Actor and filmmaker Tanner Beard chatted about his new international series “Egypte 4: Double Agenda,” which was filmed on his phone.
It was shot on his iPhone 15 in 10 different countries, using four actors, over the course of two years.
How did “Egypte 4: Double Agenda” come about?
Kinda a wild story, my friends and I decided to extent our stay in France when my lost luggage finally made its way back to me and I had recently just got the new iPhone and was really blown away how good the cinematic mode looked outside with the light.
Next thing you know I’m grabbing Alix and Russ and saying ok you go over there and you put this on your head. As we were traveling, I just started building story.
What inspires you each day as a filmmaker?
I might have to say I was just born with that passion, I know we all have to find it but it’s just one of those unexplainable things where I just think I was destined to be in this business; it took me at a young age playing with my parents old VHS camera and I think I’m just doing that same thing with bugger budgets haha.
What did “Egypte 4: Double Agenda” teach you about yourself?
Well, it for sure reminded me of how much fun it is to create things with friends and as far as teaching goes I really did try to create some cool shots that told a story with no dialogue.
How does it feel to be a filmmaker in the digital age? (Now with streaming, technology, and social media being so prevalent)
It’s that adapt or die kind of feeling and with tech moving so fast I think we’re all just trying to hold on but it’s incredible what happening right now and also a bit scary with AI.
What is your advice for young and aspiring filmmakers?
You need to know the good ones to make the good ones, you can learn something from every generation of film and be ecstatic about going back and watch the 70s, 80s, 90s movies — there is so much creativity there. Be a history buff.
What does the word success mean to you? (My favorite question)
I like to think of success in little victories so you have it all the time, I got up today – success! I told my family I loved them today — success!
We got that shot or we got that actor for this movie; that’s a success! It means little victories everyday.
What would you like to tell our readers about “Egypte 4: Double Agenda”? (What’s the one thing you want them to get out of it)
Well, there is a lot of competition out there and this project doesn’t take it self seriously at all — but with that said, some effort especially with the awesome Katherine McNamara coming on board, was taken to make a fun cohesive story for an audience to engage with and hopefully laugh at! So, thanks for watching.
To learn more about Tanner Beard, follow him on Instagram.
