Filmmaker Frank Mosley Talks Balancing Acting/Directing & The Influence Of Horror Films [Indie Beat Podcast]

Indie Beat coming ’round the bend once again! For this episode, we spoke with actor and filmmaker Frank Mosley.

Born, raised, and still residing in good ol’ Texas, Mosley started filmmaking at an early age remaking Disney flicks with his father. After pushing through school (which included a stint running his high school drama program and allowed him to put on a production of “Dr. Strangelove“) and making a few low-fi short films he teamed up with director Robby Storey for his first feature, “Hold,” in 2009. It began an aesthetic approach Mosley still employs today — long takes, quiet moments, tight drama — and focuses on a couple in the aftermath of a home invasion.

After a few more short films (including the powerful video installation “Two Story” which details a relationship breakdown using only a real estate ad read aloud for the audio track), Mosley hit back hard with “Her Wilderness.” Much more experimental than his debut feature, his sophomore effort is a spheric tale following four women at an assortment of varying major life milestones. It’s a beguiling experience, just as muted and reserved as “Hold” but with way more on its mind. It’s also a considerable step up technically, with “Hold” being told in mostly close-ups but “Her Wilderness” in particular having one striking long-take that wouldn’t be out of place in something like Carlos Reygadas’s “Battle in Heaven.” You can watch all of the above over at Fandor.

Currently, Mosley has been on a tear making short films. “Spider Veins” was first out of the gate, premiering at the Sidewalk Film Festival in 2016. “Casa de mi Madre” was a special one, being a product of a workshop in Cuba lead by Abbas Kiarostami. Then there’s “Parthenon,” a nearly dialogue-free short featuring Lily Baldwin (“Collective: Unconscious“) and Tallie Medel (“Notes on an Appearance“), which premiered in 2017 at the Sarasota Film Festival and went on to play Maryland Film Festival, Marfa Film Festival, and Slamdance Film Festival among others.

But he’s not done yet. Frank Mosley is also an accomplished actor, and if you watch American indies even a little bit, you’ve probably seen him. He’s popped up in “Upstream Color,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” “White Creek,” “Sabbatical” (by previous Indie Beat guest Brandon Colvin), “Some Beasts” (also previous guest Cameron Bruce Nelson), “A Feast Of Man” (you guessed it — we had on director Caroline Golum as well), “Innards,” and the now playing feature “Chained For Life“… just to name a few.

I got to spoke to Frank about both acting and writing/directing, and we touched on how he balances the two, his experience in film labs, post-modern novels, and being inspired by horror films.

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