Sassy Mohen, a daring and revolutionary voice in female-driven storytelling, has all the time approached filmmaking with a fearless resolve. Her first function movie, Joyful Holidays, was a chief instance of this dedication. Labeled “too formidable” by Chapman College in 2006, the movie grew to become a groundbreaking mission that outlined her early profession and challenged the established order in indie filmmaking. With the re-release of Joyful Holidays – The Director’s Reduce, now digitally remastered and filled with never-before-seen footage, Mohen displays on her journey and the way it formed her storytelling voice.
“Problem Accepted”: Pushing Previous Obstacles
For Mohen, making Joyful Holidays wasn’t only a alternative—it was an pressing necessity. “In 2006, no girl had received an Oscar for Finest Director but,” she explains. “Once I instructed folks I needed to be a director, the final response I obtained was, ‘Awww, that’s good.’” This dismissive angle solely fueled her ambition.
A turning level got here throughout her freshman yr at Chapman when a professor instructed her class, “None of you will make it within the movie business.” Whereas this might have been demoralizing, Mohen took it as a problem. “I mentioned, ‘Problem accepted,’ as a result of I had labored too onerous to surrender,” she recollects.
Confronted with a scarcity of alternatives for ladies in movie college, Mohen took issues into her personal arms. “It grew to become clear to me that I had no probability in hell to direct a junior or senior thesis,” she shares. “By the point Chapman College claimed making Joyful Holidays was ‘too formidable,’ we had already forged the movie, pulled collectively a crew, and began location scouting.”
Embracing the MiniDV Period
Capturing on HD MiniDV in 2006 was one other daring determination. Whereas digital filmmaking was nonetheless in its infancy, Mohen noticed it as a sensible resolution. “Will we wish to make a movie or can we simply wish to speak about making a movie?” she says. Using digital expertise allowed her to concentrate on storytelling relatively than the restrictions of conventional movie inventory.
Criticism from friends and professors solely solidified her resolve. “I keep in mind folks saying we weren’t truly making a ‘function movie’ as a result of we weren’t taking pictures on movie. However all of these folks have been sitting round ‘ready’ to make their ‘massive mission.’ I assumed, why would you try this? Simply make one thing.”
Crowdfunding Earlier than It Had a Title
The time period “crowdfunding” didn’t even exist in 2006, however that didn’t cease Mohen and her staff from leveraging early social media platforms like MySpace and YouTube. Co-producer Dillon Morris steered documenting their course of via video podcasts impressed by 4 Eyed Monsters. “Once I got here to Dillon and mentioned, ‘I wish to make a function movie,’ he steered we observe the identical methodology, and it labored!”
Their revolutionary strategy made probably the most of rising tech. “Fb launched the ‘mini-feed’ the week we had auditions, so all of the sudden everybody’s feed at Chapman was speaking in regards to the auditions. MySpace already had an unlimited community of indie youngsters longing for content material, and I actually engaged with over 20,000 folks,” Mohen recollects.
Revisiting and Reimagining the Movie
The choice to remaster Joyful Holidays got here from a spot of each pleasure and perfectionism. “I used to joke that if I got here again as a ghost, my unfinished enterprise could be re-mastering Joyful Holidays,” Mohen says. “Not as a result of I believe it’s some movie tour-de-force, however as a result of so many individuals labored extremely onerous on it when so many others pushed us to surrender.”
She embraced trendy expertise to boost the movie, even creating new scenes practically 17 years later. “For 2 insert pictures I didn’t have the uncooked footage for, we recreated them with a stand-in actress and VFX,” she shares. The remastered model options polished audio, shade correction, and reimagined performances that convey the story to life in a method Mohen all the time envisioned.
Balancing Numerous Tasks with a Unified Voice
From the comedy satire of Methods to Hack Delivery Management to the dramedy of On the Hook, Mohen’s work spans a variety of genres however all the time facilities on daring, female-driven narratives. “It’s the one sort of movie I wish to make,” she says. Reflecting on her early struggles to write down robust feminine characters, she admits, “Once I stopped caring about whether or not or not folks would wish to watch ‘girls tales,’ the movies obtained higher and began incomes greater accolades.”
Recommendation for Bold Filmmakers
Mohen’s journey gives invaluable classes for aspiring administrators. Her recommendation? “Reality: Your first movie can be horrible, will probably be embarrassing. Nevertheless it’s what you do with that embarrassment that can outline you as a filmmaker.”
She emphasizes the significance of persistence and studying from failure. “You possibly can’t get obsessive about making a masterpiece. However when you’re fortunate, with sufficient expertise, failures, wins, and the correct teammates, the movies you make will prove even higher than you imagined.”
The place to Watch
Joyful Holidays – The Director’s Reduce is now streaming on Amazon, Google Play, YouTube TV, and Tubi. That includes newly added performances and never-before-seen footage, it’s a testomony to the facility of persistence and the enduring spirit of indie filmmaking.
For extra about Sassy Mohen and her tasks, go to SassyMohen.com.
