Brothers Aaron and Alex Craig of We Are Films have been shooting films as long as they can remember. “When we were little kids we’d film with our cousins when they came into town for Christmas break.We’d get our parent’s VHS recorder and take it out to the train tracks behind our house and film war movies, comedies about door-to-door-door salesmen, time travel movies…anything.”
Now, Alex and Aaron hav an abundance of real film credits under their belts: 3 music videos for My Brightest Diamond’s newest album release, plus a two part documentary on her move from NYC to Detroit and the creation of her newest album, a short music documentary on a Brooklyn based band called Vensaire (premiering Feb 2nd at IndieScreen in Williamsburg), The Welcome Wagon’s music video for their upcoming album, a promo video for the rock band Anberlin with a new organization called Downtime, NYC Fashion Week shoots for various online magazines like Lolomag.com, The Northern music video for their upcoming album, and a ton of other stuff that they’ve worked on individually. Keep an eye on these guys, they’ve got some increible shoots on the horizon, and are traveling to Iceland, Ireland, and Spain in March and April to film a short documentary.
Aaron continues, “As funny as it sounds, last year we made some new years film making resolutions and we basically accomplished them all. So we actually had a long conversation this year about our new years film making resolutions. Among others, starting pre-production for a full-length film is one of our top film making resolutions for the year. We have a few scripts we’re deciding between right now. So it’s just a matter of dedicating the next year to pursuing a particular script. It would be our directorial debut with a feature, so we’re trying to make sure whatever we decide to do is something we truly believe in.”It’s only natural the pair of twenty-somethings now pursue their favorite medium of art and expression as a career. “It’s pretty cool.” Says Aaron, “We each have our unique strengths and weaknesses. So if one of us lacks in one area, the other can most likely fill the gap. Alex primarily focuses on cinematography and I mainly focus on video editing and business related stuff. We both also usually direct together. Normally, it would be tough to have two different people directing, but I think it somehow works with people who are related because of some sort of strange connection.”
The Craig boys live in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. They’ve lived in the city for six years and are exactly what you’d imagine New Yorkers to be, dedicated, ambitious, and tenacious. “I just love how dedicated everyone is to pursuing their dreams here.” Says Aaron, “New York is a unique place where people don’t give up. But it’s also a double-edged sword, because a lot of the time I wish people would just chill out and not stress out so much. My other favorite thing about NYC, and I’m pretty sure Alex would agree with this, is that there are an abundance of coffee shops. My favorite thing to do on any given day is just to sit down in one of my favorite coffee shops and relax.”
Though Ditmas is a quaint, quiet area full of Victorian homes and trees that arch over the streets, there are plenty of things to do. Aaron’ favorite coffee shop Qathra is here and the amazing flower shop/bar called Sycamore is here too. “A lot of musicians call [Ditmas] home. The National has a home/recording studio here and Sufjan Steven lives down the street,” says Aaron. Talk about that for inspiration. “It’s really a blessing to work with some of our favorite musical artists, and more than just making videos for them, I feel that we’ve truly made some great friends in the process, which ultimately means much more than the videos.”
Watch We Are Films on Vimeo or visit the We Are Films website.
