Take 5 with "Fairy Princess"

The 7th annual Oxford Film Festival is getting closer every day. Before we kick off another fun-packed festival, we thought we would take five with filmmakers and get to know them just a little better.

Stephen Lyman's film, "The Fairy Princess," plays before Stingray Sam on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 10 p.m. and Friday, Feb. 5 at 10:15 p.m.

OFF: In 10 words, describe your movie and why someone should see it.

SL: I like to call it my child abduction fairy tale (not fantasy - that would be sick). 

OFF:  Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?

SL: Biggest lesson was to never underestimate how hard it is to find suburban locations convenient to NYC on a low budget production. It took 2 years to find that house, but then when we found it, it was perfect.

Best part was seeing it all come together and exceed my expectations. It's so much better than I had in my head - I have my fantastic cast and crew to thank for that. 

OFF:  Tell us about you. What is your movie making background?

SL: I didn't go to film school, but rather taught myself screenwriting, producing, and then directing by reading books, watching tons of movies, reading produced and unproduced screenplays, and working on other people's movies. The Fairy Princess is my 2nd short film as a director, but the first with sound and a real budget. I'm a college professor in my spare time. 

OFF:  What’s your dream distribution plan for the film?

SL: I would be very happy if it showed on TV every Halloween.  

OFF:  What’s the future hold in store for your film and for you?

SL: The film will probably have a 2nd life on the horror film festival circuit even though I made it as a fairy tale. It's definitely dark and twisted so the horror festivals have already come calling. As for me, I'm currently a semifinalist in the Ultimate Filmmaker Competition (http://www.ultimatefilmmakercompetition.com/) and would appreciate your vote - winner gets over $500,000 in cash, prizes, and in-kind services to make a feature film. Ours is a Greek drama exploring racism and friendship - and by "Greek drama" I mean it takes place in Greece.