Having joined me previously for a spotlight, I'm thrilled to welcome back Lowrie B. Fawley to talk about her upcoming feature "The Horror Stars" and continued work with The Magic of Horror Festival.
Me: Hello and thank you for returning to this! Since last we spoke, you mentioned the completion of your latest feature “Trail of Doom.” What are you most looking forward to with its upcoming release?
Lowrie Fawley: Thanks for having me back again this year!
“Trail of Doom” has finished a short festival run and will probably be headed to Film Hub in the near future. It was fun to see what filmmakers thought of it because the film is all about everything that can go wrong on a low-budget Indie shoot. It is shot found-footage style, which is something we don’t usually do, and it came about due to a series of typical indie film catastrophes. A producer who had signed on to work with us on a script he had commissioned pulled out at the last minute due to lack of funds, so since we had the time blocked off we created this as a sort of jab at this sort of thing that happens all too often. Filmmakers, of course, got all of the “in jokes' ' but what was really fun was when it was screened at the bar where one of the actresses works. This was an audience of non-filmmakers and not even a horror-oriented audience. Far from it. I was not able to go to the screening, but apparently, they LOVED it! So I am looking forward to seeing what it does down the road!
Me: With a stacked cast of talented indie actors and actresses involved, what tips and tricks have you learned as an actress from working on these films?
LF: My biggest learning experience along the way is simple - if it CAN go wrong, it will! The cast was the crew for this one, and sometimes we had to pull duty on jobs that were NOT in our wheelhouse. One day, another actor and I were on sound and we kept the recorder running ALL DAY long by accident. The actual sound person was ready to kill us for real! I think the takeaway is that you have to expect absolutely everything, and then just go with the flow when the thing that you did NOT expect is the thing that happens.
Me: As well, you’re also working on the upcoming project “The Horror Stars.” What brought you on board to the project?
LF: This was a fun one! As you know, Shiva Rodriguez and I co-founded the Magic of Horror film festival which screens each year in Virginia. This year, after 5 years in the same venue, we lost our venue at the very last minute. The theatre changed management and the new management didn’t bother to let us know that they were taking us off the calendar because we did not fit with their plans. So we scrambled and ended up at the Airfield conference center in Wakefield. The venue is PERFECT for horror films, but it CAN be a bit tricky to find as it is a bit off the beaten track. Two of my volunteers, Patrick Wittle and Kahil Douhty, also filmmakers, got a bit lost on the way there, so when they went to leave I gave them better directions to get to the highway quickly and easily. I left the venue right behind them, and as I was following them, I realized they had NOT followed my directions. I was afraid they would get lost again since they were heading off into a side road that even I had never taken, so I followed them and tried to find their phone number. As I was trying to follow them and search my phone, they actually hit an “end county maintenance” area and were heading down a dirt road in the dark into the middle of the woods. I finally got a hold of them and they said the GPS said 10 minutes to the main road, so since the road was tight I kept following them. UNTIL they came to a chain across the road and a deep ditch. I finally got us all turned around and LED them back to the actual road and got them on their way home. As we laughed about this later on, we realized this would make a FANTASTIC idea for a horror film. And so the project was born.
Me: Having met the creators of the project through The Magic of Horror Festival, was that an extra incentive to help them create the project?
LF: We sort of came up with the idea together. Patrick is the main writer, but Kahil and I have both been helping him tighten and edit, and focus the script. I think we all want to see this one made for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it was just such a ridiculously funny experience!
Me: What was the set like while shooting the film? How did the cast and crew react to the type of film being made?
LF: Well, we have not finished the script yet for “The Horror Stars” but I can address this as it relates to “Trail of Doom” - We had all worked together before with the exception of a few new faces, so we knew what to expect from each other. The script was open for as much ad-libbing as we wanted to do as long as we kept in mind the fact that the voice behind the camera was going to be recorded by Mel Heflin who was still in Japan at the time. We had to just always remember not to step on her cue lines. And ad-lib we did! I think we all just felt very free to be ourselves and just to have fun with it (as long as we didn’t traumatize the new members of the cast - but they seemed to survive intact!)
Me: Do you recall having any odd or funny on-set stories about yourself or any of the other cast/crew members?
LF: How many stories do you want? Just kidding! I have stories, for sure. Did I ever mention the snake orgy that happened on “Trail of Doom” - that was pretty funny. There was this curious young black snake that kept hanging about in crafty, so we started calling him PA. Then he was joined by another and before too long a third. The first two started “getting it on” and the third stayed back watching so he was obviously the camera snake in this reptile porno. But it didn't end there. Before too much longer there were at least 20 of them in an orgy ball right on the path between the set and wardrobe. It was, admittedly, a bit creepy after a while and I think we all stayed very much on the lookout for snakes for the rest of the shoot!
Me: In addition to this, there’s also a lot of acclaim for The Magic of Horror Festival as you’ve continued to spread the success it’s had. What have been your thoughts on the festival continuing the way it has?
LF: I think what causes this festival to gain popularity is that we are all about the filmmakers. All we want from the fest is to give filmmakers a chance to share their work, to meet and greet other filmmakers, to make connections, and to generate an audience for their films. After the fest ends, we continue to promote their films and when they are distributed or get any publicity or any updates they have we share them on our social media. It’s not just a one-and-done. Once you are part of the festival you are a part of the festival family. We also continue to provide detailed feedback to ALL submitted films. Even if we cannot accept them all, we want to give those filmmakers who have not accepted into the film some value for their submission fees. Again, in the end, it is all about the filmmakers.
Me: What plans or traditions from previous versions of the festival are looking forward to continuing again?
LF: We are going to go for two days (something we had done the year before last but had to drop to one this year because of the last-minute venue change. This year, since we have a bigger venue, we will be adding workshops, panel discussions, vendors, and a few other fun activities for both filmmakers and the audience to enjoy. This will allow us to screen more films, and because the venue we have moved to has housing on-site, people can come and stay for the weekend. This is also a fantastic venue for filming so we hope people will bring their gear with them and maybe shoot something!
Me: Beyond these factors, what else can you provide for us about the festival interested parties might want to know about?
LF: The best thing to do is go to www.magicofhorror.com because we will be updating the list of festival plans as the year progresses. There will be vendor and workshop lists as well.
Me: What else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers?
LF: We are putting out a series of “festival tips” videos to help filmmakers who are new to submitting their work to film festivals that can be accessed from the www.roguechimerafilms.com page, and we have an idea for a web series that is in the works but it’s too early to say much about that yet!
Me: Lastly, being that this is our Women in Horror Movement, what special message do you have for any women out there looking to join in the industry in any capacity as you are one yourself? Thank you again for your time!
LF: If you have an idea, make it a reality! Go to horror festivals even if you are not involved with any of the films that are screened there. Meet people. Talk to them. Join Local organizations and get involved.
Thanks for having me here again for WIHM! I am always thrilled to be a part of such an amazing group of women (and men, and non-binary folk too! You are ALL important!)
This interview ran as part of our 2024 Women in Horror Movement celebrations! Click the banner below to check out our complete coverage:
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