MAKING USA ENAMEL, 17min,. USA
Directed by Regan Vasquez
The documentary “Making USA Enamel” takes viewers on a three-year journey to bring colorful enameling to US soil—in the middle of a global pandemic, too. Meet the people of Lodge Cast Iron who helped create USA Enamel™ in this documentary by Regan Vasquez, featuring interviews with leadership and employees from across Lodge, as well as footage from Lodge foundries and the enameling facility.

http://lodgecastiron.com/
https://facebook.com/lodgecastiron
https://twitter.com/lodgecastiron
https://instagram.com/lodgecastiron

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

In January of 2020, I had been working for Lodge Cast Iron a little over a year and was approached about this documentary. The film explores this, but essentially, USA Enamel was something our company had wanted to do for so many years and I was so excited to be given the opportunity to share that story with our audience. This isn't a space that many people know too much about so the chance to highlight the people behind this product was very cool. I had no idea we'd be living and working through a global pandemic soon after—plus, so many other obstacles would come our way during the process—but as a team we kept persevering and finally ended up where we are today with a product line we're so proud of and a documentary, too! I'm really grateful I was able to give such visibility into how something that we use in our home every single day was made.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

"Making USA Enamel" took me three years to make from conception to final export.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

"Who knew?!"

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

The biggest obstacle was filming in the spray booths where the enameled cast iron gets its color. The clearance was really small in our booth, so we had to find the right sized housing for the camera—which actually ended up being a fish tank. We had to mount the fish tank to one of our conveyer hooks with fishing line and seal the camera in there with masking tape. And we only had one shot, since the color spray covered the entire camera. This was a very eventful day in the enamel plant!

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I loved that collectively they had a new appreciation for the cookware items in their homes. Something that's so ordinary in their kitchen now has a new meaning to them, and that is exactly what I wanted to accomplish with this story.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

I grew up with my mom being a photographer, so I always loved to be around cameras. When I was in eleventh grade in high school, my literature teacher was really into film theory and comparing and contrasting novels and their film adaptations. He assigned us a project where we had to film and recreate our favorite TV or movie scene and I really ran with it. From that year on, I got more involved with amateur filmmaking and went on to study cinematography in undergrad. And if you're wondering, I recreated a scene from ABC Family's "Pretty Little Liars." And yes, it is terrible and still lives on Facebook. I watch it sometimes to see how far I've come, and to get a good laugh in.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

This is such a toss up. Probably "The Devil Wears Prada." That film pretty much raised me.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

I think anything involving community is ideal. Even if the festival is virtual, having a community hour where the filmmakers can all get together would be great. Great for networking, but also great to meet and get acquainted with each other and learn more about their work.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Film Freeway has been great! It helps that they'll send email notifications about my festival watch list. No complaints!

10. What is your favorite meal?

Absolutely a great carbonara, and it must have the egg yolk on top. Alongside some focaccia with balsamic and olive oil. Followed by a Dairy Queen blizzard. Doesn't get any better than that!

11. What is next for you? A new film?

You'd be surprised how quickly things move in the cookware world, so for the first half of next year I'll be working on some really exciting projects (that are top secret for now, hehe). I also have some other documentary ideas that I would love to pursue, but haven't been able to flesh them out fully just yet. My end goal is to direct a feature!