FILMMAKERS
Behind the Lens with Jesse Wolfe The Making of Miami Carver and Savannah Jeune Amour By Connor Judson Ga r re t t
F ilmmaker Jesse Wolfe is a professor at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a passion for educating students about the film industry and telling stories that are true to the serio-comic way life unfolds. “Growing up in a small Florida town in the ‘70s, there weren’t many avenues to pursue film. I fell into theater, which took me through college to New York City, moved me from acting to writing, directing, and eventually, brought me to Hollywood, where I went back to school for film directing,” says Wolfe. “What was always most important to me was my love for storytelling. Movies happen to offer me the most visual and creative way to deliver stories to an audience. I am drawn to the tales of real people—usually average people in unusual situations, where their choices about how to deal with their new situation have a life-altering impact. I enjoy revealing the noble qualities of the human spirit.” Wolfe launched Havensfoot Entertainment 30 years ago, the name inspired by his music idol and one-time New York city neighbor, Ritchie Havens. Its current film projects include the Civil Rights Era serio-comic, Miami Carver and the coming-of-age romance Savannah Jeune Amour , both of which Wolfe wrote, and will direct and produce. “ Miami Carver is my family’s story. Hollywood is beginning to gain interest in stories about people of color and period pieces, and a Civil Rights history movie has more of an audience than it did just a few years ago. I was fortunate enough to be born into an original and important Civil Rights story that has yet to have a movie made about it. That’s a rare phenomenon,” says Wolfe. The independent film explores the events that led Martin Luther King Jr. to the home of a retired Jewish hotel owner in Overton (Wolfe’s grandfather), for what would become an historic, impromptu dinner in summer 1959. Miami Carver explores the racial tensions at the dawn of the ‘60s and the unlikely partnership between the hotelier and an immensely talented African-American jazz trumpeter as they seek to capitalize on MLK’s impending arrival to make their dreams come true. “Most of Overtown’s culture and economic life centered around a few hotels. For the screenplay, I placed all of the stories at the Miami Carver hotel—many of which did actually occur there,” says Wolfe. “I had to be sensitive with how I portrayed Dr. King for a few reasons. First, he was a real person, so I have to respect facts and show proper and due reverence. Second, this was before he was the MLK we know today. This was before Selma. The movement was just picking up steam. And last, this is not a story about MLK, but his impending arrival as a catalyst for many of the characters’ decisions. Essentially,
Hollywood doesn’t need or want the next Tarantino or Wes Anderson. They already have those. They want the ‘first you’.
Jesse Wolfe
it’s not about MLK, but who he is to the characters in terms of their hopes, dreams, worries, and goals.” Like many predominantly African American areas, Overtown no longer exists. “We will have to recreate the city from the ground up, which has required meticulous research, lots of time, money, and skilled craftspeople. However, the most critical device has actually been the music—that was the heartbeat of the town. Bebop was the glue. Gillespie, Davis, Peterson, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, and Dinah Washington were all there,” says Wolfe. “So, we have music woven into the script and it has become a character in its own right. The other crucial element is that it’s a serio-comic, which gives us permission to let the funny be funny, the sad be sad, the violent be violent, and the poignant be poignant. It mimics real life.” The second film Wolfe has in the works is Savannah Jeune Amour , the romantic tale of a young Savannah Francophile, who falls for a fashion student from the city’s prestigious art and design college. An innocent lie snowballs, which becomes more significant as the relationship blossoms, culminating in the revelation of a world-shattering family secret. “I was inspired to make a movie that shows Savannah’s charms and eccentricities, and the youthful energy that’s intermingled with the antebellum history and rituals. While Savannah has emerged as a popular location for production, few people were actually
shooting Savannah as ‘Savannah’, which seemed like a huge missed opportunity. There’s an old-world charm to downtown. A beautiful mix of stone and iron. That was the spark. The city’s rhythms, cultures, and locations have been woven into the narrative, so there’s no other place to shoot it. “From the production side, the state tax incentives are allowing us to make the film within a budget range we can find financing for and make a film that will be attractive for distribution,” says Wolfe. “But what I really love about this story, and classic coming-of-age tales in general, is that every choice seems huge. We all understand that transition: coming into new revelations at the cost of innocence. It’s universal and yet feels deeply personal for each of us. This is particularly important to me because I always tell my students that filmmaking is personal, so you have to love your story and connect with it. “Hollywood doesn’t need or want the next Tarantino or Wes Anderson. They already have those. They want the ‘first you’. Love their movies, borrow from them if you must, but find your stories and how you would tell them.” Editor’s note: Due to the recent Coronavirus shut down of the industry, Wolfe’s projects have been pushed to 2021 to begin production.
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