AFF has been instrumental in launching the careers of writers for over three decades. We recently spoke with Gordon Shoemaker Foxwood, our 2023 Dark Matters Feature Audience Award winner, about how AFF helped jumpstart the success of his winning film Wild Eyed and Wicked, and his creative process behind making the movie. Keep reading for an in-depth look at Gordon’s experiences and insights, and don’t miss Wild Eyed and Wicked streaming on Apple TV starting June 11!
The road to Gordon’s Dark Matters Feature win was not a linear pathway, but one filled with determination and resilience. He says:
“Submitting to Austin was a must-hit milestone for the team. The late deadline was June 22nd in 2023, if I recall correctly. Our post schedule choked May and June. But I felt it in my bones that Austin was the right fit for my work, since I had been close before. My first short film was rejected by Austin in 2017, yet I received a lovely note about making it into the final round of selections. The summer of 2017 had been a difficult one, full of rejection. Receiving a ray of hope from an elite festival like Austin endeared me greatly to AFF.
The challenges never stopped coming. But film is a team effort, so there were always people to talk to about how things were going. And it was always comforting to know that if it all went under, I’d have plenty of friends to talk to in the lifeboats.”
In addition to collaborating on a team, the writing process for Wild Eyed and Wicked also provided Gordon with an opportunity to learn more about his personal filmmaking style and identity. He describes the movie as having an:
“EDM flair with dark fantasy! That was very me. I liked to say that the film was Hereditary with Joan of Arc in it. Classic Spielberg and the 2000s movies I grew up with like Gladiator of course also played a part. The film helped me explore my voice, more than it was necessarily an example of me stepping up to the plate knowing what my voice already was. I’ll always be grateful to Wild Eyed and Wicked for that.”
Wild Eyed and Wicked had its world premiere at the 30th Austin Film Festival. When thinking back on this time, Gordon shared his emotions and cherished memories from the night:
“I was excited to watch with an audience! AFF has a huge following, so we had no problem getting folks through the door… AFF was a very welcoming and encouraging community. The AFF staff in particular were all lovely, and were deeply supportive of the film and spreading the word about our screenings. That meant the world to me.
[Another favorite moment from the premiere was when] my wife dressed up in the armor from the film to hand out fliers at the parties, and I took the gauntlets around for people to try on.”
Since its selection at the Austin Film Festival, Wild Eyed and Wicked has been signed with Gravitas Ventures and will be streaming on Apple TV starting June 11.
“The process has been aided enormously by producers Patrick R Young and Powell Robinson. Delivering a film is a sizable undertaking, and I had them with me every step of the way. We’ll celebrate on the big day by relentlessly spamming all our friends on social media, then I’ll go lie down in my hammock and listen to the wind in the leaves of my sycamore trees.”
Be sure to tune in to Gordon’s film, Wild Eyed and Wicked, on Apple TV June 11th!
(USA, 99 MIN)
Writer/Director: G.S. Foxwood
Key Cast: Molly Kunz, Michael X. Sommers, Stefanie Estes, Colleen Camp, Claire Saunders
Lily Pierce is sick of being haunted. She decides to reconnect with her estranged father, a disgraced history professor, and learn how to draw upon a time of steel and blade when armor-clad knights rode out and dueled their monsters to the death.