We recently connected with Morgan Hyde and have shared our conversation below.
Morgan, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
One of the most important foundations for a successful creative career is understanding that there is no time limit or expiration date on self-expression. It’s easy to conceptualize artistic success as something which can only be achieved at a young age, but your work at 30 will differ vastly from your work at 20; likely for the better. Lived experience is integral to the creative process, and though I don’t regret pursuing an early education in filmmaking, it’s only in the latter half of my 20s where I’ve found the confidence, perspective, and emotional maturity to channel my effort into what I would consider “serious” artistic endeavors.
Morgan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
It’s difficult to pinpoint what tuned my brain to a lifelong obsession with filmmaking and visual storytelling writ large, but an overactive childhood imagination and innumerable doodles in the margins of homework led to an adolescence and adulthood spent poring over movies and comics to see what makes them tick; plotting my own and writing criticism to better understand the craft behind what stories we tell. In 2019 I fell into the orbit of Hyperreal Film Club; first penning reviews on movies new and old alike, then eventually lending my knowledge to programming and event planning. We’re a small, scrappy group of folks in Austin, Texas who believe in keeping cinema inclusive, collaborative, and accessible; especially as the larger industry becomes more homogenized and unwelcoming to creative risk-takers.
Currently we focus on facilitating screenings throughout Austin, displaying films we believe are interesting, worthwhile, or just plain fun. Our venues vary from the historic Paramount theater, to moody art museums, to secretive dive bars, and to outdoor DIY spaces. After all, what you watch is just as important as how you watch it. In addition to these screenings we place heavy emphasis on local talent and upcoming filmmakers; having produced short film “zines,” several podcasts with Texas creatives, and a variety of other projects with traditionally underserved voices from the community. Our motto is “cinema for the people” – and that includes everyone.
: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Hyperreal Film Club believes in the phrase “cinema for the people.” As the upper echelons of our industry close their ranks to outside voices and lie content on rehashing yesterday’s stories with increasingly dull layers of paint, we work to platform smaller, independent creatives with fresh ideas and exciting perspectives. In addition, we believe in keeping the film-going experience accessible to all; which means bringing artistically accomplished and socially relevant movies to spaces where anyone can enjoy them. Above all, we believe in solidarity and building community to strengthen not only our creative mission, but the lives and well-being of those around us. By, from, and for the people.
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
NFTs are quite possibly the worst development for human creative achievement in recorded history; not only do they commodify artworks into meaningless prepackaged tchotchkes but they also serve to ravage our environment in such an aggressive and uncontrolled manner that FernGully’s rainforest devouring monster Hexxus would ask you to slow down, please. Nobody benefits from the existence of NFTs but the dead-eyed scammers making money hand-over-fist off the exploration of artists and our ecosystem alike, and ten years from now they will be left with naught but trunkless legs of stone and several hundred GPU processors which will resell for far, far below MSRP.
Contact Info:
- Website: hyperrealfilm.club
- Instagram: @hyperrealfilmclub