HC monelli

A first-time HippoCamp attendee and speaker, Alexander Monelli will present a session entitled, “Call The Doc: How Documentary Filmmaking Can Help Creative Writing.” In the meantime, we asked this local filmmaker a few questions about his upcoming participation in our writing conference.

Alexander MonelliHM: Hippocampus: What can attendees expect from your session?

AM: I’m hosting a session about how documentary filmmaking and creative nonfiction writing can influence and benefit each other. I’ll discuss my process for creating documentaries and how I shape a true story into something personal for me. We’ll watch some clips and talk about them as well. I want the session to be very loose and open. Anyone can raise their hand and join in the conversation at any time. And I’m not just saying that because I don’t have enough material to fill the 60 minutes slot—I just don’t want to be boring, so when people chime in it can become even more engaging.

Why do you love true stories?

They’re more unpredictable. At some point, you’ve seen every formula and three-act story structure possible. Movies are my field, so those formulas are even more pronounced there. I like documentaries because you can really mess with the structure. You can experiment much like a novelist can. You can explore character quirks, subplots, differing tones, and random situations that lead more to a satisfying story, rather than a 1-2-3 plot that sacrifices those nuanced details in order to provide more exposition about the bomb on the bus.

Share a fun fact with us—something attendees may be surprised to know:

I eat the same exact lunch in the same exact order every single day. You’ll have to come to my session on August 26th to find out what the items in my lunch are, though. I also like questionnaires.

Aside from preparing for HippoCamp 2018 (of course!), what are you working on? Any recent or upcoming projects/publications you can share?  

I’m still traveling around to screenings with my feature length documentary “At The Drive-in.” I also started shooting a short documentary about the last remaining video store in all of Lancaster County, which is closing on April 30th this year. Learn more at the At the Drive in Facebook page or my website for Monelli Films.

Since you’ll also be attending the conference, what are you most looking forward to learning or doing when you’re not wearing your “speaker hat?”

I’m looking forward to getting a HippoCamp t-shirt and seeing some of the other sessions. Am I allowed to film my experience at the conference? I might do that.

We love introducing Lancaster to attendees. Since live here, what would you recommend?

I highly recommend visiting the Lancaster Marionette Theatre, which I also produced a documentary about. It’s a magical place within walking distance of the Marriott. Robert Brock, the founder and performer, is worth the price of admission alone. He’ll even give you a backstage tour and show you all of his hand made marionettes. Just don’t call them puppets…

What’s your favorite quote?

 “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. -Wayne Gretzky” -Michael Scott

Alexander, you gave us lots of great things to look forward to here, and we’re excited to learn what you eat for lunch every day! See you at the conference!

Register to reserve your place today.

0

There are 0 comments