Family Bonding and Smartphone Filmmaking
There are two sides to every story, there is a positive side to smartphone cameras, as a tool to make films that connects people and families. There is another side to smartphones, and that is how we can become consumed by them.
Réka Shikli shares the positive benefits of storytelling as a family using a smartphone camera to make a short film together, and how it connects us.
Meet filmmaker, Réka Shikli from Fraser Lake, Canada.
In episode 186 of the SBP Podcast Mobile Filmmaking, I share the inspiring story of Reka Shikli from Fraser Lake, Canada.
Reka made a short film to qualify for a film grant. She brought her family into the production as cast and crew. The family bonded. The film was selected to screen in San Diego, at the International Mobile Film Festival April 26 through the 28, this year. The festival was the first time her cinematographer and protagonist (Mom and sister) attended a film festival.
Reka was visiting family in Hungary when we recorded this episode June 13, 2024. It was delightful to listen to her accounting of the International Mobile Film Festival’s 13th edition last April, from the perspective of someone who came to San Diego as a film festival contestant and a tourist.
Reka wanted to act in movies as a child growing up in Canada. As with most kids, she didn’t understand how movies are made. She only saw them as stories playing out on the screen. When she was nine years old, she used her parents’ video camera to make short films with the people and things around her.
She also wrote poems, short stories and novels, growing up. One day, she realized one of her stories would be best told as a movie. Not knowing anything about movie making, she began to research how to make a movie to turn her story into a film. However, she wanted to ensure the movie was made, so she became a producer out of necessity to ensure the story stayed true to the vision of what she wrote.
She then set out to hire an experienced director. After finding a director, the director fell through but told Reka they saw she could direct her film and so she gave it her best shot. Reka stayed true to her vision of the film and the film is now her favorite from all the films she’s made.
For her mobile film, Disquiet, Reka needed another short film to qualify for a grant. In order to meet the deadline, she decided to use her smartphone to make it, after doing some research. Because her Mom was an iPhone photographer, she asked her to shoot her film. When she asked her sister to play the protagonist she wasn’t concerned about her sister and father acting. Reka has worked with non-trained actors before.
She realized she didn’t have sound equipment or professional lighting, so she decided to not use dialogue and realized black and white favored natural light which also meant she did not have to spend time color grading the film.
Reka said she likes working on more than one project at a time. She says it takes some of the stress of overthinking one project because she knows she has another project in the works.
We discussed the bonding between her family members while they were making the film. Overcoming challenges together was one reason. Another was realizing the talents of her family that emerged while they were making the film.
Storytelling is a powerful medium and film is the most powerful way to tell stories that reach the most people and make an impact. Filmmaking is a team effort where the skills and talents of the crew come together to complete the vision of a story as film from pre-production through post-production.
Families may not have many opportunities to bond creating something together during ever growing schedules. Smartphone filmmaking as a family can fulfill the craving of doing something really cool with a phone that ends with an inspiring family experience. Watching the film together on a big screen in San Diego, as a family, with a red carpet experience in what may be the most fun film festival experience is like icing on the cake.
Disquiet was selected for The Rookie Award short film contest during IMFF. The contest selects a handful of short films between one and five minutes to screen in a separate session of the festival for novice filmmakers using smartphone cameras of all brands. You can find out more about the categories for IMFF 2025, now open for submissions.
Watch the trailer, mentioned during this episode:
Disquiet by Réka Shikli
Length: 2:13
A young girl must escape from an apartment without waking the man sleeping in the next room.
Shot on an iPhone 11
Fraser Lake, Canada
Director, writer, editor: Réka Shikli
Cinematographer: Kinga Shikli
Cast: Sofi Shikli, Laszlo Shikli
Producer: Réka Shikli
Composer: Frank Dormani
Follow Reka Shikli and visit her website.
Instagram | IMDb
Our podcast website: SBP Podcast Mobile Filmmaking
Susy is on Threads | Facebook | Instagram | Susy’s Instagram
International Mobile Film Festival Official Website: http://internationalmobilefilmfestival.com
IMFF Online Magazine and Newsletter | Susy’s Publication Smartphone Filmmaking on Substack
Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Threads MobileFilmSD
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