![\"Filmfort](\"https:\/\/theboisebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ANCHORAGE-PromoPic-sized.jpg\")
Producer-Director-Costar Scott Monahan and Producer-Writer-Costar Dakota Loesch kicked off Filmfort (part of the 2022 Treefort Music Festival) with their gritty and gripping feature film, \u2018Anchorage,\u2019 and received an enthusiastic reception from the Boise audience.<\/p>\n
Before hitting Filmfort, \u2018Anchorage\u2019 had already won the German Independence Award, Audience Award for Best Film and the Seymour Cassel Award, Outstanding Performance by an Actor (Dakota Loesch) at the 2021 Oldenburg Film Festival<\/a><\/u><\/span> and the Festival Grand Prize for Best Film at the 2021 Stony Brook Film Festival<\/a><\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n The film is summarized on IMDB<\/a><\/u><\/span> as: \u201cTwo brothers attempt to drive a trunk full of opioids from Florida to Alaska to cash in big in the Land of Gold. A split-second act of violence somewhere in the California desert derails their trip and sets them on a crash course with tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n Interview with Scott Monahan and Dakota Loesch<\/b><\/u><\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> I grew up in a very strict religious military upbringing. My parents were evangelical Christians. I used to have to read the Bible before homeschooling every morning. It\u2019s not representative of where I\u2019m at now in my life, but I remember reading the passage about Cain and Abel. I had a sister, no brother. And I just wondered, how could it happen in this way? It\u2019s such a short paragraph in the Bible and one of the oldest stories about fratricide, and I thought it was fascinating.<\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> I have a brother, so I totally understand.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Later in the interview, Dakota added more context: My mother was Jewish and then evangelical. My father was Catholic. They would have arguments like, \u2018That\u2019s not my God.\u2019 And I was like, Whoa, there\u2019re different gods? Holy camoly. This is very interesting material, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> So, when I met Dakota and learned about some of his story and his life and his family, it just became this thing that was like, this is really interesting. And when you start pulling from ancient source texts\u2014<\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> Grounded in a classical text.<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> It starts giving you so many things that were not things that we\u2019d even planned. Like we had this final shot in the movie that has all these telephone poles just lined up down the way. They look like crosses. And there was stuff that just kept coming up that really gave us rich things to pull from that were beyond just the story about these brothers. It became this thing that was a little bit more, almost classical because we could bring it from this story that is contemporary and modern into more of a parabolic story that might be a little bit more timeless.<\/p>\n Was there a particular parable that you were thinking of that wasn\u2019t associated with a biblical one?<\/b><\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> There are a lot of good ones.<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> Well, not parables, but sources: Cain and Abel\u2014<\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> Burt and Ernie.<\/p>\n Dakota wasn\u2019t kidding about Burt and Ernie. In the Q&A after the screening, he reiterated the Sesame Street duo\u2019s role as a source of inspiration.<\/i><\/p>\n In another interview I watched of you guys, one of you talked about exploring masculinity. Having at this point only seen the trailer, that is fascinating to me. Can you talk a little bit more about that?<\/b><\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> It\u2019s loaded.<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> Loaded to an attribute, like, a thing about a story that isn\u2019t necessarily what it\u2019s about. But I grew up with all the men in my life pushing me towards violence, whether that was sports or just the way in which they lived their lives. And it was the women in my life that always pulled me towards the arts and towards my sensitivity, which is a part of me as well. So I thought it was really fascinating that these two characters would be going through such turmoil and conflict within each other in that masculine realm but were also rooted in the love for their mother who was gone. I thought, how can that inform these characters because it was actually their love for their mother, not love for their father. Their love for their mothers has this emotional weight to it. That’s important. In the movie, there\u2019s this thing that\u2019s called \u2018the eulogy,\u2019 which is a game they play.<\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> They say each other\u2019s eulogy.<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> We talked about how we could show that these characters love each other without them saying it because they would never say \u201cI love you.\u201d And this game is created in this way where they\u2019re able to express their emotions, almost knowing the darkness of where they\u2019re headed with what they\u2019re doing. They know that it\u2019s not going to end well. And there\u2019s some kind of poetic nature about that. And it\u2019s sad that the only way that they can really tell each other how they truly feel is in the story they would tell about their brother if that brother weren\u2019t there.