Daniel Krastek

-Can you explain to the audience your career?

I first started off doing theater in elementary and middle school. Eventually, that led me to my high school's TV Broadcasting class. I became more interested in the behind the scenes creative aspects of storytelling rather than performing in front of the camera or on a stage. I began attending Montclair State University in 2022, and am about to enter my final year there. I’ve been involved in dozens of productions since then in a variety of positions.

-How many years have you been making movies?

Well, I’ve been doing little home movies for as long as I can remember, but in terms of projects with full crews? 4 years.

-Why did you start making movies?

I’ve always been interested in telling stories. To me, film is the ultimate combination of every form of art- it has the visual beauty of painting, it features writing, music, acting. Costume design and set design, those are art forms. To make a film is to be able to use all other forms of art to assist in telling your story.

-Tell us a little about your project. What will the audience be able to see in your film?

Almost Perfect tells the story of a sorority president who is desperate to be the most popular, to fit in with her chosen crowd, and the violent lengths she takes to get there. It has violence and is fairly disturbing at times (at least, I think so), but I think there’s a good message underneath the surface level.

-Why did you do this project?

As a person in a creative arts field, there is constant pressure to be the best, or most notable, or make the most connections, etc. That struggle with making your projects as perfect as possible is something that I struggle with daily. It’s not right for me, or anyone, to feel that pressure, but it is what it is. Being able to accept myself and my work for what it is, rather than comparing it to what other people are doing with their works. This film was also a branch into horror, my favorite genre and one that I hadn’t really worked in before properly.

-One of the problems some directors encounter is directing actors and dealing with some actors, especially in the amateur world. How do you see this topic? What kind of work do you do with them?

I love working with actors. Like I said before, I come from an actors background, so I feel I have a good understanding of helping my actors understand what I want, and how to get it. To prepare for this film, me and my lead cast had one on one meetings to read through their scenes and discuss the motivations behind their roles and actions in each sequence. I’ve gotten incredibly lucky with all my films thus far when it comes to actors. I can’t imagine this film without the people we ended up working with.

-A good movie takes care of all departments. But normally we can not allocate all the resources to have a good photography or spend a lot of money on sound post production or budget to hire actors. In your project what % have you allocated to. I don't just mean money but time as well. Of 100% of the time/money, what % did you dedicate to each department?

-Direction: 20%

-Photography: 20%

-Sound: 10%

-Postproduction: 15%

-Work with actors: 20%

-Art direction/locations: 15%

-If you could go back, what would you change about this project? (1 thing only)

Honestly, there’s nothing with this version of the film I would change. I mean, there’s always gonna be a few tiny things where I wish we had more time to get one more shot or something, but there’s nothing substantial about this film I would want to change. I would, however, love to turn this into a feature length production one day. There are so many things I had to simplify or completely cut from the final script for this that I feel are necessary that I’d love the time to delve into. Maybe one day.

-What are you happiest about this project?

Easily the actors, the camerawork, and the makeup. All of our actors both executed the script flawlessly, as well as bringing their own flair to the roles that I hadn’t initially intended. Austin Rappold, our cinematographer, and Vanessa Marone, our makeup artist, are among the most talented in their fields that I have worked with or seen at their level.

-Make a wish to the movie gods. What do you ask?

Funding for future projects please and thank you.

-What movie would you have liked to direct?

There’s no movie that currently exists that I would have liked to make myself. I don’t think like that. There are a lot of film ideas that I have myself that I would love to make one day, and hopefully I will.

-What kind of cinema do you like? Genre, directors, actors?

I’ll give a lame answer, I honestly will watch anything and everything. I don’t care what genre, I don’t care what style- if it's a movie, I will watch it. In terms of favorite individuals, take your pick. For directors, I love Scorsese, Eggers, Jacques Demy, Gregg Araki. Celine Sciamma’s brilliant, I have great admiration for Cheryl Dunye and Kubrick. All of Don Hertzfeldt’s animated work is genius. My favorite writer is Charlie Kaufman.

-Imagine that all the movies are going to be lost. If you could save 3 movies, what would they be?

Wall-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008), Synechdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008), It’s Such a Beautiful Day (Don Hertzfeldt, 2012).

-If you have more projects underway, can you give us a bit of information?

Currently not yet, but I will very soon. I’m about to enter very early pre-production on my next film, which I’m not ready to publicly reveal details about quite yet, but I’m very excited for it!