Wrong Number may be just right for the KC FilmFest.
Film director Patrick Rea and screenwriter Amber Rapp are hoping their short film, Wrong Number, has the right stuff to make it into the Kansas City FilmFest.
The festival runs April 10-14 at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Mainstreet. Last year, Rea’s horror/suspense feature, Nailbiter, had its premiere at the hometown film festival before it gained a following at horror film festivals across the United States. Rea estimates the film has been seen at more than 40 festivals and several horror conventions. Rea won Best Director and/or Best Feature Film awards in several film festivals in 2012, including Shriekfest, Chicago Fear Fest and AMC Theaters KC Film Fest. Nailbiter will be distributed through Lionsgate Home Video/Grindstone in the late spring.
His most recent shorts include Hell Week, Next Caller and Do Not Disturb. SenoReality Pictures won its second Heartland Emmy for the short, Get Off My Porch. In 2009, Rea was co-director on the Jake Johanssen, I Love You comedy special, which aired on SHOWTIME throughout 2010. The comedy special can be seen on Netflix. Along with Wrong Number, Rea has also wrapped a short film titled Rhino, starring Malcolm
Goodwin (A&E’s Breakout Kings) and Keith Loneker (Lakeview Terrace). He hopes Rhino might find a place in this year’s Kansas City Film Fest.
“I am so proud of Nailbiter. It was only on the film fest circuit for about a month last year before we had a distribution company in place. Last year, the Kansas City Women in Film and Television had a script contest and Amber’s Wrong Number was a finalist. It was then part of a staged reading,” Rea says. “It just appealed to me so last year’s film fest was a big hit in my book.” The evening of April 11 this year will be dedicated to films directed and/or written by women, Rapp says. She hopes her piece, directed by Rea, Wrong Number, is shown as well as last year’s screenwriting winner, Jennifer Friend, whose piece, Rest of Her, has also been shot and ready for viewing. Friend is another local filmmaker. The staged readings for the winning script and the finalists will be that evening too.
Not bad for a guy who had to couch surf for a few years as a fresh college graduate, hoping to make films. He attended the University of Kansas film school. Along with one of his best friends, Ryan S. Jones, the move into filmmaking was rocky, but one where the trek has been ever forward moving. “Sure there is a big learning curve, but I have been fortunate to have really talented people around me. As an example, there’s my long-time cinematographer Hanuman Brown-Eagle.” His favorite film is Raiders of the Lost Ark. “As a kid, I was told not to watch horror films, but I would sneak to watch them. Horror films held an allure and they still do.”
Rea and Rapp enjoy film festivals. “Festivals build word of mouth. They create a fan base while the directors are hoping to find a distributor. The trick is to get the movie out there and get it played as much as possible,” Rea says. “When it hits the DVD market, people want it.” Social media is also a big friend to independent filmmakers. Reviews start to spread and bloggers can create a buzz, Rea says. “Of course, the other joy of playing in your hometown means friends and family can come see your work. They can see your work on a big screen and you can hear their immediate reactions.” When Wrong Number played at the Carmel Film Festival, the short was part of a collection of horror films. “It’s the sort of story that has elements of a thriller so I suppose it fit. I was totally
thrilled to be part of the festival. Watching the shorts side by side, I feel my film stood with the competition,” Rapp says.
Film festivals also enjoy programming shorts. “A feature film can take years, but a short can be shot in a day or two with editing a first cut down in a couple of weeks. I also get a chance to work with folks who are like family to me. As an example, Wrong Number stars Cinnamon Schultz and Joicie Appell; both are local and really talented. Joicie was in Nailbiter too. My wife Kristin serves as art director. Michelle Davidson has been an actress, director and co-producer. As I said, I am lucky to work with talented people,” Rea says.
Shorts also keep him excited. “There’s almost instant gratification. I like telling short stories that translate into short films. These films are also easier to be part of the film festival circuit. We create a relationship with these film festivals. It’s been close to a decade so we don’t have to keep introducing ourselves.”
Rapp and Rea filmed another short at the end of January titled I Do. “The joy of working together is finding someone who shares that same vision with you,” Rapp says. “I have gained friendships because I have pursued screenwriting, co-producing and co-chairing this year’s screenwriting contest.”
Rapp feels like she is starting her second chapter with screenwriting and film work. She initially was a design consultant for a computer networking company. Then she left to start a family, but soon her three children will all be in school full time. Being a finalist last year has opened her world to resources and networking. “With the staged readings, we find actors for our films and the actors love it too.” Submissions this year are coming in from places as varied as Canada, Washington State to Washington D.C.
Wrong Number germinated for years in Rapp’s mind. She remembered a co-worker who tried to find a boyfriend, but actually claimed a boyfriend after a wrong phone call. “That chance encounter can spur amazingly intimate conversations. Think about sharing something personal with the stranger in line at the grocery store. It’s similar to me.” Of course, both Rea and Rapp have strong, if not twisted senses of humor. “The sweetness of the film ends with a twist. When it screened, I have heard people say they wanted more. The beauty of a short is to allow the audience to create the ending themselves.”
As a woman, Rapp know that getting her house in order is important, especially having a clean sink with not a dirty dish in sight. “Patrick understood that aspect of beauty as well,” she says. “That’s why he is filming I Do later in January. I am continuing to round out my portfolio. Shorts don’t make money but they are a beautiful creative experience and exercise. They become a calling card. It’s a lot like training for a marathon. You start with shorts and learn to flex your muscles and build up stamina so if you want to tackle a full-length feature, you know what you are getting into.”
Rapp says, “You can be one of the most talented writers or directors, but if you don’t see it through and actually put a feature or short out, there’s really nothing to say. I am passionate about writing.” She also believes in the one-in-a-million idea. “I was writing a few pages of a script not that long ago and now I am deeply involved in film. That’s my one-in-a-million story. You have to love film and screenwriting.” Like Rapp, Rea sees success not in dollar signs, but in a career that is constant. “However, sometimes the uncertainty keeps you going. It keeps you moving.”
