We were lucky to catch up with Dalton Burdette recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dalton, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

This is a tough one. They are all special. If I had to pick one though, I would say my first official short film, “No More Safe Haven.” It established a lot for me, and it was one of the most valuable learning experiences of my life. The crew on that film are my best friends, and we had made projects before, but nothing really serious. It was mostly for family, friends, and school, I remember meeting with them to ask if they would help with a “serious” project that I wanted to submit to festivals. In hindsight, I should not have had to worry about them saying no, but I was nervous at the time, Not only did they agree, but they were the best crew I could have asked for. I was heading the ship on a no-budget indie short film, that could only rely on “please” and “thank you”. I was working with people who I could only promise pizza, and they worked so hard to help me. They all wanted to make the film as best as it could. I am so grateful for them. Now with every film I make, not only do I use a lot of the same crew, but I always try to remember that first one we made. It helps bring the stress down and helps me remember why we are there. It was an incredible experience.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am just someone who loves movies. I not only make them, but I have a voice online to just talk about them, review them, and much more. Throughout anything you do in life, at some point, you will need movies. Whether it acts as an escape, a mirror, or a thrill; movies will always find you at the right time.

I got into the industry by just consuming and creating. I am lucky in that nobody is breathing down my neck with deadlines and boardrooms. Those are good problems to have, as they come with money, but as for now, I like knowing that I can create on my own time. With each project, I try to expand a little bit more to try and find and connect to a wider audience. Whether that be through my films, or my podcast, I just love spreading the conversation about movies.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Honestly, it all comes down to choosing my college major. I know that sounds silly but hear me out. While I was growing up, I always wanted to make movies, but I grew to learn that I maybe should not pick that for college. I was worried that if I picked film as a major, I was just setting myself up for failure. The problem was, nothing drives me like film does. So being 18 years old, looking down a piece of paper asking me what I wanted my major to be; I knew that if I chose anything other than film, I would be miserable. I knew that I would have to get through some minimum wage jobs to pay bills, but at least I could still work on what I am passionate about. So I would say my mission is to stay true to that 18-year-old, and no matter how hard it gets, don’t lose sight of your passion.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Oh, man. I would say making a short film at the height of the pandemic. That film, “The Local”, was supposed to shoot in March of 2020. It was the biggest film that my production company was going to make at the time, and we would be working with people we had not worked with before. It was a big undertaking, and then of course everything shut down. I often thought about scrapping the film after that. From my point of view, there were so many things that could go wrong from basically completely restarting pre-production, that I thought it might not be worth it. Luckily, everyone involved with the project, including the new players, was still on board. The film was shot in November of 2020, with brand-new protocols, and it went on to be my best-reviewed film. So needless to say I am happy that we stayed on top of it and finished.

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