Way back in 2009, when I still had much to learn regarding filmmaking, I made Detective Cookie: the Murder on Sigwalt Street, an abomination over half-an-hour long. It was full of bad acting, horrendous dialogue, shallow characters, and god awful storytelling. It had more holes in its plot than swiss cheese.
And yet, I consider it to be among my most important films I have ever made. Why?
First, I may not have been incredibly talented as a child, but I had endless amounts of ambition. Every day, I would come home from elementary school, finish what little homework I had, grab my mom’s camera, and start filming a scene. I didn’t care what people would think of the film: I made it for myself. I made it so I could grow from it and fun in the process. Aside from a shot in the film featuring my younger brother, I did everything by myself: acting, camerawork, storytelling, puppetry, editing, costumes…and I loved it. To this day, if I’m honest, I’m still trying to replicate the drive I had all those years ago. Whenever I question what I’m doing and what people will think (even if it’s just for fun), I think back to Detective Cookie as my inspiration. Your past can be your greatest asset.
You can check the film out here, if you’re brave enough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rULGmz2ewsg&index=6&list=PLviVPCKs72OVZNwt-SPlqAgSsqvZVl9vJ
this was super enjoyable to read and it inspires me to look at my old films.
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