Absorbing, unflinchingly honest, clear-eyed and bittersweet look at a couple of independent filmmakers who join forces to ambitiously, perhaps over-ambitiously, make their dream movies, one called Storm Warrior, the other Dream Finder. Strangely comforting to know that the same stumbling blocks exist across the pond: difficulty acquiring funding and always seeming to be running out of time. The chasm between dream and reality is like the Grand Canyon. It's always interesting to hear about the backgrounds of other filmmakers. They truly do come from all walks of life; here, one is an I.T. professional, the other is ex Air Force. It's almost a sickness that afflicts a growing number of people on both sides of the Atlantic, the desire to bring their visions to life, often sacrificing family and careers in the process. The movie argues you really do have to be nutty to even try. They're like the mad inventors of previous eras. The tragedy of it is, for all the investment of time and money, most small budget movies fail. As Storm Warrior's producer says, "Passion doesn't put food on the table." Tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of wannabe or never-were filmmakers end up lost in the wreckage of their dreams. But if you can find just one other true believer to go on your journey, it lessens the sting of failure.
