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First of all, it will be interesting for us to know about your cinema journey, how you came up with it, and why you decided to make films at this point of life ?
I did theater for a long time as a kid and young adult, and was always open to transitioning into cinema back then. But as for the journey, I feel like that is just starting now. It never feels to me like I'm in something fully until other people are able to see my final work. And that part of it has only just started with festival submissions and our upcoming release on 11/11/22. But I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes. As to why at this point in my life, I don't feel like it's ever too late to change direction or start something new as long as we're still alive. So to me, I just didn't have a reason not to do it. And as a writer, living in Los Angeles, surrounded by so many extremely talented artists looking for complex dramatic roles and scripts, it felt like the right next step to take.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
New chapter
Short film "11:11" is Lisa's director debut, after her theatre and law studying experience. This film is fully independent, and sponsored only by Lisa Singletary and her own funds.
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Okey, so you moved from theatre to cinema at this point, because you wanted to try something new? Is it really different worlds cinema, and theatre? What is the biggest difference in your opinion?
Technically, I didn't transition directly from one to the other. I took about 10 years off to pursue a law career in between. But it is definitely very different. All three have been both very different and very similar in their own ways. I would say the biggest difference so far between theater and film specifically has been the slower pacing needed for editing purposes. In theater, I'm very used to keeping everything at a rapid pace, and I still enjoy doing that when possible, but it does tend to cause post-production complications to work around.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
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A bit more about your law career. What exactly you were trying to reach in this direction? Becoming an advocate? Why you stopped moving in this direction?
Sure. I was a paralegal for most of my 20s just because it was a job that I seemed to be good at and made good pay. Then I went to law school as a sort of next step. And I did enjoy some of the work I did with it, and am very grateful for what I learned from it on the business side of things that I was able to take with me into this, but it just never fully felt right to me, and could be extremely draining at times. At the end of the day, my health and quality of life mattered more to me.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
Searching for the right job
Lisa has a bachelor's degree from The University of New Orleans (2012) and a law degree from Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law (2015).
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Great! Okey, if I’m right “11:11” is your director debut. Again, you could do it any year of your life, but this film went out in 2022, why at this point, and how the idea came up to you?
That's correct. It is. But I don't really have a better reason. I'd had some serious health issues that I was recovering from prior to 2020 and I guess it just kind of pushed me to doing things that I hadn't yet, if that makes sense. Life is short. You can't let a minute of it go to waste. And if you are letting it go to waste, there's no better time to change that then right now.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
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You didn’t write the screenplay to your film if we understood that right. How did you
meet L.E. Flinders? Did you help him with writing it, or you just directed his plot?
meet L.E. Flinders? Did you help him with writing it, or you just directed his plot?
That confuses people more than I intended. I am L.E. Flinders. I've been writing for longer than I've been filmmaking and have a novel from 2017, a post-apocalyptic thriller/drama titled The Wolves Within Our Walls. When I started writing, it made sense at the time to use my grandmother's family name since it's so unique. But when transitioning to something like directing and producing which involve lots of contracts, introductions, and interactions with other people, it was a lot easier for me to use my legal name on everything. Eventually I may stop using the name L.E. Flinders for my writing too, but it seems sad to leave that part of me behind just yet. So I'm undecided on that.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
Who is L.E Flinders?
Lisa has directed, produced an wrote the screenplay for "11:11", but in credits you can find as writer someone who is L.E. Flinders. Turns out, Lisa uses a different name while writing something, and that can easily confuse and surprise the viewer.
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So, do you have any ready scripts, that you would like to film in future ?
I have one other that's already in post right now, an LGBT romantic drama that was supposed to be out this fall as well, but will more likely be moved to winter or spring. Then I have one that I have more on hold. And two other shorts that are not complete yet, but hopefully will be soon and ready to start shooting, one comedy and one cerebral horror. I'm more leaning towards the cerebral horror next after these two.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
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That’s great, you have a lot works to film. Will you handle it? Do you have any help from studios or producers, or you handle it by yourself?
