PFLAG And The Oskaloosa Art Center Host Meet The Artist

Eric Bridges

Eric Bridges

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The art of filmmaking is more than just entertainment; it’s also a platform for artists to shine a light on issues within society.

Eric Bridges is an Oskaloosa native who graduated from Oskaloosa High School in 2008, then attended Central College. Bridges then studied filmmaking in Los Angeles. Then last summer, he and a friend used Oskaloosa as a backdrop to produce their films “Wake Up” and Bridges film “Mute.”

The premiere drew nearly 50 people to the Oskaloosa Art Center on Tuesday night.

The inspiration for his movie “Mute” came about one day while he was sitting at home watching the movie “Drive.” He knew he wanted to create something similar but knew he wanted it to be LGBT centric.

“I wanted to do kind of an alarm film that had LGBT themes in it,” said Bridges. His film features two dads. “The one thing I like about my film is that it doesn’t focus on the fact that they’re gay, it just focuses on the loss of a child and wanting to get that revenge.”

“I feel like a lot of the LGBT films focus too much on the tragedy of being LGBT, and my existence is not a tragedy, and I want other people to feel that way,” explained Bridges. “I wanted to make a story that everybody can relate to. If you lost your child, how would you feel? And if it was by accident by somebody else, wouldn’t you feel like you would want to do something similar?”

Bridges is moving on to his next project and has already written a new feature-length film that he is currently fundraising to produce.

Bridges film has its roots in his experiences from discrimination and hate. “Essentially I was beaten up for being gay, pretty roughly, here in Oskaloosa, so please realize this does affect everybody in all parts of the world.”

“One of the big things I wanted to do is I wanted to grow from it and not let people have power over me. That’s kind of what I want to do with this film,” added Bridges. “It’s about a guy who kind of goes into seclusion in this world because he got beat up pretty badly and he sees visions of what happened. One night somebody comes to take care of him, and it’s like a horror film, but he learns to overcome that hate while dealing with this external force.”

“It’s kind of like a slasher movie, but more deep than just like ‘Freddy Kruger.'”

“Horror isn’t really about slash and gash. Has anybody seen “Poltergeist? That movie has ghosts in it, but it’s not about ghosts. It’s about family. It’s about what happens if something happens to your children. That’s terrifying, and dealing with that in a different way, and it exploits that fear to a point it’s terrifying, but in a way and allows people to really manifest that fear without being too straightforward,” said Bridges.

When asked if he was always creative, Bridges recounted a story of when he was younger and became lost in a mall. “And then she found me singing with some nuns, trying to get them to sing ‘Sister Act.'”

Bridge’s also says that when he was young, his family moved around a lot, and he had to use his imagination to “build these vast worlds of nothing.”

He started directing when he was in high school with ‘Green Eggs and Hamlet.’

Bridges has a few more film festivals he wants to participate in and then has plans to, at one point, release his work for public viewing.

Bridges thanked all of those people and places in Oskaloosa that have helped him with his filmmaking.

There was a donation box at the event, and Bridges said those donations would be going to support PFLAG, “Just because I think it’s important that we support local chapters and such,” because he feels they provide a safe space for everybody.

There is no website or social media platform yet to view Bridges work.

Posted by on Apr 1 2018. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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