Meet the 2012 Sundance Filmmakers #47: Katie Aselton, "Black Rock"

"Black Rock," a Maine-set thriller, is Katie Aselton's second feature. Her first, "The Freebie," premiered at Sundance in 2010. She also appeared in Mark and Jay Duplass' "The Puffy Chair," which played the fest in 2005. She stars in "Black Rock" (which husband Mark Duplass wrote) alongside Kate Bosworth and Lake Bell. Aselton notes "Deliverence" and "Thelma and Louise" as inspirations for the film. The film was shot entirely outdoors; Aselton says "the elements kicked our asses!"

What's it about? Three friends go away to reconnect. When they find they are not alone their vacation becomes a brutal and deadly fight for survival.

Director Aselton says: "This is the story of three childhood friends who, in an effort to reconnect after a falling out, go off to an island they used to visit as kids. The trip doesn't go as planned; they are not the only ones on the island. Soon their personal issues are the least of their problems and their weekend away becomes a struggle to get off the island alive."

"I came to filmmaking as an actor looking for great characters and great opportunities, both of which are kind of hard to come by. It turns out I really love the process. And, it's exciting to be able to take my career by the reigns and make things happen for myself. Hopefully, in doing so, more opportunities will become available to me.

"Working with Lake Bell and Kate Bosworth was awesome. They truly exemplified what I wanted the spirit of this movie to be, which was the kickass spirit of strong women. You don't have to compromise your femininity to be tough and your voice doesn't have to go up an octave to be sexy. Those girls had balls and boobs and and they killed it. I loved working with them."

Indiewire invited Sundance Film Festival directors to tell us about their films, including what inspired them, the challenges they faced and what they're doing next. We'll be publishing their responses leading up to the 2012 festival.



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