Joma Friends,
Happy New Year — my favorite holiday. I love the ritual of starting fresh with a clean slate. Every year feels like it comes along at just the right time.
New Movie
Our 5th feature ABOVE THE TREES is coming. The story was born early on during the pandemic. We approached the filmmaking in an entirely new way — taking our time over many months. This was a “pandemic” approach but a pace I really cherished.
Annie and I loved the idea of shaking things up and doing everything a little bit differently on this movie. Our release plan will be exactly the same way.
Inside Look
A new entry is up, where I meditate on the writing process — how it was different and how the story evolved. It’s interesting to trace back these story ideas to 2019 — and track how they became the 2021 script we took into production.
Twice a month, I’ll publish new INSIDE LOOKS and go in depth about filmmaking and our process. My hope is to demystify and unpack what we’re doing and why, exploring what worked well and what was difficult — reflections that will help us improve our approach next time.
I’ll cover everything — even your questions — from initial story ideas through our distribution choices. In order to get to the other side with a finished film to share — hundreds, if not thousands of decisions must be made by the team. I’m really looking forward to illuminating how things unspool from A to Z.
New Inside Look: Soaring Above The Trees
Song of the Day, 2022
Each morning last year, I briefly wrote about a song I love. It was unplanned and written on the spot, with very little anticipation or editorial. It was a chance for me to practice this kind of writing and discover for myself why I love the music I love and to celebrate one song in about twenty minutes, totally at random.
It’s an interesting thought — where does our taste come from, and can we articulate why something connects and moves us? Why do we love certain movies or records?
For anyone who enjoys music discovery, there are some wonderful songs here for your collection and playlists. 365 in fact. I don’t know how long I’ll leave these entries up, but as long as people keep stumbling upon them online, I won't pull them down. If you do discover a new song here, I’d love to hear about it!
Calvin Marshall
New screenings are in the works this spring to celebrate the 15th anniversary of our first movie. It’s difficult to wrap my head around the fact that we made it so long ago. But the movie has aged well, and we’re thrilled to support Southern Oregon Baseball by sharing Cal’s baseball journey with new audiences. Stay tuned for details.
Your Questions
This is our first Joma update of the year. Every few weeks we’ll be back to talk filmmaking and answer some of your questions.
If you have a question about any film we’ve made or about filmmaking in general, don’t hesitate to reach out. Drop us a note here —> joma@jomafilms.com.
Until next time, I hope you have a beautiful January full of meaningful art and human connection. Wishing you all the best in the eleven and half months we have left in 2023. 😉
Gary
