The Fessendens return to the show to discuss Jack the Younger’s new dramatic feature “Foxhole” which he wrote, directed, edited and scored. His Dad, Larry –a producer on the film- joins us as well. Unfolding over the span of 36 hours in three separate wars–The American Civil War,World War I, and Iraq– “Foxhole” follows a small group of soldiers trapped in a confined space as they grapple with morality, futility, and an increasingly volatile combat situation. Available on demand and on streaming services.
Of all the low-budget, high-concept ideas an independent filmmaker could take on — the chamber play, the boxing film, the cabin in the woods — the war film can be the most challenging because of the immense amount of resources — costumes, sets, props, special and visual effects, sound design and on-screen action — needed to bring such a story believably to life. With Foxhole, independent feature director Jack Fessenden achieves a significant level of believability thanks to the contributions of the aforementioned departments and cinematographer Collin Brazie.
Foxhole is composed of three stories, each set during a different conflict: the American Civil War, in 1864; World War I, in 1917; and the Iraq War, in 2004. Each takes place in a confined space — a foxhole in the first two segments and a Humvee in the last — where a different group of American soldiers (all with one exception played by the same actors) must navigate the tenebrous moral issues around killing the complete strangers who are trying to kill them. By constraining almost all of the action to one small location for each segment, the filmmakers were able to extend more of their modest budget toward other departments, including camera.
According to Fessenden, Brazie joined the production a mere 10 days before the shoot and hit the ground running. “We quickly found our rapport as we made our way through the script,” says the director. “On set, Collin was always two steps ahead, plotting how we would make our days, which sometimes called for as many as 25 setups. A highlight of our collaboration was the pass-off: a camera move that would be impossible to make with a single operator; Collin would start the shot, then he’d pass me the camera and I’d finish it off.”
“With indie films there are always budget, time and crew constraints,” says Brazie, who met with AC in New York City to discuss the lenses, lighting and visual language of Foxhole. “But our constraints led to interesting ideas.”
WINNER! BEST ULTRA INDIE a deft and accomplished piece of work. —The Woodstock Film Festival
“achieves an almost abstract beauty” —Josh Siegel, The Museum of Modern Art
“FOXHOLE marks the second feature so far by a filmmaker barely out of his teens. Jack Fessenden … wears many hats, most of them very well, teaming with a fine cast…Fessenden directs and edits tense dialogue sequences with skill… a film that almost entirely rises to the height of its ambitions…” —John Defore, The Hollywood Reporter
“3.5/4 stars ambitious, thoughtful… a solid art-house release” —Kyle Osborne, ENTERTAINMENT OR DIE
“3 stars of 4 it’s refreshing to see a movie so beautifully and sleekly filmed attempt to wrestle with humanity’s deeper questions. FOXHOLE might not be in the top tier of the great anti-war film canon, but it’s not too far away.” —Marya E. Gates, RogerEbert.com
“Spellbinding! holds a multi-faceted mirror up to the humanity and mortality of war… for Jack Fessenden to write, edit, score, direct, and ferment this moral base into Foxhole as solid as it turns out is extremely impressive.” —Don Shanahan, EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON
“paints a picture of war which is both constant and pure dread.” —Rob Oldam, Backseat Mafia
“left me with tears in my eyes” Iraq Vet Reviews Films, The Scuttlebutt Show
“there’s a case to be made for seeing combat through the eyes of the actual age of the men and women we ask to fight… an ambitious project from a very young filmmaker” —James Barber, MILITARY.COM
“displays a cold sense of realism… Fessenden establishes a rhythm and atmosphere of the mundane, which reminds us of that old observation of war: long stretches of boredom followed by quick moments of sheer terror.” —Mark Dujsik, MARK REVIEWS MOVIES
“a focused, intelligent and thoughtful film” —Bianka-Isabell Scharmann, Kino Zeit
“an amazingly mature and reflective film for such a young director… Excessive demands, fear of death, mistrust, questions of morality and attitude, the unpredictability of the moment — all this is the subject of FOXHOLE” —Sebastian Friedhoff, NWZ NordWest Zeitung
Jack Fessenden joined by actors Asa Spurlock, Andi Matichak, Score producer Matt Rocker,
Glass Eye regulars John Speredakos, Rigo Garay, Fessenden Sr. with scribe Michael Gingold, EP Franklin Laviola,
Beck Underwood, Larry Fessenden and Matichak,
Q&A with thesps Angus O’Brien, Andi and Cody Kostro and moderator Sean Glass.
Glass Eye Pix is the fierce independent NYC-based production outfit headed by award-winning art-horror auteur Larry Fessenden with the mission of supporting individual voices in the arts. Read more...
