Eric Mauck, Aaron Marshall and Justin Johnson were three Austin-based filmmakers looking a subject. A notice on a website asking for 12-15 year old kids to take part in a zombie movie got their attention though, if only for the fact that the film’s director was a sixth grader named Emily Hagins.
“She was this sort of mature 12-year-old girl making a male-dominated genre film, and that right off the bat was of interest,” explains Mauck. “We weren’t sure what was going to come of it, we just thought it was a good idea and said, ‘Let’s run with it.’”
The intention though was to do something more than a simple behind the scenes documentary, and when they found that hook is when the trio of filmmakers knew they had something. “I think once it started expanding to things other than the production of the movie, like this really unique bond between her and her folks,” says Mauck.
“We started clocking more hours of Emily not shooting her movie and we saw how her and her mom have a pretty unique bond,” adds Johnson. “Most people’s parents I know if they work 40 hours a week they just want to watch TV afterwards.”
Zombie Girl was one of over 100 documentaries screened at the recent Hot Docs Festival in Toronto. Marshall, Mauck and Johnson followed Emily over the course of her two year odyssey in making “Pathogen,” and all the ups and downs that the journey entailed.
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Zombie Girl has played at Fantastic Fest and Slamdance, as well as Hot Docs, and looks to continue screenings for the foreseeable future. For more information visit the film’s website, or head to its MySpace page.
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