Drew Longest – Karu: Part One

We had the opportunity to interview Drew Longest about his film Karu: Part One | A Short Star Wars Fan Film. Karu is an official selection of the 12th annual Utah Film Festival. 

What was the inspiration to make Karu?

My goal was to see what I could make with just me. If I gave it my all with where I was at and gave it a swing where would I land? I ended up falling on face over and over again throughout the whole thing but I got what I wanted and learned an absolute ton.

From idea to completion, how did Karu change?

Over the course of a year and half it changed at every turn in the smallest ways due to using the film as a way to get my hands dirty in every role at once.

What was the biggest challenge in getting Karu made?

Learning and executing on the vfx side was extremely time consuming. Was worth it for the experience and knowledge though.

What do you think is the most important takeaway from Karu?

The film doesn’t deliver on it but it was supposed to be a “rage against the dying of the light” story.

If you could have a do over with Karu is there anything that you would do differently? If so, what would that be?

I would have made it way shorter to dedicate the same resources and time to a shorter tighter story. Id focus more on directing to get a better result on screen instead of thinking about every responsibility on set at once.

What do you have next in the works?

Im currently breaking into the world of skydive cinematography. It fulfills everything I need creatively and makes me happy at once.

How can we learn more about you and your projects?

Any post I make are on Instagram @drewlongest