Lansing-based filmmaker Michael McCallum and his crew walked away from the Muskegon Film Festival May 31 with the Best Feature Film award for “Fairview St.,” the black and white movie they made entirely within the city of Lansing.
They were a bit nervous before the announcement, the last of the two-day event, but working hard not to show it.
Ever the serious writer and director, McCallum says, “Before the awards, I told everyone, 'Look, whether it wins or doesn’t, it’s still the same damn movie.'”
“I’m just happy to be known as a Michigan artist and filmmaker,” he says.
But “Fairview St.” did win, and that means it will have a laurel leaf imprinted on the poster, and pique the interest of more people, he says. Hopefully, that interest will translate into sales. The DVD is available on its website for $20.
Just getting admitted to a film festival is a big thing, he says, as he plans for more entries. He has his eye on the Sundance Festival in Utah in 2010, but with 40,000 entries, competition will be fierce.
Meanwhile, he is working on “Handlebar,” a comedy written with Shane Hagedorn. Both act in the color film with McCallum’s father, William C. McCallum, and Grace Ann Rowan. A. E. Griffin is director of photography. It will have an overly saturated look, like a 70s movie.
He hopes to have its first showing at Celebration Cinema in January.
Source: Michael McCallum
Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.
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