Acclaimed author and on-again-off-again CineDump contributor, Preston Fassel, reached out to me about visiting a film production that was happening in Houston. Considering my wife and I had nothing to do the weekend of the shoot, we agreed to cover the spectacle and help out the project in any way that we could. I contacted the acclaimed director, Fatima Hye, a Bangladeshi-American Muslim woman who grew up in Texas to make the arrangements.
Now that we’d made contact, it was time to Google. Fatima had completed several shorts and took her featurette Animalium to the Victoria, TX Independent Film Festival. I wanted to watch everything I could before showing up to the set. My wife says that I like to be prepared, almost to a fault. So naturally, I spent the days leading up to the shoot researching the cast and crew. I wanted to know exactly what I was getting into, or at the very least, have some sort of an idea.
The day had come, so we poured our cups full of coffee and ventured south toward the big scary city. Armed with nothing but an iPhone and a cheap stabilizer purchased from Amazon, we were ready. I had only been told that it was an artsy horror production, so outside of that, and the little bit of research I had done, I was fairly blind.
We were greeted by the cast and crew immediately, snacks were dealt and everything was handled quickly and professionally. My wife and I were prepared to be extras, and we were quickly thrown into the mix. Between takes, I got to know a few of my cast mates. Everyone was so experienced, and they all had different backgrounds! It was pretty interesting to hear how everyone got involved with the project and the routes they had taken to be in their positions that day.
I drove actress Maclaine Lowery to another location. She had a lot to say about the project, some information I hadn’t been made aware of at the time, but the more I learned the more I became excited about the project. After talking to Maclaine we quickly realized we had mutual friends within the industry and we’d more than likely crossed paths once or twice in the past.
Logan Laurel plays Mia in the film, and I grabbed her for a quick discussion when she was free. Based on the research I had done the night before, I noticed that Logan worked on a ton of horror films. She had also been in a few very popular music videos, so I had to ask her about those two worlds and exactly how she fit within them.
Finally, I talked with Zach McCardell. I told him multiple times how much I liked his look and honestly, it was an absolute pleasure getting to know the week-on-week-off-roustabout. What I liked about Zach most is how hungry for this he is, he doesn’t want to be famous or have a lot of money, he just wants to act. He wants to be an artist.
While the cast was great the crew was just as exceptional. Tori Rice and the team lead the charge, attempting to give the director exactly what she wanted under any conditions. The benches broke, but we still got the shot. Watching Tori and Fatima decipher a scene was just as entertaining as the solid take from the actors.
Since that weekend, Ana & Mia has wrapped principal photography and filmmaker Fatima Hye was awarded the SACI (Support for Artists and Creative Individuals) grant by HAA (Houston Arts Alliance) through the City of Houston for the film, which is now in the post-production phase. Look forward to it being shown in Houston as well as being available through streaming platforms at a later day. Who knows, you might just see a familiar face.
Jessie Hobson