We were lucky to catch up with Daxon Geldmacher recently and have shared our conversation below.

Daxon , appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My most meaningful project, so far, has been my recent short film “A Gaping Wound, A Grinning Mouth”. It’s a surreal horror film that follows an actress whose entire life has been transformed into a stage play, with a masked audience following her every move. It’s a weird, goopy, and tragic little film that I spent the better part of a year working on. It is a representation of all my anxieties and worries as an aspiring artist. A visual manifestation of the eyes (of my own creation) that I feel following my every move and judging my every choice. Sometimes I feel like I’m an actor in a production of my own life, going through what feels like the choices expected of me by my audience. As if I am making choices because that’s what people expect me to do. That’s what ‘artists’ do, so I must do it. It is a constant and overwhelming weight, and this film was an attempt to perform a sort of ‘exorcism’. Taking my anxieties out of my body and putting them on screen, to see how small and fake they are. It is a movie that is admittedly for a niche audience. Not many people I run into are begging for amateur Cronenberg pastiches. But, it’s a movie that I had to make. It felt like if I didn’t make this film, I would explode. And so here we are. Currently, it is making its way through the festival circuit where it is doing well, winning some awards and losing others. But at the end of the day, it’s a film for me, a reminder of how I was feeling at the time of its creation, and something to look back on when the voices and the eyes get overwhelming. I have my issues with the film on a technical level, but I don’t think it would have been physically possible for me to make any other film at that time.

Daxon , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a film director, writer, and editor who specializes in semi-experimental horror films that explore obsession, mortality, and how much goop one can fit into a single film. I spend my time developing narrative projects while also working as an editor at a local ad agency. For the past five years, I’ve been developing my craft and having my films play at festivals all over the state with the ultimate goal of breaking into the narrative feature world. When the opportunity presents itself, I also love to do freelance work with commercial clients, especially ones that allow me to flex the skills and styles I’ve developed working on horror films.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding and challenging part of being an artist is taking something that only exists in your head and making it real. I create because there are movies that I want to watch that don’t exist, and the only person who can change that is myself. Quiet literally I will see the movie playing in my head, and I cannot rest until I get it out and make it a real thing. There is nothing as addicting as watching a shot come together that you have been dreaming about for literal years. Moments like that confirm that I was put on this planet for the sole reason of making as many movies as I possibly ca.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

If society wants to produce more great art, then we need to make it financially viable to live as an artist. That means creating more grant opportunities and providing more low-income housing. How are young and struggling artists supposed to break through if they can’t even afford rent? Grants are especially important for filmmakers, due to the high cost of production. Films require large crews and great deals of equipment, things that generally cost money. And we must provide these financial opportunities for young artists if we want to see interesting and true-to-life art made. Everyone loves to complain about Hollywood, yet we never give a real chance to anyone outside of it. We need to give young artists the chance to grow and develop without worrying about ‘marketability’. Look it sounds expensive, but we need to invest in culture if we want to have one.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.daxongeldmacher.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daxgeldmacher/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daxon-geldmacher-2b779123a/