Two years, nine drafts and a 200-pound alligator named Bubba later, Lain Kienzle is ready to show her 16-minute film.
Kienzle, 23, who now lives in Brooklyn, will be back in Lake Forest at the Gorton Community Center on June 3 to show “The Nappers” in conjunction with the Best of New Media presentation featuring Lake Forest High School students. It was as a sophomore at the school that Kienzle became interested in filmmaking in her New Media class.
She was accepted into the film program at New York University where she was required to create a film in her senior year. After numerous rewrites she decided to set the story in Lake Forest.
“I think you have such a wealth of knowledge about the culture and a very specific universe,” Kienzle said. “I kind of wanted to get back to my roots and a place that inspired and shaped me.”
More Top Picks Best Pliers Sets For Home Improvement
Beyond the usual challenges – writing a script, assembling a crew and scouting locations – there was the matter of raising money.
“It takes so much money to make a short film,” Kienzle said. “We had to pay certain locations, pay some animal talent, fly a lot of the cast from New York City and drive equipment to Lake Forest.”
After raising about $10,000 with the help of a Kickstarter campaign and her own savings, Kienzle’s next challenge was finding a very specific film site.
“We had to get a zoo location that would let us film in the middle of the night,” Kienzle said. “I looked for an alligator and everyone out here is like, I’m not going to let you use my alligator.”
Finally, the Cosley Zoo in Wheaton let her film in the middle of the night. She borrowed an alligator named Bubba for a pivotal scene.
In June 2014, Kienzle and crew spent 10 days shooting with most of the filming taking place at a house near Lake Forest High School. Out-of-towners slept at her mom’s house and the house of her boyfriend’s parents, LFHS graduate Tim Wong. Past and present students from LFHS were recruited to help out.
“The Nappers” starts with a young man who gets out of prison and goes back home to make amends with a childhood best friend.
“Trouble finds them and they are conscripted into finding a birthday gift for two jock-meathead guys,” Kienzle said. “They have to kind of outsmart these jocks and find birthday gifts and repair their friendship at the same time.”
After filming, Kienzle returned to New York for post-production work. She also works in production for BBC Worldwide and various TV shows including “The Blacklist,” “The Family” and “Impractical Jokers.”
She completed the film about a month ago. It was shown at the First Run Festival in New York City and she said she plans to submit it to large and small film festivals late this summer.
While finishing the project, Kienzle wrote a short play that was performed at New York theater festivals. She currently is writing two stories that could be made into films or plays. What comes after that is unclear.
“There is no path for filmmaking,” Kienzle said. “You can’t say I’ll work here for a while and get promoted. It’s a little tough.”
Steve Douglass, her former teacher at LFHS, thinks she’ll succeed. He still remembers when Kienzle pitched a film idea to him while was in high school.
“It was super ambitious,” Douglass said. “It was a period piece that went from the 1930s to 1960s and 1970s to the 1990s. When I hear those ideas as a teacher, I have lots of questions. She answered everyone. She brought in 20 people and made this incredible piece. It’s one of those films I showed for years afterward. She’s a great visual storyteller.”
“The Nappers” along with about 20 films by current LFHS students will be shown at 7 p.m. Friday, June 3 at Gorton Community Center, 400 E. Illinois, on. It’s free to attend.
Twitter: @reporterdude