<\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> And Jacob, Scott\u2019s character, is the audience\u2019s through character to experience all that. And John, my character, is the argument against it. So, leaning into toxicity and Jacob is kind of ready to leave. You can almost see Jacob\u2019s experience. He\u2019s looking for something else. He\u2019s looking for the promise of one of those parables. Like, at the end of a parable. Like the Good Samaritan. Everything works out. You know, you get out of it; you get out of the world. So, he\u2019s hoping for it in that way. And John is like, I am Him who is I Am. I was before there was before<\/i>, you know.<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> And something my mom told me when I was very young, when I was making a couple of bad decisions consecutively was that your conscience is a voice. And whether you believe that or not, that voice will get quiet the less they listen to that. So for Jacob\u2019s character, from the very beginning of the movie, he is starting to listen to that voice, starting to listen to that conscience that\u2019s in his heart. He\u2019s still doing the same things that he would normally do, but now he\u2019s feeling the weight of them and his brother is not. His brother is seeing that and calling that weakness.<\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> Yeah. It compounds.<\/p>\n And it does indeed compound until the story reaches an explosive climax and final scene that is both satisfying and thought provoking. As Dakota said during the after-screening audience Q&A, \u201cWe made the movie. You fucking decide what it\u2019s about. Go ahead, argue with our friends on the way home.\u201d During our pre-screening interview, he\u2019d said, \u201cWe present the questions. You come up with the answers. You and your friends drive home, and you can argue about it, love it or hate it. That\u2019s what we\u2019re hoping for, just a real reaction. Our job is to elicit an emotional response.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n And elicit an emotional response they did. After a loud and long round of applause, the post-screening Q&A ran past the film\u2019s scheduled block thanks to many questions and feedback from audience members that included gratitude for the actors\u2019 authenticity and vulnerability.<\/i><\/p>\n Dakota, you\u2019re the writer of the 2014 feature \u2018Kiss Like Big Dogs.\u2019 You also starred in that film as you do in \u2018Anchorage.\u2019 How did those roles influence you as you’re performing the other role?<\/b><\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> When you\u2019re thinking of the project itself, you\u2019re just thinking of the project itself. It\u2019s an island unto itself, but as an actor, you think about your lineage and where you might want to go. And one of my favorite things about \u2018Anchorage\u2019 is that Scott gave me permission to go to some place I had never been before. And that was a conjoined rule. It\u2019s like you have carte blanche. I have carte blanche. You can do whatever feels right. I can do whatever feels right. I trust you and you trust me.<\/p>\n For me, everything really led up to \u2018Anchorage.\u2019 And I\u2019ve got to say that the writing process of \u2018Anchorage\u2019 was the most unique one I\u2019ve ever had. It started with us writing a 2-page treatment, a 6-page treatment, and a 10-page treatment. Then we wrote every scene that could possibly happen and went through the key ones with our Associate Director Meredith Treinen. I would record the audio, transcribe it later, and rearrange it a little bit. We\u2019d read it, go through it again, rewrite it again. And we ended up writing up to the very last day.<\/p>\n You filmed this 80 minute film in 5 days, which demonstrates a commitment to planning and a strategic mindset. What was your biggest surprise or logistical challenge? <\/b><\/p>\n We got in the car, and we actually got pulled over because he had forgot to change the fake license plate on the front of the car. So it was Florida on the front, California on the back of the vehicle. It was the whole nine of like hands and arms out the window.<\/p>\n Dakota:<\/strong> Remind you, we looked like the guys in the movie, not us right now. You know, we got tattoos\u2014<\/p>\n Scott:<\/strong> We look like we are doing exactly what he thinks we\u2019re doing. There\u2019s a bunch of fake pills \u2026 it was all very triggering. Also, the weight of the financial input that I had on the movie and how much time we didn\u2019t have because we were coming to the end of this thing.<\/p>\n They went on to tell me that after some explanation, the law enforcement officer who pulled them over recognized that they were who they said they were and doing what they said they were doing\u2014making a movie about two guys transporting a load of narcotics across the country. The experiences didn\u2019t last too long, but Scott was still shaken even after reconnecting with the crew.<\/i><\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> I saw him have it.<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> Dakota could see me from the car when it hit me like a bolt of lightning. And you\u2019ll see the scene with the cop in the movie. That [experience of getting pulled over that day and the weight of it] change the nature of that scene. And because we were shooting chronologically, we were able to use that.