Genre: Documentary

Director: Justin McConnell

Studio: Unstable Ground, Gravitas Ventures/Kamikaze Dogfight, Indiecan Entertainment

Runtime: 98 minutes

Release Date: Available now on VOD

Rated: Not Rated

Review Rating ★★★★★

Justin McConnell’s film, Clapboard Jungle, isn’t so much a documentary about the filmmaking process as it is a sort of a ‘how-to’ guide on how to get ahead in the independent film scene. While the film tackles McConnell’s efforts to get his low-budget horror movie Lifechanger made, and a selection of shorts he created in that time, the focus of the documentary rests almost entirely on advice and life-lessons from McConnell, as well as the slew of people he interviewed, has to offer. There are moments of inspiration and solid takeaways for anyone wanting to pursue a career in filmmaking; however, Clapboard Jungle can be a chore to watch due to its dry execution.

First and foremost, it should be noted that unless you have a keen interest in the industry or making movies yourself, this wouldn’t be for you. McConnell’s approach to this doc is to highlight the less glamorous yet integral parts involved in getting your project off the ground. The networking you need to do, the phone calls and conversations you have with executives followed by the criticism you need to receive, and how much time is spent waiting to hear back about a film. This approach has merit as it will play well to film students who need to know how the business side of movies work; however, it narrows the audience of Clapboard Jungle as it can be off-putting to those who have little to no interest in the field. As much as I find the industry fascinating, it’s hard to shake off the feeling that you’re watching a classroom lecture.

There are interesting conversations to be had in Clapboard Jungle. From the crossroads between film being an artform and being a product meant to generate money, the oversaturation of films thanks to streaming sites and YouTube leading movies to get lost in a vast ocean of content — from how film criticism potentially has devolved from being a meaningful discussion to cynical insults about filmmakers because it generates more clicks. McConnell manages to get great insight from these writers, directors, actors, and producers. Even though some of the creators that pop up can be exciting, (I got absurdly happy when Larry Fessenden of cult horror fame showed up), there’s no cohesion to how McConnell edits these conversations. He often cuts from one talking head to the next, jumping to one talking point to another, often with little to no connection to what the previous person is saying. Although this method doesn’t detract from the meat of the conversation, it lacks a certain polish that could elevate the information to something other than bullet points.

Outside the talking heads, Clapboard Jungle features what sort of feels like a video diary of McConnell from 2014 to 2019. Here, we see more of the mundane reality of being an independent filmmaker which consists primarily of sitting at your computer with your future project at the ready and phone in hand to potentially receive the phone call that your submitted idea has been greenlit. These segments are some of the most profound the film has to offer as McConnell doesn’t pull back on featuring some of his low moments; such as after waiting sometimes months to hear from multiple distributors only for all of them to pass on him  to the surprisingly heartwarming moments. A standout scene is when he goes to the Busan film festival for the premiere of Lifechanger — and everything in between.

That middle ground throughout does cause the film to feel repetitive. There’s a solid amount of runtime dedicated to either McConnell staring at his script wondering what to write next, him exercising, and doing nothing really of note. It’s surprising because the number of times the point that filmmakers are constantly creating is hammered in, there’s a shocking amount of downtime in Clapboard Jungle. We spend so much time learning what happens to McConnell that he misses the forest for the trees in his own documentary. Despite the insightful moments, I’m most disappointed in the lack of learning what makes McConnell tick. We discover so much about the technical side of getting a movie made that we never learn the ineffable side of it. What drives a filmmaker to create? What films inspired them, and why continue to do so despite the odds always being stacked against them? An example is when filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (who I can listen to for hours talk about film) speaks about how every movie he’s made takes a piece of his life from him. Whether that be how the script for a film is based off a period from his life or more literally, when it comes to how much time he’s spent getting a movie finished and released. There is a ton of information being given to the viewer but there’s a lack of wisdom such as this permeating in the entire 98 minutes of the documentary.

I left Clapboard Jungle more informed about filmmaking but not as inspired as I think the film intends. Again, if you’re a film student or someone who wants to know how the independent film business works, this could offer some insight which could prove helpful and worth checking out. If you don’t fall into the demographic, you’ll probably be better off skipping this one.

For more on this film visit:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/clapboardjungle?s=21

Director’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/unstableground?s=21 

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4284084/

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