Filming in New England in Today’s New World
What keeps drawing filmmakers back to New England? Perhaps it’s the historic cities and tranquil countryside. Or maybe the winding coastline and dense forests. Whatever it is, the tight knit community of filmmakers in New England is enough to inspire anyone to film here.
New England is sure to offer many unique possibilities for filmmakers of any level. However due to the current pandemic and the restrictions it poses, production is guaranteed to look much different.
Join us at the launch for the New England BMC Chapter to discuss what makes filming in the area advantageous and the ways in which set has changed to adapt to today’s new world.
Hosted by New England Chapter lead Faith Brennan
Speakers
Charlie Nortoncinematographer/director/editorCharlie Norton is a cinematographer, director and editor based out of the New York Tri-State and New England areas. He is originally from Bridgewater, MA and is the creative director of Flying Card Productions. Charlie currently studies at Hofstra University pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree for film studies and production.
Charlie has a wide-range of knowledge in film and television production that is way beyond his years. He has worked on several projects, corporate, independent and self made, fulfilling multiple positions on crew above and below the production line. On set, Charlie is an effective asset in the Camera Department as a director of photography, first or second assistant camera. He also has experience in the grip & electric and production assistant departments.When Charlie is not on the field, he is usually at the books focusing on his education or hard at work writing and editing his next project. Charlie is also an active judge at the Boston Screaming Ostrich Film Festival and a former member of the Rhode Island International Film Festival youth jury committee. In his spare time, Charlie plays sports like ice hockey and track and keeps his mind active listening to music and meditating. Charlie is a passionate filmmaker who wants to find balance. With his open minded communication skills and ability to work with diverse groups of people, his work ethic is the drive that leads those to success alongside him.
Faith BrennanHost/ModeratorFaith Brennan is a second year university student at King’s College London but is currently based in Massachusetts, of which she is a lifelong resident. While studying for her BA in Film Studies, Faith has interned at the Boston Film Festival and has enjoyed working on her own short films. She is now in the process of co-producing a podcast with fellow classmates to discuss all the film and television topics that interest them.
Post graduation, Faith hopes to go on to earn an MA in Producing and help create a limited series based on her friend’s novel.
Louise Nessrallawriter/directorLouise Nessralla is a writer and director based in Boston who seeks to tell stories with women of color at the forefront of the screen as well as behind the camera. She first broke into the New England film scene as a production assistant on a Quibi series directed by Mary Harron.
Louise is interested in telling quirky meaningful stories that explore identity, culture, and relationship. She believes that creating an inclusive and collaborative environment on set is essential to the integrity of both the narrative being told and of the people who are telling it. Some of Louise’s movie adventures include filming a short documentary in the south of France, working at the Cannes Film Festival, and pulling an overnight shoot in a potentially haunted donut shop.
Rachel S. Thomas-Medwidscreenwriter/filmmakerRachel S. Thomas-Medwid is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and independent filmmaker. Some of her recent awards include making the ISA’s Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2021 list, winning the 2020 Grand Prize Shoot Your Short Contest, the Female Filmmaker Award at the Lonely Seal International Film Festival, New England Film Star Awards Finalist, Best First Time Director in the New York Movie Awards, and Best Narrative Short Film Director at the Mystic Film Festival.
Her film The Squirrels in the Attic, based on her award-winning screenplay, has been recognized in over 14 film festivals and won six awards to date. In the Company of Crows, written and directed by Rachel, is scheduled for release in early 2021, along with a film based on her multi-award-winning screenplay, The Influencer, which will be premiering at Hollyshorts Film Festival.