This year we round out our BAMcinemaFest line-up with our Closing Night selection, Destin Cretton's Short Term 12, which won the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Award at SXSW and just racked up another prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Boasting acclaimed performances from United States of Tara's Brie Larson and The Newsroom's John Gallagher, this powerful drama captures life within a foster care facility, slowly uncovering the troubled past of a 20-something counselor who has a knack for connecting with her at-risk patients. Filmmaker Destin Cretton speaks with us about the filmmaking process, his upbringing in Maui, and what he's been watching recently.
Short Term 12 screens on BAMcinemaFest Closing Night on Friday, June 28.
1. When and how did you come to know you wanted to make movies?
I grew up in a small town on Maui called Haiku. Our TV could only catch three channels and my parents didn’t let us watch it much, so it forced my five siblings and me to be outside a lot, creating our own entertainment. We loved making plays and dance routines and choreographed ninja fights. Then my grandma let us borrow her VHS camcorder for a weekend, and we were hooked. I’m not sure if we ever gave it back.
