TO THE MOONS AND BACK, 11min., USA
Directed by Owen David Solomon
Two prisoners in a dystopian society, try to escape from their past life and make it to a mysterious place called the Beyond.

https://www.instagram.com/tothemoonsandbackfilm/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
I was motivated to make this film because at my core, I have always loved sci-fi. I wrote a different version of this script around high school, when I was first exploring my love for filmmaking. Years later, I came across that old script, and got inspired to rewrite it and develop it more. I absolutely love world building and I feel as if Sci-fi gives me the ultimate range to do so.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
It took a while for this script to come to life. After dusting off an old version of the script from around 2019, In the summer of 2022 I started rewriting and revamping the script. I started preproduction shortly after, where we ended up shooting this project in October of 2022. I didn't finish editing until around 3-4 months ago.

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The biggest obstacle I faced while working on this film was, either getting permits for locations, or finding a composer for my film. Trying to permit a forrest location was extremely difficult for us, since we didn't leave enough time for the actual permitting process. Somehow, the day before we were scheduled to shoot, we were luckily able to lock down our permits.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
Since I am very critical of myself I was very happy to see such positive reactions to my film. The audience really touched on the world building aspects, which is one of my favorite things to do in filmmaking. Overall, I felt overwhelmed with their reactions, and it really ignites the drive to continue to create and push myself as an artist.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
I realized I wanted to make films around the beginning of high school. I was first introduced to filmmaking when I first got my hands on a GoPro. From then on I began to teach myself how to edit in premier and slowly learn more and more about what I wanted to do with filmmaking.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
I think I've seen Star Wars Revenge of the Sith the most in my life.

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 really enjoyed the audience reaction bit. I think having a section for criticism would be great as well. This would help filmmakers learn how to receive feedback and also reflect and see what maybe they can do differently in the future.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
I think FilmFreeway is an incredible platform. It is super easy to use, and adds an incredible amount of excitement at the end of the films journey, when all of your hard work pays off.

10. What is your favorite meal?
I would say my favorite meal would have to be sushi.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I think next for me is to start branching more into the commercial space. It is a field I don't know a lot about and I would love to start challenging myself there as well. Other than that, I have already started writing another sci-fi film, and can't wait to see the next steps for this.