SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Vanessa Winter – “Deadstream”

Vanessa Winter is a Utah-based writer and director. Practical creature FX with absurd twists are the hallmarks of her and her collaborator and husband Joseph Winter’s viral horror shorts for CryptTV and Knott’s Scary Farm. Their demonic genre-bender “Devil’s Got My Back” was an official selection at the New York Television Festival.

“Deadstream” is screening at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival, which is taking place March 11-20. Find more information on the fest’s website. “Deadstream” is co-directed by Joseph Winter. 

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

VW: “Deadstream” is a wild, scary, and sometimes silly ode to creature features of the ’80s, grounded in the context of a modern Livestream format. We’re poking fun at the attention-getting antics of people on the internet but also the viewers who are so willing to give them that attention. At its core, the film is about someone confusing being relevant online with real human connection — and pissing off a lot of ghosts in the process.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

VW: Initially, there were a few aspects that got me really excited. I was very excited to take on the challenge of writing a story in real-time and coming up with a fictional multi-camera broadcasting system and platform that felt believable. I was also very interested in filming practical creature effects with very intimate camera angles. One of the angles we lean on the most in the film is a camera pointed directly at the actor’s face called the “face cam.” Showing the creatures that close in proximity to the camera and actor throughout the movie was an interesting and ultimately fun challenge.

As the project progressed, I also became very fascinated with YouTube personalities. Before making this film, I had only read articles about whatever repulsive behavior was making headlines. I think I also made subconscious broad-stroke assumptions that the key to being successful on YouTube was just creating drama. After spending more time in the vlogging space, I became very drawn in by the craft and ingenuity required by influencers to put out regular content that keeps audiences invested. I started to appreciate their craft even more as I attempted to write an influencer that is entertaining enough to be watchable for an entire film.

W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?

VW: I hope the responses are varied since different experiences with internet culture and its dark sides are explored throughout the film. The personal reaction I kept having while engaging with the material was thinking about the tricky predicament I often find myself in as a filmmaker: I want to connect with other people through my art but I need people to watch my films first. And my films won’t get seen unless I’m relevant in some way. This need for relevance can sometimes feel very urgent and is something that confuses my relationship with real connection. I relate to our main character in that way.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

VW: The main character’s personality. That was workshopped to death! Even when we felt like we had nailed it in the script, we quickly realized during rehearsals just how unwatchable our movie would become if he was too theatrical, annoying, staged, serious, etc. We ended up rewriting so much dialogue during rehearsals and on set. It was also particularly difficult because our actor was carefully operating the camera with his head while also performing.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

VW: The producers pooled in their savings, my husband and I signed up for as many credit cards as possible, and the rest came from micro-investments from family and friends. For us, there was a power in getting started. It’s easier to pitch a project to an investor that is already off the ground and running versus something that is waiting around for the money.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

VW: I remember the exact moment. I was completely new to film and was doing the production design for a student project that was going way over schedule, which resulted in me taking on additional roles. I was wearing and operating all the sound gear that I barely knew how to use while holding a bunch of expensive lenses on my lap for the DP who was sitting next to me holding a giant 16mm camera.

All of this was happening in the back of a barely functional ’70s car that was spinning donuts with the actor on the windshield. I was terrified and everything was going horribly but for some reason, that’s when I knew I was “all in” with the strange art of filmmaking. Writing, directing, producing, pretending I knew how to record sound. All of it. For the rest of my life.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

VW: The worst advice I received was more like strong messaging picked up in film school that there wasn’t enough room for everyone to be successful. Not only is that silly, but rooting for and supporting each other is the only way to get projects made.

One helpful piece of advice that I’ve gotten is to define your own success. Of course, you want other people to like your films, but having some personal goals I can attain within each phase of a project has helped me find satisfaction that isn’t dependent on other people’s reactions

W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?

VW: The other day I was talking to a fellow crew member and realized that I have never been on a set while another woman was directing. I’m friends with other female directors and I’ve crewed a lot of sets but I’ve never seen another woman direct. It made me think about the first time I was ever hired by a female producer or worked with a female DP and how it was inspiring for me to see other women working with their own style in their own way in a predominantly male environment. I wish I would have sought out more of those experiences when I was starting out, so that would be my advice to someone new.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

VW: There are a lot! “Pet Sematary” directed by Mary Lambert and “Wayne’s World” directed by Penelope Spheeris come to mind because they’re both enduring classics by women paving the way for other female directors in genre. They’re also both movies I loved before finding out they were directed by women and I remember how excited I felt learning that they were helmed by women.

W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?

VW: Fortunately, “Deadstream” was such a small crew that we were able to go into production during the pandemic. I think at some point I started to not only accept technology as a way to collaborate but also to lean into it as a way to stay connected to family and friends.

I’m smiling just thinking about how hilarious and creative Marco Polos from friends and family got during the height of the pandemic. I’d love to think that going forward our online interactions will be higher quality and our in-person interactions will be more valued.

W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make it more inclusive?

VW: I think one thing that everyone can do is to seek out and support content from different voices. Without making the effort, it’s easy to keep watching and perpetuating the ideas that are already grandfathered into the film industry.