Jason Sussberg and Patrick Kack-Brice were boyhood friends who made home movies together growing up in Nevada County. They continue helping each other now that they are filmmakers. The following has been extracted from separate conversations Chuck Jaffee had with them recently. See Jason’s “The Sea Is a Harsh Mistress” and Patrick’s “Maurice” at the Nevada City Film Festival, August 18-21.
“Being engaged in the world is a high-minded thing.”
Chuck Jaffee: How did you get exposed to movie making growing up?
Jason Sussberg: I was steeped in the arts. My mom’s an artist. KVMR was always playing in the background. I saw people like Joanna Newsom play. I had friends in the arts. I came to film via photography and computers, like with what I could do using Photoshop.
CJ: You’ve said of home movies you made in your formative years that they were “not serious … very immature and silly.” What have you learned since then about being serious and mature and sensible?
JS: Seriousness, politicization, activism … being engaged in the world is a high-minded thing. One of my faults, a sort of arrogance, is not being intimidated. I feel I belong where I am. I also know that even the most serious documentaries need to have moments of levity, something charming or hilarious.
CJ: You’re a veteran of the Nevada City Film Festival. What’s your take on what the NCFF offers?
JS: It’s great. The films they show are brave and interesting. I like the comedy shorts especially, plus Tim and Eric [of “Tim and Eric, Awesome Show, Great Job!” – a television series]. Some films are not necessarily the most technically well done, but you see a lot of playing with ideas. It’s a great festival for filmmakers. Also, [The NCFF] knows how to party.
CJ: You’ve been making short films. What’s especially satisfying about making short films?
JS: The buy-in is super small. You can have a smaller idea and play with film language. There are different expectations of a beginning, middle and end, of cause and effect.
CJ: You just graduated film school and already you’re an associate professor at a small college. How did that happen and what’s the most important thing you would want your students to learn in your filmmaking courses?
JS: I live a blessed life. I’m very lucky. One of my Stanford professors recommended me. Students need to find their voice. You have to have your filmmaker’s voice. The story doesn’t tell itself. Write. Experiment. Try everything.
“You have to put yourself out there”
Chuck Jaffee: How did you get exposed to movie making growing up?
Patrick Kack-Brice: My parents took me to films at the Magic Theatre at a young age whether I liked it or not, but it did me right. It put a lot of that stuff in my subconscious. It gave me an understanding of film language, even if I couldn’t articulate it until college.
CJ: Apparently you were a bit obsessed from a young age to “make our little movies and keep us entertained,” and you used a Hi-8 video camera you “co-opted” from your mom.
PKB: I’ve been going through ancient home movie footage because Jason is getting married in October. [See the accompanying interview with Jason Sussberg.] Before there were editing tools like Final Cut Pro, we were playing with things like montage. We didn’t know what we were doing. I don’t think I realized it till I was going to film school..
CJ: You’re a veteran of the Nevada City Film Festival. What’s your take on what the NCFF offers?
PKB: I appreciate their tastes. They gravitate more toward new filmmakers. I like their relationship with Tim and Eric [of “Tim and Eric, Awesome Show, Great Job!” – a television series]. They are one of the funniest, almost surrealist … they announce themselves as pacemakers.
CJ: You’ve been making short films, including quite a creative jump from “Love-Love” to “Wolf Creek” to “Maurice.” What’s especially satisfying about making short films?
PKB: It’s a cool thing about being a filmmaker. It allows you to be interested in a lot of things. It’s a jumping off place for a lot of discovery.
CJ: You just graduated from film school. What is the most important thing you think budding filmmakers need to learn?
PKB: Be humble and be curious. They’re attached to each other. Film is the most collaborative art form. You need to get older people to hire you. You have to trust yourself. You have to put yourself out there.