Frances Fisher And Director Sal Bardo On Making ‘Out Of The Woods’

It took 10 years, but writer-director Sal Bardo is finally seeing his debut feature hit the screens. Out of the Woods, starring Frances Fisher, Bruce Davison and Mimi Kennedy makes its U.S. debut tonight at the Bentonville Film Festival in Northwest Arkansas.

“Honestly, as my first feature, it was just an absolute pleasure and honor to work with Frances and Bruce Davison and Mimi Kennedy and all these legends that I’ve admired and watched for years,” Bardo told us the night before the screening. “I just feel so lucky. And then to be premiering here at this amazing festival that for 12 years has sort of created this mark for itself here in Arkansas and their dedication to diversity and stories about women and all of that. So it’s really been an amazing experience.”

Fisher (Unforgiven, Titanic) plays Max, a woman who is slowly losing her memory. “When she reunites with an old friend, Diana [Kennedy], a long-buried part of herself is reawakened,” notes a description, “and she’s forced to choose between spending the precious time she has left with the woman she’s always loved or remaining faithful to her husband [Davison].”

“It was a low budget independent that we shot last January” in Big Bear, CA, Fisher told Deadline. A lovely mountain setting, yes. However, authentic snow needed for a crucial scene was lacking as California went through a low-precipitation winter. Fisher came through with some positive vibes.

“Everybody gets quiet [on the set] so we can record the room tone,” Fisher recalled. “I said, ‘Everybody think about it snowing on Friday.’ So, for two days I had everybody do that and sure enough we woke up on Friday morning to a blanket of snow, and it made the movie happen.”

Along with bringing the snow, Fisher also delivered on her performance, Bardo says.

“She’s extraordinary in this film,” he affirmed. “She really carries it and she’s everything I could have imagined and more.”

The director said Fisher also served as an informal casting director, helping bring Davison onto the project. “Frances introduced me to Bruce. Once Frances was on board, the whole thing came together. She’s really extraordinary. She can make things happen.”

Bardo made the film for $200,000 – a micro-budget by Hollywood standards (he may be highly encouraged by the success of Obsession, which has over $225 million worldwide on a budget of $750,000).

“No one wanted to finance and we spent 10 years trying to find people [to fund the film],” Bardo said. “I think Hollywood is scared of, in my opinion, a film with two women over 65, a queer film. So I put my money where my mouth is and I was like, ‘How cheap can we do this and still get someone in this leading role?’ And I put my life savings into it and all the locations were donated, all of the crew worked for practically nothing, actors worked for much lower than they’re worth.”

Bardo addd, “I think when you have a project that people really believe in and that tells a story that’s special and important, people come together to do it. So that’s I think how we did it. It took me 10 years. It was a feat.”