Milwaukee Film Announces Collaborative Cinema Film Production: Love You Still

Crew Call Now Open for 2013 Educational Film Shoot

MILWAUKEE – Tuesday, May 7, 2013 – Milwaukee Film is pleased to announce the director and screenwriter for their yearly Collaborative Cinema educational film production. The film, titled Love You Still, tells an Old Man and the Sea-type tale focused on an elderly fisherman dealing with his isolated place in the world. The screenplay was written by Franklin High School junior Katie Theel and will be directed by Michael Viers, a graduating senior in the UW-Milwaukee Department of Film, Video, Animation and New Genres.

“We are thrilled to be working with Katie's script this summer,” says Susan Kerns, Education Director for Milwaukee Film. “This is her third year in our screenwriting program, and it has been wonderful watching Katie's writing develop. She's a hard worker, and a joy to work with, so I'm excited to see her ideas come to life this year.”

Susan also had this to say about director Michael Viers: “Michael's pitch truly impressed us, as it was clear he had spent a lot of time figuring out how Katie's script worked with his personal style and interests. He also presented some unusual visual ideas that I think will be intriguing for students to attempt and make for a great film. It's going to be a challenging and fun project - exactly what Collaborative Cinema is all about.”

In addition to her previous participation in Collaborative Cinema’s screenwriting program, Katie was also a part of 2012’s on-set film crew. Michael also previously participated in the screenwriting program while in high school, and has since continued to keep in touch with one of his writing mentors from the program.

Love You Still will be shot in late June with a full-scale professional film crew and premiere at the 2013 Milwaukee Film Festival, which runs September 26-October 10.

This year, 50 high school students attended Milwaukee Film’s Collaborative Cinema screenwriting workshops. Writers developed a short script idea from a one-page treatment into a 10-page script, and worked with screenwriters, educators, and filmmakers over the course of several months. The top five scripts were then pitched by four emerging local directors to a deciding panel of industry professionals, which included Carlo Besasie (Tempest Pictures), Mark Foote (Flexible Films, LLC), Jeff Kurz (Belle City Pics, Milwaukee Film Production Coordinator), and Kara Mulrooney (Gal Friday Films).

Filmmakers interested in working as crew on the Collaborative Cinema set in June should apply by Tuesday, May 21 on the Milwaukee Film website. These unpaid positions are open to people with a filmmaking background who are looking to gain more on-set experience and meet people working in the local film industry. 

More information about the film and program: 

About the director, Michael Viers:

Viers was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI and developed an interest in filmmaking after seeing John Carpenter’s Halloween while still in middle school. While in high school, he took part in Milwaukee Film’s Collaborative Cinema screenwriting program, and entered various screenwriting competitions, placing in the finals with his very first script. He’s currently a graduating senior in UW-Milwaukee’s Department of Film, Video, Animation and New Genres. While in film school, he’s completed two noteworthy shorts: Shades of Pride, which was Official Selection at the 15-Minutes of Fame Festival of Short Films in Palm Bay, FL; and From the Darkness Theatre, which will be playing at the 66th Annual Festival de Cannes in the Short Film Corner.

About the screenwriter, Katie Theel:

Theel is a junior at Franklin High School. An amateur filmmaker since fifth grade, Katie is part of her school’s TV Production Class, participated in Collaborative Cinema’s Screenwriting Program for the past three years, and spent Summer 2012 as a member of Collaborative Cinema’s high school film crew. She and her friends are planning on participating in the 48 Hour Film Festival this June. Love You Still is her first film.

Collaborative Cinema Screenwriting 2013 Finalists:

Maggie Beck (Nicolet High School), Lunch Money
Vianca Fuster (Riverside High School), Online Fugitives
Joshua Miles (Milwaukee School of Languages), A Family that Preys
Ellie Wells (Shorewood High School), The Harpist

Collaborative Cinema Director 2013 Finalists:

Nikolas Aldrich
Tony Hunt
Erica Thompson

For more information on this education program from Milwaukee Film, visit: http://mkefilm.org/content/collaborativecinema