Avery Bazan, like many others, credits Star Wars as an early inspiration. As a fulltime commercial and documentary filmmaker .(http://averybazan.com/)
Bazan finally had a chance to pay homage to the film series with his own ‘POWER: A Star Wars Fan Film.’ A Star Wars Fan Film” is a 10-minute action film, that tells a personal and introspective story through an epic lightsaber fight. Set in the dark times between “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope,” a master and his apprentice are undercover with an illicit group of smugglers. When one turns on the other, a lightsaber duel ensues with both physical and moral stakes.
We asked him the questions you’d want to know:
Who are the actors in the film?
Kai (Apprentice, Hero, Blue Lightsaber) – Avery Bazan (writer/director)
Goran (Master, Villain, Yellow Lightsaber) – Brandon Reddick
Why you created the film?
As a Director, Star Wars got me into film making as a kid. I’ve always wanted to make a Star Wars short film in honor of the universe George Lucas created, so one day I decided to go ahead and do it. I obviously love Luke Skywalker, Han, Leia, Vader and all the other characters, but for this film, I wanted to make something with original characters to stand more on its own. It’s packed with a lightsaber duel from start to finish, but there’s also a story here about the mythos of Star Wars, prodding the difference between the dark side and light, and a glimpse of the choices people could really make in the face of death.
How long did it take to shoot?
With 217 shots total (a high number for 10 minutes on screen), it took 9 days to film on location. We shot with natural lighting, using cloudy weather as a natural light diffuser, and to give an overall darker tone. This meant we constantly had to plan around the weather and tides. We actually had to take a break for a year midway through to filming, as we came to the location one day to find everything covered under 4 additional feet of sand. We learned this was a naturally occurring change, and waited about 10 months unit the sand was eventually washed back out to sea.
Did any special things happen while filming?
The biggest challenge was finding our entire location covered with extra sand one day. It reminds me of the original Star Wars, where sand and windstorms destroyed George Lucas’ film equipment and sets in the deserts of Tunisia. Like all films, you simply take each challenge as it comes, and figure out how to work around them. Brandon Reddick (Goran) is consistently funny and kept everyone light on set, while I helped us stay on track and complete shots. Everyone working on the film was into it, which makes for a great working environment.
*This is a fan film with no official affiliation to Lucasfilm/Disney.