Independent Film News

IndieWIRE Interviews Dito Montiel

Dito Montiel's A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is raking in awards this Festival season. The film was a smash at Sundance in January, getting the director's award and jury prize for Best Ensemble. In Venice it won the Critic's Week Award. And yet, Montiel calls independent film "boring."

indieWIRE got him to answer a few questions for them, and judging by his down to earth answers, Montiel's attitude is in no small part responsible for his film's success.

"Saints" is about one man's return to New York after living in L.A. He sees childhood friends who've lived tough lives and chalks up his success to the various "saints" in his life.

Montiel grew up in New York, so setting a film there wasn't so far fetched. Writing and actually making the film? That's a more interesting story. In clipped, to-the-point responses, Montiel recounts writing the book that got passed to Robert Downey (pictured, starring in the film) and friends who eventually got him to write a script. That script got him into both Sundance's Screenwriters Lab and Directors Lab.

My favorite answer is to the question about financing (emphasis his):

This, or any other film I make, or you do, will, in the end simply be varying degrees of what you're capable of. I suggest EVERYONE go on the cheaper side. It makes it more fun and inevitably will make your art form come out better. I could NOT stress anything more.

The filmmaker's honesty is refreshing; he even admits to being more of a fan of Morgan Freeman films than anything brandished "independent." One gets the feeling Montiel didn't plan on making movies and rather stumbled into it.

Accidental filmmaker he may be...but what a happy accident.

"Saints" opens tomorrow (9/29) in limited release.

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Posted by on September 28, 2006 11:47 AM
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