None at this time. It's all me. I have the funding for each specifically set aside and pre-budgeted. So it gets tight. But I'd really like to build a reel to start that is just mine to show. That way I can collaborate more with other artists and producers in the future.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
Moving on
In 2021, Lisa started the independent film production company Cipher Cat Films, LLC.
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Talking about “11:11”. What goals did you set for yourself when making this film?
I didn't, in terms of benchmarks or measurable goals. It was strictly about getting my reel and early work set up. But as someone with addiction-related deaths in my family, my goal for the film overall is to show the struggles of the person in recovery and his/her/their family and friends without going too dark and cynical, as most stories about addiction do. I also hope it brings more attention to the benefit of maintaining relationships with those who are struggling with addiction and how just one healthy person in someone's life who cares can be enough at times to prevent a relapse.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
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Ah, it turns out that the story embedded in the film is directly related to your life, this makes it really personal, I guess? Let's not talk about the bad, or could you tell a little about these events?
I can tell some, but without getting into too much detail, both my father and uncle were high-functioning addicts, the type where no one beyond family ever really knows, and great people despite that struggle. But it ultimately killed both of them in different ways. My father over a decade ago now and my uncle much more recently.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
Tough experience
The main intent of the film "11:11 is to showcase the need for close healthy relationships in addiction recovery, and more broadly, how the relationships we choose to maintain guide our life choices in positive or negative ways.
Also, as someone who has had close relationships with a number of "functional" addicts, including now deceased close family, I hoped to portray addiction as just a small part of who someone is and their unique personality/struggle, rather than the typical hardened/grim monolith.
Also, as someone who has had close relationships with a number of "functional" addicts, including now deceased close family, I hoped to portray addiction as just a small part of who someone is and their unique personality/struggle, rather than the typical hardened/grim monolith.
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Okey, so what is the main message, that you wanted to translate through your debut work? How destructive can be addictions on peoples life, and the people who are close to them?
Actually, the main message I hope the film conveys is actually the broader contrast between the relationships in our lives that lead us in negative directions versus those that lead us in positive directions. I feel like that message applies to all of us, beyond the recovery community. It just tends to have very high stakes in the life of someone with an addiction. But it impacts all of us in one way or another.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
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Talking about your first experience as a director. What would you say was the hardest
part in creating your first film? Was it easy working with your crew? What you would say was the most exciting part in production of “11:11” film?
Everyone in my cast and crew were fantastic. They were all so experienced and fun to work with that it made everything flow perfectly. The hardest part was definitely excessive bird noise. A flock of birds decided to camp out next to us while filming that caused a lot of stops and delays. But in the end, it ended up giving us a beautiful sound effect for one of the two trailers. So I can't complain about it, really. The most exciting part was getting to work with the actors, both at rehearsal and in production. And that's no slight to anyone else who I worked with, because everyone was amazing, but it's just really fun for me working with talented actors and listening to them deliver lines I've written in such a compelling way.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
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About your future. Are you already working on new project? Maybe some insides?
I am. It's an LGBT romantic drama, also a short film, titled "Walking in the Wrong Direction." We were planning to release this fall, not long after "11:11" release, but it's looking now like it will be out in either winter or spring.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
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So you are keeping yourself in drama genre? Do you want to try something else in future? If yes, what kind of genre?
My current plan is 1 general drama ("11:11"), 1 romantic drama, so kind of a subgenre for that one, ("Walking in the Wrong Direction"). Then after that, I plan to do 1 comedy short and 1 cerebral horror short. The cerebral horror short script is closer to being ready, so that one may be next in line. No final decision on that yet though.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
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Okey, moving on! Are you fully into cinema now, or you still keep working with theatres?
I would love to try theater again at some point in the future. But for now, I'm fully focused on building up the production company reel, and future collaborations beyond that.
Lisa Singletary
Director, Producer, Writer
In the end, are you satisfied with your first work, or there are are things, that you would've changed?
I am. There will always be things that I think of after the fact, and do, that I wish I would have done or added, especially specific visual shots I wish we'd had time for in the shooting schedule. But I am very happy with the overall finished film. Everyone involved did excellent work and I couldn't be more grateful to each of them.
You can find Lisa Singletary on her social medias
Lisa Singletary
Director, Writer, Producer
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