Tell us about your organization. How big is your team? Where are you based? What is your organization’s specialty in the film and video space?
Interloper Films is a production company based in Los Angeles specializing in documentaries. It can be as small as 3/4 people in the field to twelve or so in post-production, depending on the size of the film. For THE INN BETWEEN it was four in the Production and four in Post-Production.
Why do you do what you do? Was there a transformative moment that solidified your career choice, your org’s success, or your commitment to storytelling?
I am here to do this work. I have made many films over 35 years, all award-winning. But most importantly, all of my films cause people to question and develop empathy and depth by being exposed to people and worlds they would never otherwise access. More if we speak, but I am too busy to go into more, as I am currently in Toronto in an edit!
Tell us about your Telly Award winning piece. What’s the story behind it?
THE INN BETWEEN invites audiences inside the only hospice for the homeless in America to discover the miracles that can happen when human beings are given a chance to regain their hope, dignity and feeling of belonging.
Homelessness can happen in an instant, as the unsheltered share, and ironically, as experienced by the director and producers of this film in the January Eaton Fire.
The INN Between is the only place between the hospital and the street, and between life and death. Here we discover a vibrant community which produces unexpected joy and miraculous recovery in a place where many have come to die.
Can you share a behind the scenes story or fun fact about the making of your piece?
We decided to go in and see if it was really like a community and an “inn” – and therefore a model worth spreading, and decided we would if there were cats and dogs. We opened the door, and there was this amazing cross-eyed dog named Boo-Boo and then there was this cat named Rogers who rides around the hospice around the neck of the resident Death Doula – who is a former resident with an incredible story, and one of our main subjects. We fell in love with the place and would go in and get caught up there, having the hardest time leaving.
What was your biggest challenge during production and how did you solve it?
Filming a trans patient who was worried to have his identity exposed to the other residents. We managed to do it through an interview with the death doula.
What are you most proud of about this piece? What is the most memorable response you got from this work?
There are several cities that have decided to try to start a hospice for the homeless as a result of watching the film!
You won a Telly Award for this piece. Why is recognition important for you, your team or your work?
It was so exciting to have this film acknowledged as we did it completely from the heart, all with non-profit contributions, and for the sake of this unique model of compassionate care continuing by showing its transformative power.
Tell us what you’re up to! If there’s a new project, launch, or milestone you’d like us to celebrate with you, let us know, and we might share it with our community.
We have many films in the pipeline! This would be better covered in an interview.
