Today we’d like to introduce you to Freddy Macdonald.
Hi Freddy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Freddy Macdonald and I’m a film director. When I was nine years old, I discovered my Dad’s old stop-motion animation equipment in our garage and I’ve been making films ever since. With the support of my artist Mom and filmmaker Dad, I spent years in the dark animating puppets frame by frame. My life changed when I realized how much more immediate it is to shoot live action – to shoot twenty-four frames a second without touching every frame!
After making many short live action films with my classmates throughout middle school, my Dad got a job in Switzerland which moved my family to Zurich. There, I realized I wanted to work with Swiss actors (not classmates) and to shoot films “professionally”. This is how I met Swiss cinematographer Sebastian Klinger and started our collaboration.
After writing/directing many shorts and immersing myself in the Swiss film industry, it was time to apply to film school. The American Film Institute (AFI) was always a dream of mine, but the problem was that AFI has a graduate program, and I was applying as a high school senior.
I got to work brainstorming the premise of a film with my Dad to fulfill AFI’s application prompt – “tell a story about a change of heart” – and spent a day on a desolate Swiss mountain road shooting SEW TORN. Once it was done, we sent it out to some close friends. It landed in the hands of Academy Award winner Peter Spears, who came on board as executive producer. In a completely unexpected series of events, SEW TORN was acquired by Searchlight Pictures, put in theaters nationwide alongside READY OR NOT, and got me representation at UTA. Luckily, this news helped me get accepted to AFI despite being the youngest director candidate in the history of the conservatory.
After graduating from AFI and winning a Student Academy Award for my thesis film SHEDDING ANGELS, I started production on my first feature which is a continuation of the SEW TORN narrative. I am currently cutting the feature and am excited to complete it in 2023.
If you’re interested, you can watch the SEW TORN short here: https://vimeo.com/379888159
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have always struggled to communicate the tone of my films on paper, and so I’ve often received pushback on initial concepts as they are quite bizarre. My films typically feature heightened characters that live in a grounded world, and thus it’s often hard to understand how I plan to direct a piece visually from the page.
Luckily, my Dad – Fred Macdonald (yes we have the same name!) – and I collaborate together so it’s fantastic to have someone who is on the same creative wavelength. We typically co-write, I direct, and he produces.
Additionally, I feel I’ve been incredibly lucky to have found support from people who appreciate my work and who have helped make my strange projects a reality. Being a filmmaker is often both a creative and financial struggle but that’s just part of the territory.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to make films, and have never felt this gratitude more than after I wrapped production on the SEW TORN feature. Shooting a full-length movie for the first time, spending a month in the Swiss Alps telling an offbeat story about a seamstress, and creating a family with a fantastic Swiss crew was such a blessing. And what makes it all the more exciting is that I could not be more proud of this project – I’m so excited for audiences to see it.
Because we were shooting in Switzerland, where it’s rare to film with an international cast, we were embraced and supported by everyone we approached. Despite the years of writing and rewriting the script, we were finally able to get it to a place that felt right. We knew it was our story to tell and that we needed to make it.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
The pandemic happened after my first semester at AFI, which was very upsetting as the coursework is very hands-on. Luckily I was able to meet great friends before we went online, and the time at home gave my Dad and I brainstorming/writing opportunities.
AFI, despite the circumstances, was amazing in finding ways for us to keep shooting and kept a very close eye on COVID production protocols. In my second year, AFI gave us the green light to shoot our thesis films, and my team was the first of our year to film during the pandemic.
Because we were first up, I learned very quickly how to pivot creatively while still staying true to my filmic intention. For example, we had one scene that was originally designed to be filmed in a full bar, but with the pandemic, I decided to change it to a surreal miniature scene – all taking place on the protagonist’s living room shelf.
Despite the pain of changing the initial idea, the result was better than I had originally envisioned it. This past October SHEDDING ANGELS won a Student Academy Award and was shortlisted for a student BAFTA.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Stefan Klinger Sebastian Klinger Rui Arichika
