Austin artist profile: Filmmaker Issac French Embraces his Dark Half

The thing about Austin is that there’s talent hidden in plain sight. Door guys are some of the best comedians in town if you hit the clubs to catch standup, while the city’s musical history is alive and well due to the musicians holding down the kitchens or wrenching on your car. But when you hit Red River Street for a night of service industry mayhem, one of the best bartenders in town has a pedigree that few others have in the Capital City: award-winning filmmaker, Issac French. 

Slogging his way through late nights and weird times, Issac French has seen some shit. From bar fights to the freaks of the back streets, drug dealers out pushing their wares, burned-out bartenders, and broke writers, the noise of the night serves as an unseen voice for one of Austin’s brightest new lights. His recent short film, Every Heist Needs a Team, won best director and was nominated for best Texas short and dark comedy for the film’s gritty realness at the The Austin Micro Film Festival Awards. The short is part of a comedy/drama trilogy where a bumbling yet savvy crew of criminals must execute a plan to get that cash, but as life goes, the plan does not exactly get off to a great start. What sets French’s BlkStripe Productions apart from other filmmakers is its foot in a reality that’s tangible. The scenes within these visual vignettes are honest, which so many films fail at due to overacting, poor scripts or trying to shoot these grandiose visions within the construct of a snapshot of a story. French’s vision is fast, tight, and without pretext, instead letting the visual scenes do a lot of work in a short amount of time, painting a picture that gives context far beyond the words the actors speak, which is a tribute to his filmmaking ethos.

Currently, French and his team are raising money via GoFundMe to continue to make quality films, this time working on a project about the service industry, an element that is baked into the chaotic DNA of Austin. This town knows a thing or two about the culture of hustling to make a buck to see your dream become a reality, no matter how grimy the story is; so many of our proudest artistic moments come from humble beginnings.

Sitting with French over drinks at North Austin’s Nite Owl, he’s relaxed, probably because he doesn’t have to turn the charm button on like so many bartenders having to strike a balance between priest and psychologist in between pours of Jameson. “They say write what you know. I work in a bar, man. Everyone tells me their secrets. I hear their problems; they expect solutions. And they’re genuine about it. People open up to me. It helps me understand the psychology of how we tick. I love it. I learn about everyone. And despite some of them driving me absolutely fucking crazy, some of them have beautiful stories.”

He’s candid about the recent win. “Winning (the film award) made me feel like I wasn’t wasting my time. That my shit doesn’t suck. But, at the same time, I don’t take it too close to heart. There’s so much more I need to learn, to do. I don’t like to pat myself on the back.” French is candid in the realities of filmmaking, that just because he’s won an award doesn’t mean that Hollywood is about to come calling, that he knows, like most things around town, what the city exports are how careers are made. “Sure, winning an award is cool, but you can never get cocky, to forget why we’re making these movies. Imposter syndrome is real. I just have to keep making cool stuff I feel good about.”

As the cars zip down Burnet Road, French pauses frequently with his thoughts, never one to waste a sentiment, but consider the effectiveness of his opinions on not just his work but the films that  those thoughts inspire, along with the people who’ve come up alongside him. “I have a team that believes in me for some reason. This year is about building what we do into something better and bigger. I want to write heavier dialogue, which is going to be about the bar scene, which can both be dark and funny.” 

Raised in Dallas, French’s story isn’t unlike many others. “Dallas sucked. I had a friend who grew up in Austin and was like, ‘move here.’ So, I got an apartment with two drug dealers, a BMX dude. The rest is history.” And it’s those experiences like working in the bars that French gets his worldview through the films of his formative years. “I had just gotten a job at American Apparel; I was doing back stock. We got a portable DVD player in the back. I was already filming BMX, but we started watching movies while we worked. I watched Old Boy, I was like this is different, like what the fuck is this? I didn’t know what cinematography was but now I wanted to know. I learned from that and moved on. I was watching stuff like Irreversible, and my friend walked in on me like, ‘yo, what the fuck are you watching?” 

Growing up on films like Aliens or 2001: A Space Odyssey, French’s work lives comfortably with those influences as they’re so much a part of the zeitgeist for anyone wanting to pick up a camera. “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, at the beginning that shit changed me.  I see these other filmmakers starting YouTube channels, they show behind the scenes, I love it. I love seeing how they make things.” But, for French, no matter how cool the movies are or what they’ve done for the world, he continues to cite one of his biggest influences as his team. “My team gets me excited. They believe in me, and I believe in them. I have such a great support system. They hype me up. They listen so well. I have a full crew who works with me for free, making stuff. It’s crazy. At the awards ceremony, they forgot to say my name. I kept quiet in the back. Being the center of attention isn’t my thing.”

After eight short films, he’s ready to make longer format, more developed pieces that ask more of the viewer. French and the team hope to raise enough to pay the crew he loves so much, to see them shine, and to take advantage of the new crop of creatives flooding into Austin, not just with guitars but with comedy, tech, and film. “Now, it’s time for the heavy shit.” And if you’ve ever spent a night drinking on Red River, you’d know he’s got plenty of ammunition to give us that darkness. 

Support French’s GoFundMe. Help Austin stay creative.

Robert Dean is a journalist, raconteur, and enlightened dumbass. His work has been featured in places like MIC, Eater, Fatherly, Yahoo, Austin American-Statesman, Consequence of Sound, Ozy, USA Today, to name a few. He’s appeared on CNN and NPR. He also serves as features writer for Hussy Magazine, Culture Clash, Pepper Magazine, and is editor in chief for Big Laugh Comedy, Texas’ premier comedy production company. He lives in Austin and loves ice cream and koalas. His new collection of essays, Existential Thirst Trap is out now.

All photos courtesy of Blkstripe Productions and Issac French 

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