Interview with writer/director of "Wound", David Blythe

David Blyth's "Wound" has done what most indie horror filmmakers could only hope of for their films...  first off, and most importantly, it's a completed film.  That can be a big hurdle for a lot of us.  After that, it kicked some serious ass.  It had a great festival run, it won various awards and it secured world wide distribution.  So, what's it all about?  How did David do it?  Read on....  


Tell us about your film, what’s it all about? 

WOUND is a Supernatural Horror Film that explores the dark worlds of mental illness, incest, revenge and death. We follow Tanya as she searches for the mother she has never met – a mother (Susan) who gave her up for dead after being abused by her own father who remains stuck in her present life. Tanya returns from the dead to confront and possess Susan with all her deepest fears and desires, sending Susan into a state of madness and gore filled retribution. WOUND explores and confronts the dark, distorted supernatural world that lurks within us all. Check out: www.woundmovie.com and www.davidblyth.com

If you don’t mind us asking, what was the budget for the film and how did you secure financing? 

The budget for Wound is commercially sensitive, but lets just say it’s very low budget. Financing came from two long time friends who wanted to give me the opportunity to make Wound exactly the way I wanted.

As of right now, what are your goals for the film and what kinds of things are you doing to make sure you reach your goals? 

My goals with Wound were to get noticed at Film Festivals and secure distribution deals in the main territories. Two years on from making Wound, the film has achieved these goals.

What about film festivals? Are you going to enter your film? If you have, how did it do? Tell us about your feelings around the indie film fest circuit.

Wound has been selected for over 12 International Film Festivals worldwide, where it achieved good audience responses including winning Best Film , Best Director and Best Actress at the Night Of Horror International Film Festival Sydney Australia 2011.

Talk about distribution. Have you secured distribution? If so, how did you go about doing that? If not, what’s your plan?

Wound has secured distribution in USA Britain, Germany, Benelux, Australia, New Zealand. I was lucky to have an Independent Sales Agent friend, Lars Bjorck, who was able to make connections and eventually deals at the various markets ( Berlin, Cannes and AFM)

Where can people find out more about the film and/or get their hands on a copy?

In the USA, Breaking Glass Pictures through “ Vicious Circle Films “ is releasing the DVD of Wound in March 2012 . This will be followed by VOD and Itunes releases. Check out Breaking Glass Pictures for release information. http://www.breakingglasspictures.com and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BreakingGlassPictures For more info via Facebook check out my site https://www.facebook.com/WoundNZFilm

Talk about the production. How did it go? Tell us one good or funny story that demonstrates the trials and tribulations of being an indie filmmaker. 

Wound was shot in 12 days over one month. This allowed for more preparation during the actual shooting which was split up into short shooting bursts where you could then focus your resources in the best possible way. My story, from Wound. Arriving at location one morning to see 20 chairs laid out in a row for the film crew to sit on to be lectured by the irate bookish home owner who informed us he had found in his house after filming, two books sitting on a window sill, that may have suffered “sun strike” damage, thus reducing there monetary value and wilful misuse of his property. Turns out the books in question were supplied by the art department and cost two dollars for twenty at the local hospice charity shop. Plus the day was overcast and there had been no sun bursting through to brighten the day yet. So because of long shooting days the home owner had become delusional. Moral of the story, securing locations are a key part of low budget filmmaking, and if you can’t afford to pay a fee for the main location and pay for the home owner to stay in a Hotel then you have to factor in the unexpected, if they are present during shooting.

What about you? Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into indie horror.

I made an indie horror classic, Death Warmed Up in 1984 down here in New Zealand, which turned out to be seen all around the world. I worked in North America doing amongst other feature films, four early episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. More recently I have reconnected with my indie roots through producing writing and directing a number of documentaries including Bound for Pleasure and Transfigured Nights. Check out my website for details www.davidblyth.com

Talk about the indie horror scene. Where do you think it is now and where do you see it going? 

With the digital revolution in full swing the Indie horror film has been opportunities in front of it. Low budget Indie horror can translate to the one genre where you can make the film you want to make without having to compromise with the generally old fashioned and conservative distribution demands. Uniqueness and originality have real value in a market swamped with sequels, remakes and derivative product.

Do you have any more projects in the works? What’s next for you? 

Yes I am working on several new project ideas in the low budget arena. This has proved to be quite hard to do as, you need to tell a story in an affordable way on a micro budget that can crossover into the mainstream market based on your unique angle.