Jim Fields is a self-taught auteur, a busy English teacher, and a Nebraska-nice filmmaker trying to finish his latest project whenever he can find time. The film, Life After Ex, is a romantic comedy about a gay coupleโs divorce.
Fieldsโ Objectif49 Filmsโnamed after the film society that spurred the French New Waveโhas been busy for more than a decade making independent films with a Midwestern vibe. If Fieldsโ name doesnโt resonate as loudly as Mr. Payneโs, give it time.
His oeuvre of films includes one that should be on every Husker fanโs watch list: Bugeaters, a documentary about the first decade of Nebraska football. Not only entertaining and informative (having taken a year to research), Bugeaters won Best Documentary at the 2011 Estes Park Film Festival in Colorado.
In 2006, Fields released his first documentary, Preserve Me a Seat, about the preservation and demolition of historic movie theaters throughout America. It began as a film about the impending demolition of Fieldsโ first love, the majestic Indian Hills Theaterโnow a parking lot near 84th and Dodge streets.
โGoing to the Indian Hills in the mid-`60s to `70s made a big impact on me,โ says Fields. โReserved seats, ultra-wide screen, souvenir programs. When I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey in 70mm, it was the first time I had seen a film as opposed to a movie. I saw it over and over. Itโs my favorite.โ
Back then, Fields says the public expected films to be made in Hollywood, not Nebraska.
โYou had to go to film school out there or in New York. The thought that someone could make low-budget movies in Nebraska seemed impossible. I went to Chicago in 1984 and didnโt even last a semester. I had no concept of how expensive it was going to be.โ
Fields thought his dream was dead after a brutal Windy City eviction on Thanksgiving Day put him and his belongings on the street. He came back to Omaha, forlorn but resilient. A decade passed before he rekindled his dream in the late `90s.
โWhen digital video was invented, I got really excited,โ Fields says. โI started doing research on it and went to a lot of workshops.โ
At the world-famous Donna Reed Festival, Fields met and struck up a correspondence with Gary Graver, cinematographer on Orson Wellesโ unfinished The Other Side of the Wind.
โHe was a great resource,โ Fields says. โYou couldnโt research these things like today. There were no YouTube videos on making a film. He was very encouraging and gave me great advice.โ
Fieldsโ 2004 documentary 416 (about Nebraskaโs constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage) won Best Feature and the coveted Audience Award at the Central Nebraska Film Festival, Best Documentary of 2004 at Hardacre Film Festival, and was the Fargo Film Festivalโs Second Place Documentary in 2005.
His other films include a comedy-drama called Flyover Country about a friendship between two college students, one straight and one gay, and how they are perceived. A definite release date for his latest film, Life After Ex, has not been announced.
Not bad for a man with deferred dreams of film school.
Visit objectif49films.com for more information.