An online magazine & social networking portal for the filmmaking community
FLIFF DIARIES: "Pussyfoot"--interview of director
Pussyfoot"
Interview with director of "Pussyfoot"
By Rachel Galvin
(Showing Oct. 19 at 4:45 p.m. at Cinema Paradiso-503 SE 6th St., Ft. Lauderdale. Visit www.fliff.com for tickets).
Q&A with Director Dusan Sekulovic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q:Tell me about Pussyfoot.
A: It is my first feature. I was always writing and working on other people's projects. I had just moved to New York August 7, 2001, right before 9/11. It is a fiction but I used kind of my reaction to what I experienced. When I came to NY, I was supposed to stay with a friend. But she wasn't there. I slept on the roof that night with one eye open all night. That was my first night in NY. I was doing stand-up comedy. I knew I could write for characters.
Q: What was the most challenging part of doing the film?
A: The whole thing was challenging. It was just getting over the initial fear. You just have to start rolling. Once you get going, it's like a machine -- you just have to keep going. It was a tough choice to choose to me in the movie myself but I knew I could play the part. I couldn't see anybody else doing it. I knew the character had to be likeable. It is a big risk [being in the movie], if it doesn't work you are to blame. But it worked out and I am happy about the success the movie has seen. One of the worst parts is waking up and you hope it was all a dream sometimes. You wonder what you got yourself into. Once you are in production, there is no going back. The beginning, pre-production, is pretty lonley. Then you have to work with people to do production -- it is a people business. Then editing is back to being lonley. I did editing myself. It took me a year because I was also working full-time. The problem with editing myself was not having the luxury of perspective, but I did what a lot of filmmakers said not to do -- I did everything myself. That is something I won't do the next film. I don't regret it, but now I want to step back and be director.
Q: What was the most rewarding part of making "pussyfoot"?
A: When it's done. Also it's the team work that goes into it.
Q: Were there any parts that stood out while making this film?
A: I managed to get a helicopter for one scene. Everyone said to rewrite it and put the scene in a cab, but I insisted on a helicopter. But I didn't know how to get one. I told my story to a street artist, who got me in touch with an aerial photographer, who got me in touch with another aerial photographer that got me to a company that had helicopters. We couldn't shoot in the air because of the poor sound so we had to shoot in a hangar with a green screen, which was cool. In the end, it didn't work for the film so I had to take the scene out, but it was cool that I made it happen.
Q: Besides yourself who was your favorite character?
A: The guy that plays my boss, Tony. He isn't an actor. He is just a natural. I needed a Bronx, New Yorker. Now he is getting parts!
Q: Did you have any problems casting?
A: Most of the actors were people I knew but the part of Tina was one I didn't have and I had to have a casting. I didn't have many of the actors or even the locations until the day before and then had to find them! The thing about filmmaking is that you have to make decisions. You can't stop. You have to keep moving. If you don't do anything one day, you may lose $2000 or $3000. Q: How did you raise money for the film?
A: I had saved $15,000 and then friends and family gave me money. Then I saw a person's website where he sold little squares in order to raise money to go to school. I decided to sell credits from $35 to $900 (for bigger spot)-- which I called the Ahhhnold. Or there is the $2000 Golden foot, for the family.
Q: You told me that you are already working on another film, tell me about it.
A: The next film is a drama with a $2 million budget, which means I will have to get real investors. We are shooting in Southern Italy, possibly Greece ...
Q: Do you have anything else you would say to filmmakers?
A: Yes, You can't wait to for everyone to be in sync with you. You have to keep going then the right people will come out of the woodwork to make your project happen.
Q: Where are you from originally?
A: I am half Yugoslavian (when there was a Yugoslavia), half German. I grew up in Yugoslavia and Italy. My father was a sea captain. We moved at some point to Switzerland ...
Q: What type of camera did you use for "Pussyfoot"?
A: I used HD, a Sony HDV, the high end of the low end. We got it when it first came out. I spent a week color correcting. The guys that were in the studio who had been working there a long time were very impressed with the way the film looked.
Q: We look forward to seeing your movie at FLIFF and your Q&A after the film.
