Noel Matsamura, military veteran and recent graduate, is screening his short film “Repressive Fire” at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, recognized as one of the best film festivals in the world.
This is the fourth year in a row grads have shown their films at Cannes!
REPRESSIVE FIRE
“A soldier struggles to piece together memories of a
harrowing event after returning home”
Watch the trailer here.
Tell us about your journey to find FilmSchoolSF: After serving over 14 years in the military and deploying 7 times every 15 months I decided I needed a ‘lil break. It worked out to where I had many passions and I decided to go full throttle and pursue my dream to become a filmmaker. I looked at a few schools and for whatever reason the SF Film School screamed out to me as it was appealing and I felt like it was going to be a perfect fit for me. To my luck, I was right. The staff and students are nothing short but amazing. Very attentive and very cooperative as I was still serving with the Air National Guard that required me to called up at anytime. And I did very quite often. But like I said the school was very understanding and accommodating whenever the call for duty occurred. I’m glad I made the choice to pursue my passion and I am most glad to have chosen wisely and became part of the SF Film School family.
Describe the 3 most valuable learnings or accomplishments you got from being at school: The top 3 things I learned at SF Film School also aligned with some life lessons. One, I learned that in the film industry it is all about choices. Choices you make cinematically zeroes in on your individual style as a director and filmmaker. This school has taught me that it is important to articulate your vision and stay aligned with it and make the choices that support that vision. I’ve learned about myself not only as a filmmaker but as a human being. Second, I learned that filmmaking is not easy. It is very much difficult and has so many moving parts to it. Which leads me to my third. I learned here at film school that it’s important to stay organized throughout the entire process in making a film. Little details whether it’s a cut or portraying a character arc it’s important to stay organized so that you have the creative freedom of movement to stay aligned with your objective on how you are trying to portray the characters on screen. Stay organized and ahead of the game. It’ll help you out during all facets of the production process.
Where do you see yourself and your career in the next 3 years: Well I am making the huge jump to move to LA to become a director. By being part of the SF Film School, I’ve acquired very rapidly some solid connections through networking in addition to creating a reel during the 5 film assignments in the course. In the next 3 years I see myself directing a multi $100K+ budget feature film.
What would you tell other veterans aspiring to be filmmakers who are considering enrolling: If you’re passionate about filmmaking then this is the place to start. The SF Film School is very knowledgeable on the GI Bill and are very cooperating with folks transitioning to a civilian career. Honestly, if my first move from putting on the uniform everyday for 14 years straight to coming joining the SF Film School family, the transition to the civilian world would be exponentially difficult. I want to thank each and everyone on the staff and fellow students for supporting me through the transition. It’s a great new team to be a part of!
