Party Photos

Hey everyone,
here's some photos from last night's cast dinner at Janet's house. As the days pass and we get closer and closer to the beginning of production, it's extremely important that our entire cast and crew become familiar with one another. Although many of us have been working on the film for months, and some even years, others are more recent additions and so it's great when everyone can come together as a group, read the screenplay together, and really get to know each other. While this sort of team building is an important part of any production, perhaps the most significant event of the night came when Janet revealed what was for dinner; homemade lasagna. Personally, I'm of the opinion that there are few things that can achieve the kind of group cohesion necessary for filmmaking quite as well as the miracle that is lasagna. I'll do just about anything for someone who can make a good baked pasta. With that said, I think everyone's really excited to get to work. I'll be sure to keep you updated on all of the goings on as production starts to take off.
-Pete

Support Fly Away

At long last, it is now possible to support Fly Away right from the comfort of your own home. While those interested in doing so can certainly head over to our newly expanded support page, in the name of convenience I've also provided a link for you right HERE. All contributions to Fly Away are 100% tax deductible and can be made through the auspices of the non-profit foundation, FILMMAKER'S ALLIANCE. These funds will help to produce, market and distribute Fly Away, and in doing so assure that our story gets told and seen.

Thank you so much for your support.

Janet's Article on the Huffington Post

For those of you who haven't already seen seen it, Janet just posted a brand new article about Fly Away on the Huffington Post. If you are at all interested in the inception of the film (and seeing as you are currently browsing its website, I assume you are), it's definitely worth reading. The article not only touches on her personal experiences with autism, but also includes her reasons for leaving behind a life as a successful studio executive in order to direct Fly Away.

Again, if you've had a similar experience with autism, or simply just feel like sharing something, please feel free to use the below comments section as a forum for discussion.

-Pete

Pre-Production Report

I'm happy to report that only after a couple days of the site becoming fully functional, traffic has really started to take off. As said in my previous post, a website is only as good as the people who visit it, so this is great! We really appreciate your support.

Having said that, for those of you who are wondering about the production details, I thought I'd take a quick moment to share them with you. Currently the film is in pre-production, and everyone is scrambling around trying to get everything ready for production when it begins on July 10th. Personally, I've always felt that preproduction is one of the most exciting times to be working on a film, but also one of the most stressful. While it's great to see the different elements of the project start to come together, there's always something to be worried about. The amount of planning that has to be done to make a filmset run smoothly can be staggering. While on the screen you might only see the camerawork or mise-en-scène, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Even once those elements are in place, the production team still has to worry about things like the budget, transportation, catering, safety, and even the weather. Believe it or not, one rainy day can cause all kinds of problems! Obviously in a situation as daunting as this, it's imperative that everyone work together or nothing is going to get accomplished. Needless to say, the cast and crew gets to know each other really well (sometimes too well?) really quickly. Luckily for us the fly away team is not only incredibly professional, but also genuinely cool people.

While hopefully i've answered some of your questions about the pre-production process, if you have any more, feel free drop a comment below. I'd be more than happy to respond.

-Pete

Welcome to the Blog!

Hello everyone and welcome to the Fly Away Film blog!

This is the website for Janet Grillo's newest film Fly Away. Based on her award winning short, Flying Lessons, Fly Away tells the moving story of a single mother, Jeanne, grappling with the challenge of raising her autistic teenage daughter, Mandy. While I'd love to tell you more about the story, this being the internet, I'm going to try my best to keep this brief. However, if you do want to know more about the story, feel free to click on the "About the Film" tab on the website toolbar. We also have bios of most of the cast and crew up there (the rest are on their way), so be sure to check those out as well. We have a really talented team, so don't be surprised if find a couple of people that you've heard of before.

Although the blog may not be too spectacular at the moment, as production starts to get underway you can expect to find all sorts of great features popping up everyday. We'll have everything from interviews, to videos, to production stills, and even blog posts written by the cast and crew, so be sure to come back and check out all of that stuff out as it goes up. I'm hoping that in the next few weeks, this website is able to become a place that is as interactive as it is informative, and where you'll be able to learn all sorts of things, not only about the film, but also about autism in general. Obviously this is only possible by building a community around the site, so as we start to get things going, feel free to comment on the blog, follow us on Twitter, or become our fan on Facebook

Once again,

Thanks for checking out the site, I can't wait to see it grow.

-Pete Binswanger

A Statement from the Director

As the mother of a child with disabilities, I was immediately thrust into the
challenge every parent must face at some point: meeting the needs of your child
when it is at great cost to yourself. Perhaps the very measure of love is what and
how much we are willing to sacrifice. Although parenting someone with Autism is
particular, the primal drive to do the best for oneʼs child is universal. FLY AWAY
tells this story.

FLY AWAY is a personal film, derived from experience. As I have journeyed with
other parents of children with special needs, Iʼve witnessed great pain and
extraordinary passion. Iʼve also watched parents unable to place their children in
full time therapeutic residences, when it was clearly needed. While such
placement is not best for all or even most children on the spectrum, itʼs tragic
when parents are too plagued with fear and guilt to make the choice when it is. If
FLY AWAY eases the pain of even one parentʼs torturous decision, or if it
expands the heart of even one person untouched by Autism to accept our
children and appreciate our struggles, it will have been well worth making. The
authenticity of our story can provide insight and hope. Truth often does.

The stark emotionality of the story will be matched by the overall aesthetic. The
raw aesthetic of low-budget filmmaking, enhances our storyʼs intensity. We will
shoot FLY AWAY with a digital camera, making use of natural light whenever
possible. Much of it will be shot hand-held, in the observational style of Cinema
Verite. In the Neo-Realist tradition, we will film in actual locations. Our actors will
look accessible and feel relatable. Glamour will be left at the door.

-Janet Grillo