Interview with director of "Pussyfoot"
By Rachel Galvin
(Showing Oct. 19 at 4:45 p.m. at Cinema Paradiso-503 SE 6th St., Ft. Lauderdale. Visit www.fliff.com for tickets).
Q&A with Director Dusan Sekulovic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q:Tell me about Pussyfoot.
A: It is my first feature. I was always writing and working on other people's projects. I had just moved to New York August 7, 2001, right before 9/11. It is a fiction but I used kind of my reaction to what I experienced. When I came to NY, I was supposed to stay with a friend. But she wasn't there. I slept on the roof that night with one eye open all night. That was my first night in NY. I was doing stand-up comedy. I knew I could write for characters.
Q: What was the most challenging part of doing the film?
A: The whole thing was challenging. It was just getting over the initial fear. You just have to start rolling. Once you get going, it's like a machine -- you just have to keep going. It was a tough choice to choose to me in the movie myself but I knew I could play the part. I couldn't see anybody else doing it. I knew the character had to be likeable. It is a big risk [being in the movie], if it doesn't work you are to blame. But it worked out and I am happy about the success the movie has seen. One of the worst parts is waking up and you hope it was all a dream sometimes. You wonder what you got yourself into. Once you are in production, there is no going back. The beginning, pre-production, is pretty lonley. Then you have to work with people to do production -- it is a people business. Then editing is back to being lonley. I did editing myself. It took me a year because I was also working full-time. The problem with editing myself was not having the luxury of perspective, but I did what a lot of filmmakers said not to do -- I did everything myself. That is something I won't do the next film. I don't regret it, but now I want to step back and be director.
Q: What was the most rewarding part of making "pussyfoot"?
A: When it's done. Also it's the team work that goes into it.
Q: Were there any parts that stood out while making this film?
A: I managed to get a helicopter for one scene. Everyone said to rewrite it and put the scene in a cab, but I insisted on a helicopter. But I didn't know how to get one. I told my story to a street artist, who got me in touch with an aerial photographer, who got me in touch with another aerial photographer that got me to a company that had helicopters. We couldn't shoot in the air because of the poor sound so we had to shoot in a hangar with a green screen, which was cool. In the end, it didn't work for the film so I had to take the scene out, but it was cool that I made it happen.
Q: Besides yourself who was your favorite character?
A: The guy that plays my boss, Tony. He isn't an actor. He is just a natural. I needed a Bronx, New Yorker. Now he is getting parts!
Q: Did you have any problems casting?
A: Most of the actors were people I knew but the part of Tina was one I didn't have and I had to have a casting. I didn't have many of the actors or even the locations until the day before and then had to find them! The thing about filmmaking is that you have to make decisions. You can't stop. You have to keep moving. If you don't do anything one day, you may lose $2000 or $3000. Q: How did you raise money for the film?
A: I had saved $15,000 and then friends and family gave me money. Then I saw a person's website where he sold little squares in order to raise money to go to school. I decided to sell credits from $35 to $900 (for bigger spot)-- which I called the Ahhhnold. Or there is the $2000 Golden foot, for the family.
Q: You told me that you are already working on another film, tell me about it.
A: The next film is a drama with a $2 million budget, which means I will have to get real investors. We are shooting in Southern Italy, possibly Greece ...
Q: Do you have anything else you would say to filmmakers?
A: Yes, You can't wait to for everyone to be in sync with you. You have to keep going then the right people will come out of the woodwork to make your project happen.
Q: Where are you from originally?
A: I am half Yugoslavian (when there was a Yugoslavia), half German. I grew up in Yugoslavia and Italy. My father was a sea captain. We moved at some point to Switzerland ...
Q: What type of camera did you use for "Pussyfoot"?
A: I used HD, a Sony HDV, the high end of the low end. We got it when it first came out. I spent a week color correcting. The guys that were in the studio who had been working there a long time were very impressed with the way the film looked.
Q: We look forward to seeing your movie at FLIFF and your Q&A after the film.
Views: 4
About
Welcome to
Independent Streak
© 2025 Created by Rachel Galvin.
Powered by
