Ep 292: Stories Unite Us: Erin Mae Miller on Producing "If I Tell You"
Filmmaking Conversations Podcast with Damien SwabyShow Notes
Show Notes
Producer, director and Ignite Studios founder Erin Mae Miller joins Damien Swaby for a wide-ranging conversation about the realities of independent filmmaking and her new feature If I Tell You.
Erin began her career in unscripted television, working across productions for Discovery, TLC, History and VH1. She describes documentary filmmaking as being like sculpting from a block of marble — discovering and shaping a story from the material reality gives you — while scripted filmmaking is more like painting something that first existed in your imagination.
She discusses working on Love & Hip Hop, the importance of extensive pre-interviews when dealing with vulnerable documentary participants, and why filmmakers have a responsibility to ensure contributors retain agency over deeply personal stories.
The conversation then turns to If I Tell You, Ignite Studios' debut feature. Erin first encountered the screenplay while working at Big Indie Pictures and couldn't forget it. After leaving the company, she contacted the writer and began what ultimately became an eight-year journey to get the film made.
Erin discusses adapting Lisa O'Donnell's Closed Doors from its original Scottish setting to northern Minnesota, finding the isolated Boundary Waters community of Ely, casting young lead Etienne Kellici from approximately 3,000 submissions, working with director Tessa Blake and creating the film's carefully controlled visual palette.
She also opens up about the changing economics of independent film, the impact of streaming on traditional international financing, and why producers today need to think about the film they write, shoot, edit, distribute and market.
The conversation also tackles AI and filmmaking. Erin sees possibilities for technologies that could make historically expensive recreations achievable for independent productions, while arguing that documentary filmmakers must be extremely careful not to destroy the audience's trust in the reality they're watching.
Finally, Erin reflects on beginning her career as a stand-in and photo double for Kristen Bell and Isla Fisher, why she ultimately chose producing over acting, and her belief that films can influence our collective cultural narrative.
If I Tell You opens in select AMC cinemas across the United States on August 27.
In this episode Erin discusses unscripted TV and Love & Hip Hop; ethical documentary interviewing; working at Big Indie Pictures; the eight-year development of If I Tell You; casting a child lead from thousands of submissions; shooting for 25 days in Minnesota; colour as an affordable filmmaking tool; the changing economics of independent film; AI, authenticity and documentary ethics; and why “stories unite us.”
More from Filmmaking Conversations Podcast with Damien Swaby
Mike Gallant and Seled Calderon join Damien Swaby to discuss BACKPAY, an independent neo-noir crime thriller about financial desperation, family and the consequences of believing one bad decision can fix everything.Written, directed and produced by Gallant, who also stars, the film follows Steve, a desperate father fighting to save his marriage. Alongside Murphy, a cop caught up in life as an informant, he attempts to extort a corrupt politician and crack a safe—with increasingly dangerous consequences.
Documentary filmmaker Luchina Fisher joins Damien Swaby to discuss the people and experiences that shaped her work.Growing up in a military family took Luchina from Texas to Germany and North Carolina. She reflects on how moving between places taught her to observe, adapt and connect with people.
Filmmaker Katie Cokinos joins Damien Swaby to reflect on a career shaped by independent cinema, personal vision and the determination required to get unconventional films made. Katie recounts beginning her career at the Southwest Alternate Media Project—better known as SWAMP—in Houston.
Rob Hollocks has spent more than two decades on both sides of the film business — helping major studios sell some of the biggest films in the world, while ultimately pursuing his ambition to write, direct and produce films of his own.
Episode Show Notes