Slideshow from Zola Jumped In:

Some thoughts from writer/director Dominic DeLay about the new Mud Puddle Films release Zola Jumped In:

1.    Where did I get the idea for Zola Jumped In? I haven’t generally made religious films, but I found that I often included ritualistic scenes in my films and decided I wanted to make a film involving some really beautiful Christian ritual.  Because I lived and worked in L.A. not far from gang territories, I thought of this idea of a simultaneous gang and church initiation. 

2.     What’s the message?  Rather than give an explicit message in my films, I’m generally more interested in raising questions for the viewers and giving them a contemplative experience so that they can begin exploring their own answers during the viewing.

3.    Why did I make it a silent movie?  Next to the ritual, dialogue seemed too mundane.  I already had Zola’s friend in the gang being deaf.  Someone had told me a touching story about a girls’ gang or clique that had developed a homemade sign language to communicate with their deaf member.  I decided making Zola the deaf one would add some dramatic purpose to the silence.  I was hesitant to be losing the emotion and drama of the human voice.  (I’ve always wanted to make a movie with a made up language so that you can get this human element and still get the contemplative benefits of a silent film.)  But I was also aware that I may decide during the editing process to add a voiceover narration to help guide the viewer a bit.    

4.     How did I find my producing partner, cast, and crew?  I found Richard, my producing partner, through Craig’s list.  I interviewed several people and felt like Richard was really interested in the project and would give himself fully to it.  I also knew he had the skills and connections I needed.  He was essential in finding the crew.  And he had good help from Alyssa and Mark, our associate producers.  Tarina, our director of photography, really brought her military documentary experience to the game, always looking for what was happening, before during, and after the official shot.  The most profound experience of this was when she realized that behind the main action a spontaneous gang rumble was happening between the other actors.  Punches weren’t thrown, but it felt very real.  Tarina also caught Jennifer’s tears during Zola’s memorial.  We advertised online for auditions and looked at lots of people before committing, especially when it came to Zola.  But once we met Shoniqua, it didn’t take long before we realized we had to have her.  I imagined Mama as a tall, big-boned woman, but Justine was such a natural leader among the women she auditioned with, and that group of women had such a great rapport we ended up casting several of them.

5.    How long did it take to make the movie?  A long time.  I just looked at my files, and the oldest outline of the script I can find is dated January 2009, but I’m not too sure I didn’t conceive the idea a year before that.  I knew the risky trick of setting a date to start shooting without having the people and funds lined up was the best way to build the momentum needed to get the people and the funds.  I can’t remember if I set that date before or after I launched the Indiegogo fundraising campaign.  That raised most of the last money needed and gave me the encouragement to go ahead with the project.  We shot the film in just over 2 weeks the summer of 2012, just before I had to move from L.A. to San Diego and begin fulltime ministry in addition to the filmmaking ministry.  I somehow was able to make time to edit the film.  I started screening the film to small audiences a year later and continued shaping the film for a bit.  Then I got Lydian going on the sound design then music.  I worked with him and Shoniqua on the English then Spanish voiceovers and worked long and hard on English and Spanish subtitles.  Finally, I supervised the artwork.

6.    How did the shooting go?  Every film shoot has its war stories, but Richard and I agree Zola Jumped In struggled more than most.  We started the shoot on a soundstage.  We constructed all three of those rooms used for the church initiation, including the baptismal font.  There were plenty of logistical and financial challenges there, especially with the flooding of the last room for Zola’s reconciliation vision.  On location, we had to stop shooting half-way through one night because of threats from a gang.  The threats may have been idle, but we had to close up for the night and hire an armed guard for the last day on location.  We had to adjust some scenes for daytime.  We never heard again from two of the production assistants who witnessed the threats.  At the same time, one of our key actors quit, and we had to figure out if and how we could continue without him.  While tying up loose ends from the shoot and during the editing process, I’ve had three people disappear off the face of the earth.  Other than that, things went great.  The people who stuck with it were great (the others were great until they disappeared).  Shoniqua kept us wowed during every take and entertained between takes.  We had a spontaneous rumble during one take that was powerful and encouraging.  Jennifer wept profusely at Zola’s memorial.  And little Shayda left me a voicemail which I kept for some time telling me that she would never quit the production. 

7.     How much did it cost, and where’d I get the money?  If I told you how much the movie cost, I’d have to kill you.  Besides, it seems like the costs never end.  Now the film is starting to get accepted into festivals, and there’s additional costs.  The money came from lots and lots of relatively small donations with a handful of somewhat larger donations.

8.     Who composed the music?  The music was a particular challenge with this film.  I was looking for music that matched the ritualistic and primal character of the script and photography.  I fell victim to the common disease of falling in love with the temp music, the temporary music that was used during editing.  I was having trouble finding a composer I wanted to work with, so I decided to try to buy the rights for the temp music.  I knew this wouldn’t be easy, especially on a low budget, but I ended up spending months and coming up almost empty handed.  Meanwhile, I discovered that Lydian, the sound designer, was a gifted percussionist and composer.  I asked him to compose one cue for the film.  I liked that so much that I asked him to compose another.  And finally I asked him to score the entire film, and he graciously agreed.