Ottawa filmmaker and photographer Tara Mühlberghuber’s journey into independent filmmaking includes help from her community and low-cost techniques.
Her methods paid off when Mühlberghuber’s film, Forget me Not, won Best Story and Best Film at the Ottawa Digi60 Filmmakers Festival. The six-minute short honours her late grandmother, tracing the delicate contours of their relationship as dementia quietly pulls her memory away.
The Charlatan connected with Mühlberghuber to learn more about her filmmaking and the support available for independent filmmakers in Ottawa.
The Charlatan (TC): You mentioned a lack of resources at your disposal. How do you go about making a film with that in mind?
Tara Mühlberghuber (TM): I’m a strong believer in creating a film about people you know or a topic you know well. Then, you have people at your disposal and all of the props and costumes. You own all of that because it’s a part of the world you’re in.
I was lucky enough to have my partner who does sound, I do camera and a few close friends helped out on different days. Most of the days it was mainly my partner and myself. I also created a GoFundMe which raised a lot of money.
TC: What were your feelings around using a GoFundMe?
TM: I was lucky because someone donated a pretty large amount, which was really surprising to me. You never know who’s going to support you out there with something like this. It wasn’t my parents or anybody sending me money. I wouldn’t be afraid to create a GoFundMe because in a way, it kind of shows you who supports you.
TC: You won the award for best film and best story. Did that change anything for you, and how did you feel coming into the festival as a new Ottawa filmmaker?
TM: It was a surprise. I know you can love your own film, but I didn’t want to be one of those people who thinks, “It’s going to win.” It’s like loving your own kid. You love your kids, but other people might not love them. It just felt nice to have other people feel that way about my movie. It’s really affirming to know that I’m on the right path.
TC: Where did you find your artistic inspiration?
TM: I started off during a film strike a few years ago, just filming home videos of my grandma to practice my cinematography and save all my favourite things about her. This past year, she got sick and forgot the relationship we had. I wanted to create something that would remind her of the time we had together.
She inspired my whole career and everything about my life: my love for photography started early on, and it was because of her. I thought how amazing it would be if I actually brought our relationship back to life.
TC: We talked about you receiving a lot of local support — what was that process like for you?
TM: I had initially found my cast on Facebook, but that fell through at the last minute. A month earlier, I’d worked with a director who reached out to tell me how happy he was with our collaboration. When I mentioned I had lost my cast and was shooting the next day, he saved the entire production by bringing in his mother and niece. I was nervous meeting them for the first time on set, but they turned out to be perfect.
I think the filmmakers group on Facebook is another good way to meet people and post events and socials for filmmakers in your area.
TC: What is the biggest hurdle you find that you face being an independent filmmaker in Ottawa?
TM: I’m originally from Kitchener, not Ottawa, so I didn’t have any industry connections here. After completing a one-year program at Sheridan College in Oakville,, I moved back to Kitchener, but I didn’t know anyone in the film industry there, either.
When I met my partner and relocated to Ottawa, I found cliques of filmmakers who studied together at various schools. Even though I’m a filmmaker myself, when my partner gets called for work, I’m still seen as just “his girlfriend.”
I had not been invited to work on anything, so I started working on the film myself this past summer. To anybody who is not a part of any of the cliques, didn’t study film and is looking for a way: just write something, create something and make that path for yourself.
If there is no one letting you in the gate, create a path for yourself.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Featured images provided by Tara Mühlberghuber
This article, and all of the Charlatan’s work, is brought to you by an independent student newspaper dedicated to informing, uplifting and entertaining the Carleton University community. We are a levy-funded organization which plays a role in the broader, vibrant student culture on campus. By reading this article, you are supporting our efforts.