<\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> My entire side of the thing was rewritten with Meredith in the moment.<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> How do you evoke an emotional response in that scene? And that thing was the only thing that went wrong with the whole shoot, and it actually made the film so much better.<\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> So thank you, Officer Joe Hanson from Game and Fish.<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> Thanks for not arresting us because we had the Bible on the dash with fake drugs in the back. We had a bloody bat. He [Dakota\u2019s in character as John] had a 357 under the seat. It could have been the end of our shoot. It could have been jail time until they figured out the pills were made of plastic.<\/p>\n Do you think that your style rooted in immersive theater and the improv you\u2019ve done helped you realize and take advantage of that in the moment in a way that other filmmakers who come from a more structured background may not have been able to?<\/strong><\/p>\n Dakota:<\/strong> Yes, that was one of our assets. We\u2019ve worked together in immersive theater for five years and five different shows, and that\u2019s all devised dramatic theater that maybe comes from a source texts.<\/p>\n Scott:<\/strong> Sometimes site responsive, sometimes site-specific, and a lot of times almost exclusively devised content based on what\u2019s happening in the room.<\/p>\n When we decided to make this film, we wanted to bring what we love from immersive in into the filmmaking to make it.<\/p>\n Dakota:<\/strong> We even brought people we knew from the immersive scene, like our cinematographer, Erin Naifeh who had gone to Meredith\u2019s show. Immersive theater in LA is kind of like the method. Not that it\u2019s like one practice or one school of thought, but there\u2019s a group of people in a certain time all mixing together. Like blending styles. And that was our method, you know.<\/p>\n About their approach and crew, Dakota went on to say, \u201cWe benefited as a storytelling unit because of it. Because we\u2019re all on the same page. We all know exactly where we\u2019re at, what we\u2019re going through, what could be an addition to the story.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n You went through the grant writing process too, right?<\/b><\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> We missed a lot of them,<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> Each time we had to write a grant it gave us more clarity about what it was we were making. Which words were very specific. And when we were submitting for grants we realized that if it felt like we were tailoring to a grant, then we would buck that and say, No, that\u2019s not what we\u2019re doing because if they don\u2019t want to buy what the truth of this movie is, then that\u2019s not a fit. And we kept getting these no\u2019s which could be for a million reasons. The same thing happens to an actor that goes to audition. You don\u2019t get the part, a lot of actors think like I\u2019m a terrible actor. For me, I\u2019m like, Okay, that\u2019s not what they wanted.<\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> Here\u2019s what I could do. It\u2019s not what they want.<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> And there\u2019s all those things. Same with film festivals. So then we have to find our own way. And then we get into the ones that we do, and we get into Oldenburg. We win best picture, and we win best actor. And then we get the Hollywood Reporter<\/i><\/u><\/span> review<\/u><\/span><\/a> and then we\u2019re in Variety.<\/i><\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> Maybe it [not getting grants] wasn\u2019t the most beneficial for the logistics of the film and the financing of the film, but for the poetry of the film, that\u2019s what the film\u2019s about. This is the little indie that could, you know what I mean? Like chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, choo choo.<\/p>\n I mean, the movie\u2019s about two kids. Why wouldn\u2019t they go to like a major metropolitan city to make their killing? No, they\u2019re going to go to some weird place in their own weird way on their own weird path. And that\u2019s going to be the ultimate reward, whether or not it\u2019s a reward. Yeah, however they interpret it, it\u2019s a reward.<\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> And that’s one of the great things I love about being an independent filmmaker is the freedom that we have to have different things in mind. And for us, we have an opportunity to make a movie that is clearly our own voice and to take a risk. And we took that financial risk and we took the risk on the content and the movie and presented what we have, and people are responding to it.<\/p>\n Last questions: Why Treefort and Filmfort? And how can film lovers best support you and your work?<\/b><\/p>\n Scott:<\/b> I\u2019m not entirely sure how the person that saw the trailer saw it, but somebody had seen the trailer and recommended it to Ian Clark [Filmfort\u2019s Program Director] who was looking for another film. He hit us up and we submitted the film. And that\u2019s one of those things that shows how important social media is and how important it is for me and for what we\u2019ve been creating for our Instagram and working with our graphic designer Jens Wagner, who\u2019s based in Germany, to create something that\u2019s not just behind-the-scenes photos, that\u2019s not just red carpet photos, but it\u2019s also imagery and stuff that we can build on to.