Directed by Patricia McCormack
WRITTEN BY MEGAN BARKER
PRODUCED by Patricia McCormack & Shaheen Schleifer
Myrtle, a trailer park Mom from Indiana cooks dinner for her son but something’s not quite right, this kitchen is anonymous, industrial and Myrtle is working to a deadline. As her composure unravels, we realize that 21 grams is all that separates life from death.
ABOUT THE FILM
MYRTLE was adapted from a play by Patricia McCormack and Megan Barker. It won the Audience Award at our festival in 2022, as well as earning other Official Selections at the Birmingham Film Festival, the Long Beach International Film Festival and Semi-Finalist status at the Academy Award qualifying Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival. It was recently released online via Omeleto.
ABOUT THE FILMmaker
Patricia McCormack was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland and trained as an Actress at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. Previous acting credits include ‘Pit’ at The Traverse Theatre, 'Lost At Sea' Finborough Theatre, The Field Of Blood 2 (BBC1), River City (BBC Scotland). She has featured in several Afternoon Play's on BBC Radio 4 and appeared in long-running series McLevy starring Brian Cox. MYRTLE is Patricia's directorial debut.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH PATRICIA
Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
“Myrtle” is in fact, my directorial debut. My background is as an actor, mainly in theatre and for the last few years I’ve been working in advertising. I’ve always had a fascination and love of storytelling and wanted to make my own film but I didn’t know where to start. So initially I’d sneak out of the agency I was working at and scroll through the books at the BFI library on the Southbank, teaching myself the basic tenets of movie making, this is where I wrote the shooting script for “Myrtle”.
Tell us about the genesis of Myrtle? What was your inspiration behind the concept?
It’s actually an adaptation from a play that Megan Barker wrote, I broached the idea of developing it into a film as I loved the premise and thought it had real dramatic potential. We felt it important to keep the audience in the dark initially as to where we are and why Myrtle is preparing this meal, in order for the final moments to (hopefully) have a stronger impact.
Not only did you direct Myrtle, but you’re also acting in it as well. Can you talk about how you balanced those two roles?
I tried to be as prepared as I possibly could be, taking all the time I needed to go over every detail in advance, rehearsing thoroughly, knowing exactly the look and feel of the film I wanted to make.
I also listened to actor/directors that I admire regarding their best practise. The key advice being, on the day, to simply keep moving and not get sucked into reviewing footage too much. So, I followed the principle of shoot more, if it feels right move on and don’t overthink it.
As an American myself, when I first saw the film I genuinely believed you were an American actress. What preparation did you do to nail the accent?
Well, that is the best praise so thank you! We placed Myrtle very specifically in Evansville, Southwest Indiana, I immersed myself listening to content from there. I then engaged with an amazing dialect coach Rebecca Gausnell (who is also from the States), so she helped me to be as specific as possible and iron out any lingering Scottish vowels.
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making Myrtle and how did you overcome them?
Number 1 would be finding the location. I had found a community centre but really the space was too small for how we wanted to shoot. I then put out an advert on a locations page on facebook and received 2 responses, one from a commercial kitchen that was charging a fortune and another from the wife of a restauranteur, who told me to give her husband a call. His restaurant was closed part of the week due to covid and he said he could accommodate us if we were able to film within the next 3 weeks, so suddenly everything was moving very quickly.
The second obstacle was finding a co producer as I had been setting everything up myself and it wasn’t until a week before the shoot that I met Shaheen Schleifer who luckily agreed to come on board and produce.
Myrtle won the Audience Award at our festival in 2022. Can you tell us about your experiences with other festivals? Also, any tips for filmmakers currently trying to navigate the festival circuit?
It’s a hard one as there’s so much out there and it’s tricky to navigate when you’re new to it. I’d say initially, if you’re not familiar with the festival, check out their website before you apply, to make sure they are legit, as it seems there are still a fair few out there that might not be worth the submission fee.
I suppose trying to get into a qualifier would be the main objective, as that can change things very quickly for you. I’d also say to make sure you have a strategy, research festivals, find ones that may be a good match for your film, ie. if there’s a specific issue or theme that they champion that aligns with your project, maybe target those festivals first.
Our festival run was quite strange in a way, as it started when covid travel restrictions were in place, so there were a number of festivals Stateside I wasn’t able to attend (except via zoom, which is never the same). Kino was among the first that I could go to which made being there in person, then winning an award on top of that, extra special.
Now that you've completed your festival journey the film has been picked up by Klipist. How have you found the online release of the film compared to the festival circuit? Any tips for filmmakers looking to release their film online?
I’m just thrilled that the film gets a longer life. At the end of the day, you make a film in the hope that it will get an audience, so the fact that Myrtle is now selected to play on Klipist is absolutely thrilling.
What do you think is the biggest challenge short filmmakers face trying to break into the industry?
Getting money and making connections are probably the hardest things initially and the fact that even if you have made something you are proud of, it can still be challenging getting your work seen.
Words of wisdom. What advice would you give to other filmmakers?
Go for it and believe. It’s really that simple, you have to have an unrelenting belief. If you feel uncertain at any point, ask yourself “What is my next best move” and go from there. As Goethe says, ‘Action has magic, power and grace’.
What are you working on now?
I’m editing my next short film “Anneka’s Problem” which will hopefully be finished by the end of April. It’s very different in tone from “Myrtle” and we shot it in Glasgow (which is where I’m from), so a departure from the Mid-West! It’s an ambitious little project, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
Obviously, the other shorts that are on Klipist, there’s some cracking films on there. I loved the Oscar and BAFTA winning short “An Irish Goodbye”. Highlights from the year for me have been “Aftersun”, “Blue Jean” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.