When I first saw Scotty Leonard's film The Space Between Dreams I knew this was something different. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before! It was messy, but structured and creative in ways unknown to me as a filmmaker.
What set this film, and Scotty's other films apart, was the intent. He did not care if he was shooting in 4K, or with a fancy Sony or Canon. Most of the time, he was shooting on a $2 Flip Video camera. He did, however, care about the story. He carefully crafted the narrative he shared with us. Most importantly, I can see how he enjoys to make them. I think a lot of filmmakers and those in the industry have become jaded and can often forget why they make films. When production meetings go wrong, cast members get sick, the schedule changes, and you work a 16hr day, often times it can be easy to forget why you got into film in the first place.
This inspired me to start making a Zinema myself. We were talking about these films in their own category, because it didn't fit into any genre that we knew. As such, the night of September 5th 2022, Scotty and I excitedly discussed over the phone what this new genre was. Scotty coined the term Zinema, because we thought that these films embodied the soul and intent of a Zine. ZINE + CINEMA = ZINEMA. Next, we came up with the guidelines and parameters. And just like that, we made a film genre.
We hope that this new wave of underground filmmaking will bring an explosion of creation to filmmakers that never thought they would make something quite like a ZINEMA.
-Elena Sakuda
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