<\/p>\n This is something that\u2019s part of our ethos that we kind of discovered on our own and found out that it was kind of novel and new. When we went to the Oldenburg Film Festival we met filmmaker Patricia Plotnick who is a Polish filmmaker that we were in competition with. And while we were at this festival, we got so excited to be included in this festival that I shared all the other features that we were in competition with on our Instagram. And she said, \u201cYou\u2019re the first filmmaker that has ever shared things that you\u2019re in competition with.\u201d And I\u2019m like, I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m in competition. The competition was to get here. I\u2019m here with you. I\u2019m honored to be in your presence.<\/p>\n Those Instagram posts not only resonated with the other filmmakers at the event, they were seen and shared by others and helped them get into other festivals and get more media attention. <\/i><\/p>\n Dakota:<\/b> Never underestimate the power of interconnectivity, what sharing people\u2019s stuff through a Letterboxd<\/a><\/u><\/span> rating or an IMDb rating. Or just shouting out and following and telling your friends about it. Word of mouth is important for filmmakers and not just for filmmakers connecting to audiences but for filmmakers to connect to filmmakers and support each other\u2019s work.<\/p>\n And then they broke into song: \u201cBecause, because your friends are my friends, and my friends are your friends, the more we get together\u2026\u201d And you what? I believe and feel ever word of it.<\/i><\/p>\n Roll Credits<\/b><\/u><\/p>\n During the course of our conversation and during the post-screening Q&A session, Scott and Dakota repeatedly mentioned their creative collaborators, fellow Producers Taylor Harrington, Gia Rigoli,\u00a0and Ethan Seneker; Composer Savannah Wheeler; Cinematographer Erin Naifeh; Editor Spencer Showalter; Production Designer Perry Powell; and additional cast member Christopher Corey Smith. \u2018Anchorage\u2019 is about two brothers by birth, but Scott and Dakota are, among other things, about chosen family and the powerful effect that the collaborative process can have on their audiences.<\/p>\n You can support the \u2018Anchorage\u2019 filmmaking team by following Scott, Dakota, and their film on Instagram and sharing the \u2018Anchorage\u2019 film trailer<\/a><\/u><\/span> with fellow film lovers and festival programmers.<\/p>\n Scott Monahan @chipsahoyjunkie<\/p>\n Dakota Loesch @dakotaloesch<\/p>\n @anchoragemovie<\/p>\n For more images, visit the official \u2018Anchorage\u2019 film website<\/a><\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n Images:<\/p>\n IMDb<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theboisebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ScottM-DakotaL2_byTerryWelch_Mar2022-300x300.jpg\")
Before viewing the film for the first time, I met Scott (who plays Jacob) and Dakota (who plays John) on the lawn in front of The Flicks<\/a><\/u><\/span> to talk about why this story about two brothers who decide to go on a road trip together to transport a trunk full of opioids from Florida to Alaska is important to share with audiences. Scott and Dakota rolled up on time and somehow both in and out of character, each authentically themselves and other\u2014some mix of the characters they play in the film, the people they see themselves as today, and the people they aspire to become. Their energy is intense, disarming, and intriguing. And like their film, their responses to questions were infused with dark humor.<\/p>\n![\"Filmfort2022](\"https:\/\/theboisebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ANCHORAGEfilmposter-e1649043017833.jpg\")
Your film explores sibling relationships among other things. How biblical and other parables play into your storytelling choices?<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theboisebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ScottM-DakotaL3_byTerryWelch_Mar2022-300x200.jpg\")
<\/span>Scott:<\/b> Yeah. We hesitated about the use of the term \u201ctoxic masculinity\u201d because I think that it has kind of this buzzwordy kind of like thing that will then\u2014<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theboisebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ANCHORAGE-Car-sized-1-300x162.jpg\")
Scott:<\/strong> I tell you something, honestly, only one thing came up that was not planned about the whole shoot. We were shooting in gnarly locations. We could have stepped on a needle, been bit by a rat, or someone could have gotten into a asbestos or whatever. But everything was going according to plan; everything was super smooth. We shot it in five days, but then on day four we got separated from the caravan that was going to this shoot location, and we were a little bit late.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theboisebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ScottMonahan_OnSet-300x125.jpeg\")
<\/span>Scott:<\/b> Everybody talked about their stories of past police interactions, and I was still shaking. I pulled the car over. I got out and I smoked a cigarette in the middle of the desert, and I had an epiphany.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theboisebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ScottM-DakotaL_byTerryWelch_Mar2022-300x300.jpg\")
<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n