David Robert Mitchell

Filmmaker David Robert Mitchell made a splash when he debuted his first feature film, "The Myth of the American Sleepover" (2010), at the Cannes Film Festival. The Michigan native had completed the short film "Virgin" (2002) while obtaining his MFA from Florida State University, but had spent the first six years after graduating in 2002 and moving to Los Angeles working as an editor, mainly for movie trailers. Mitchell had written the script for "Myth" and tried to find financing, but couldn't find any willing parties, so he decided to finance the project himself. By 2008, he'd accumulated $30.000, mostly through his own savings and a few small donations from friends and family. Mitchell took three months off of work, traveled with his crew to Michigan, and shot "The Myth of the American Sleepover." The editing process was long and strenuous, with Mitchell and his editor Julio Perez working away at the film at night and on weekends while working full time. Mitchell's day job as a commercial editor even saw him help put together the 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony. Finally, in 2010, the film was completed and was selected to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and SXSW, where it met with tremendous critical acclaim. For his next project, Mitchell traveled back to shoot in Michigan again, this time on the horror film "It Follows" (2014).