Carolyn McDonald   Film to the Future

I met Carolyn McDonald through Film Independent’s Project Involve, an education and mentoring program for minority filmmakers. As my mentor, we’d meet every two weeks at Starbucks and talk movies, scripts and the business in general. It was through one of these meetings that the concept for P.N.O.K. Primary Next of Kin was born. Carolyn obtained financing, put a team together and got the short film completed ”from concept to screen” in 6 months. That is a testament to the kind of filmmaking professional that Carolyn McDonald is. With producing credits that include the Image Award and Cable Ace-winning HBO film America’s Dream and the Image Award & Emmy-nominated Freedom Song and Buffalo Soldiers, Carolyn is a woman who gets the job done. I thought this would be an excellent time to profile Carolyn because she’s involved in so many exciting and cutting-edge projects. 1. P.N.O.K. was just screened at the Nashville Film Festival. Nashville is a world famous music town, what was it like for you to experience it as a filmmaker? It was truly amazing. I have over 2500 songs in my ipod, so I was like a kid in a candy store down in Music City. The creative community down there is so warm and supportive of each other, and so very, very nice. I may have finally found my Shangri-la. 2. One of the things you are most passionate about is the advent of Internet technologies for filmmakers. With podcasting and sites like Current TV becoming more and more popular, how will the Internet make it easier for filmmakers not only to make but to distribute their films? Oh, it’s the “Wild West” right now. Artists who are savvy marketers will be able to “cut out the middleman”, create their own brands & distribute their material to loyal audiences. Thank God for Mark Cuban and Steve Jobs. But the most exciting thing is addressing how people perceive information. It’s like that leap from radio to TV 60 years ago. The dinosaurs don’t want to accept it; but they have no choice. 3. What sort of technology-based projects are you working on now? I’ve been working on a multi-platform video magazine for teenagers for a couple years now. High school students are dropping out because they’re bored. You can’t expect kids who have P2Ps to sit in a stuffy classroom and listen to someone drone on about whatever. So I want to get kids to go out and shoot the segments and engage them in learning in the process. I’m so excited about this, because it’s fun and educational. 4. You’ve got so many irons in the fire; let’s talk about a few of them. First up, you have a script called Rocket Love. What’s it about? On the surface it’s a romantic comedy about 3 airline pilots, who can’t quite get it right with the women in their lives. But ultimately it’s about the relationships they have with themselves. 5. What made you decide to write a script that focused on three older white men? Why not? I call it “the girl’s movie about guys.” It’s part of my crusade to integrate the world, and demonstrate that our hearts are all the same, no matter what they’re wrapped in. And men have been writing about women since the bible. So why shouldn’t i write about men? 6. You are also a big country music fan. How are you planning to combine your love of country music with your filmmaking career? I'm working on a series called “the T-Boh sound.” It’s kind of like “The Monkees in the Twilight Zone.” I wrote it for my favorite country group. These guys are so brilliant and such upstanding cats. I hope they’ll do it, ‘cause we would have so much fun and it could be huge. I’m having so much fun writing it. There are a myriad of possibilities with visuals, storytelling & music, and technology. And I have always wanted to do a movie about Glen Campbell. He’s had a very interesting life, with lots of historical backdrops. 7. With P.N.O.K. you made the leap from producer and writer to director. Was directing always an aspiration for you? Do you plan on directing more shorts and features? Directing is hard work! So I only want to direct things I write that I’m absolutely passionately in love with. I’d love to do some music videos though. They’re like visual poems. 8. So many female and minority filmmakers insist on telling “their stories” about their cultural experience. But it doesn’t look like you choose to. Why? My great grandmother said something to me when I was about 5 or 6 years old that stuck with me: “humans are the only one of God’s creatures that fight about their color. You don’t see them red flowers and blue flowers fighting each other, or red and blue birds fighting each other. Humans are the only ones stupid enough to be fighting over what color they are.” I swear, I looked at those birds and flowers and this kind of colorblind thing just clicked inside me. When you’re 5 or 6 years old and your great-grandmother says something, it’s like God talking. So my personal cultural experience has always been that of being human. At the core of each of us are the same pains, joys, needs for love and self expression. I grew up in the South, so I like Southern stories. But all stories are “my stories.” “E.T.” was my story. “Color Purple” was my story. “Schindler’s List” was my story. Cause I’ve felt like all those people at some time in my life. Know what I mean?! 9. We’ve talked a lot about this business and you have personally given me a lot of invaluable advice. You have managed to sustain a career in this business for over two decades. Distill some of the advice that you have given me over the past year into a few sentences. 1) Stay fresh: never imitate the “taste of the minute” 2) Maintain your integrity at all costs: “a lie is not the new truth” 3) Stay away from sycophants & crazy people (our business is full of them & life is way too short) 4) Remain true to your heart & be courageous (not cocky) 5) Dream big and happy 6) Give back to the ones who helped you succeed and those in need trying to succeed

Previous Ones to Watch

Lydia Martinelli - One to Watch (April 2006)
Alicia Simmons - One to Watch (March 2006)
Karyn Beach - One to Watch (February 2006)
Arastao Maree - One to Watch (January 2006)