial press from the crowdfunding campaign: Press 1, Press 2
Advice from the Filmmaker?
ND: No matter how much you prepare and prepare for, it always changes, regardless. Style, casting, locations, shot lists, you name it; you write the movie once, then you rewrite it in the edit. Accept these changes, don’t be too stubbornly married to the images in your head, you’ll just be disappointed because they never turn out the same way in reality.There are no per se happy accidents, there are just accidents, and accidents that either you can turn in your favour or allow them to work against you. As Eddie Van Halen once said about making mistakes, if you smile while you’re doing it, the audience won’t know the difference. Meaning, they’ll think it to be intentional. Use those filmmaking mistakes, and accidents to your advantage, don’t fight them, play on, play through them, use them as the performance.
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