Jared and Jerusha Hess have advice for would-be filmmakers:
• Go to film school if you can because you’ll meet other people who love film as much as you do.
“All of the people we worked with on [“Napoleon Dynamite”] were our friends, and we still work with them,” Jared Hess said.
• Stick with what you know.
“Don’t write a script about outer space or aliens or anything that’s going to be expensive,” Jared said. “We shot [“Napoleon Dynamite”] in my hometown of Preston [Idaho].”
• Don’t invest in expensive equipment.
“Kids today are so tech-savvy and with what they with cell phones,” Jerusha Hess said.
• Try to get your work into a film festival, even if it’s a small local event.
“Festivals are still the way to get your work seen,” Jared Hess said.