NewEnglandFilm.com

Tim Cawley is a Massachusetts based filmmaker whose first two films, shorts Well Founded Concerns and Big Day of Fishing played such festivals as IFFBoston, Raindance, Nantucket, New Hampshire, Vermont, and others. In 2012, Cawley directed his first feature – the documentary From Nothing, Something. The film profiles creative thinkers across a variety of disciplines and finds the methods, beliefs and neuroses that lead to breakthrough ideas. It’s an inspiring, thoughtful, often funny look at the creative process – from some of our culture’s most accomplished talents. Some of Cawley’s 13 subjects include acclaimed author Tom Perrotta, Sara Quin of the Canadian rock duo Tegan and Sara, and classical music prodigy Jay Greenberg.

Cawley fielded questions from NewEnglandFilm’s Ted Ryan, as he balances the promotion of his film with his position as Group Creative Director at the Boston ad agency Mullen.

Ted Ryan: You had made two short narratives prior to From Nothing, Something. For your first feature, what inspired you to switch from the genre of fiction film to documentary?

Tim Cawley: I had written a feature length fiction screenplay, but just couldn’t get over the hump, production-wise, to get momentum and get it produced. Then I saw a locally-made documentary titled Lemonade, directed by my friend Marc Colucci. Sitting in the theater I thought – maybe a documentary could be a way to make an honest-to-goodness feature film.

TR: Being based in the New England, how did you go about obtaining a cast based all over the country? I assume this required a great deal of travel during the production?

Cawley: I knew travel would be one of the biggest line items in the budget. So we tried to loosely group our locations into Boston, NY, and LA.

TR: From Nothing, Something has great production value and a long list of credits. What type of local assistance did you receive when making the film?

Cawley: Brickyard’s Geoff McAuliffe was a key figure in the production of this film, who both helped see the entire production from conception to completion, wearing many hats along the way. A former co-worker and now LA-based composer from my previous agency Hill Holliday, Conan Skyrme did the score. Also, though I now work at Mullen, many of my friends at Hill Holliday became integral members of the team. Lisa Belden, an integrated producer there, did and amazing job of building a team to see the film to fruition. She brought in Toil/Boston to do the credits and titles and Mark Wong, a freelancer who often works at Hill, to do the sound and mix. Jim Buckley (now of Allen & Gerritsen) also helped produce. CD/Art Director Mike Shaughnessy did my posters and title design. Art Director Emily Dumas created an original typeface and art cards. On the post-production side, Element’s executive producers Eran Lobel and Mark Hankey were huge supporters, lending their names, talents, and connections to give the project momentum and legitimacy. And most importantly, they let me come over one or two nights a week to work with Editor Kat Baker who is just an unstoppable force of nature.

TR: Your film has achieved great success on the festival circuit, including premiering at the 2012 Boston Independent Film Festival and many prestigious national festivals. How many of these festivals have you had the opportunity to attend?

Cawley: I attended our premiere at IFFB. I think there were about 400 people there, including several cast members. I also attended many more over the country. As for memories, New Orleans and Newport Beach tied for most over-the-top parties. Cleveland was amazing. Audience demand was so strong, we screened in two sold out, multiplex-sized theaters, side-by-side, simultaneously, three nights in a row.

TR: Have you found a different reaction from New England audiences as opposed to those outside the area?

Cawley: This is a hard question to answer. Our premiere in Boston was so stacked with friends and family. It’s an unfair comparison. It was a total “home game” with people cheering for familiar names in the credits and hooting and hollering their support during the Q&A — hard to top a hometown crowd.

TR: Whether it being high end fashion, political commentary, or fine cuisine, your film’s creative cast thrives at the top of their chosen field. However, there is a dynamic duo that I wouldn’t have anticipated in the film — the cancer research team of MIT’s Moungi G. Bawendi and W. David Lee. Bawendi and Lee have overcome tremendous technical obstacles in order to create technology that assists in the elimination of cancer cells. Did you always intend on having a scientific element in your film?

Cawley: I didn’t want to make an art film about art for artists. I wanted the subject matter to be populist and broadly applicable.

TR: What was the most emotional moment for you when making the film?

Cawley: Getting feedback from the cast members. That meant so much to me. These folks trusted me to tell their stories. That they felt I’d done that not only fairly, but in an inspiring, entertaining way was very gratifying.

TR: In addition to hitting the festival circuit, have you embarked on a distribution plan for From Nothing, Something?

Cawley: Yes! We have educational distribution worldwide through Collective Eye films, and we’re on the cusp of a distribution deal in Canada for TV, VOD, and all other platforms. We currently have an offer for distribution via iTunes, Netflix, etc in the United States, and I’m hoping that will get done in the next few weeks.

TR: With an established feature film now under your belt, have you found more opportunities or backing for future projects?

Cawley: No. I promised myself I wouldn’t get sidetracked or chase another project until this film was 100% legally cleared and had distribution. Plus, my new job at Mullen has been keeping me plenty busy on the advertising front.

TR: What advice do you have for other New England filmmakers who are looking to create films and achieve your level of notoriety and success?

Cawley: The only way to make an independent film is to start making it. Work backward from your production realities. If you have limited funds, watch films like The Duplass Brothers’ The Puffy Chair, Shane Carruth’s Primer, or Christopher Nolan’s Following. Great films can be made with practically zero resources if you’re inspired and creative enough. And there are smart, resourceful, ambitious, talented folks everywhere in the New England film community.