Obsession, Sacrifice, and Southern Noir: The Indie Filmmakers Behind ‘Meta Take One’ Share Their Journey

Have you ever wondered how far filmmakers might push themselves to capture that perfect shot?

In Meta Take One, filmmakers boldly dive into the gritty reality behind independent filmmaking and the obsessive pursuit of artistic dreams. Drawn heavily from their personal journeys, the creators explore loyalty, obsession, creative passion, and the intersection between cinematic devotion and real-world consequences. With striking use of black-and-white cinematography and rich authenticity shaped by Atlanta’s night-soaked streets, Meta Take One captures the true heart and soul—and sometimes painful sacrifices—of indie filmmaking.

I recently sat down with the filmmaking duo, John Dierre and Ryan Dutter, to discuss their compelling inspiration, the challenges they faced, and what they hope audiences will take from their powerful exploration of cinematic obsession.

Meta Take One explores the dark side of filmmaking obsession – what inspired you to tell this particular story?

Based on our own journey as guerrilla filmmakers over the last 10 years, we wanted to encapsulate a story that talked about the struggles and obsession when it came to our own filmmaking practices. We also wanted to explore the self-destructive dark side of being an artist in our current society, often having to take shortcuts with finding locations, financially, etc. The main character, John Cuffee, reflects our obsession and our persistence to finish a film, while our supporting characters really reflect the empathy and the community that surrounds us.

We also wanted to indict ourselves as filmmakers, acknowledging moments when our judgment was clouded by the need to get the shot or film in unsafe locations due to limited resources.

The decision to shoot in black and white is striking. How did that artistic choice help convey the film’s themes and atmosphere?

First, we are both fans of film noir and other classic films, and the otherworldly look that black-and-white can provide. We wanted to juxtapose the filmmakers’ real world with the color 16mm film they shot to convey that the real world is a cold, harsh place and that filmmaking is a magical escape. We wanted the audience to understand that on an implicit level, as we all view or consume some sort of entertainment to escape the world around us.

Atlanta plays a significant role as the backdrop. Can you talk about how the city’s character influenced both the story and your filming process?

Our filmmaking journey was born in Atlanta, and we developed as filmmakers by displaying the community around us. With our movie being about filmmakers on the run, the streets of Atlanta played a pivotal role in how they travel throughout the story. We found many deindustrialized locations that provided the film noir ambiance we wanted to create with Atlanta. Shooting at night provided us with an aesthetic of Atlanta that felt different from what we’ve seen before.

Also, the characters being from Atlanta, there’s a southern charm to the movie that includes John’s collaborators and what navigating the city feels like for a Black Southern filmmaker trying to create an independent film with no resources. He’s using the friends around him, breaking into his family store to complete his film, and borrowing his friends’ cars. Utilizing all these favors from the people around him, you inherently feel the Atlanta vibe from these characters.

The film offers commentary on independent filmmaking challenges – how much of this was drawn from your own experiences in the industry?

For us personally, we’ve never been able to break into corporate filmmaking/studio space. So we’ve always operated on an independent filmmaking level. Just like the main character, we’ve had to greenlight our own projects and find a way to finish them on our own accord. We do a lot of video creating on the side, and we’re able to call in all of our favors while creating Meta Take One.

Also, as filmmakers working from the bottom up and being left out of the film caste system, we wanted to convey our struggle to transcend the limitations coming from the bottom entails.

Your protagonist is armed with a 16mm camera throughout this night-long odyssey – what made you choose that specific format as his weapon of choice?

We see John Cuffee as a cinema purist fighting to stay true to his heroes and to what he sees as the purity of filmmaking. We are also huge fans of 16mm photography because of the grain introduced and the depth of field particular to that format.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while making an independent film about the struggles of independent filmmaking?

We self-financed the film over a two-year production cycle, so there were moments of financial hardship and struggle to get the film made. There was an instance where I had to forgo paying my light bill in order to pay the sound guy. We also would do rewrites in between shoots to put that struggle on the page because it provided a therapeutic outlet while suffering financially and emotionally at times during the production process.

The best part was the actual shoots and working with wonderful creatives. It was the in-between moments of figuring out how to eat and pay rent while financing a feature film.

How do you hope this film will resonate with other independent filmmakers who might see themselves reflected in the story?

We hope filmmakers take this as a warning that you don’t have to make yourself and those around you suffer to see your vision through. Your work is not more important than the well-being of the people around you.

With the film having its premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival this year (and winning the audience award), what’s next for Meta Take One, and what do you hope audiences take away from it?

We have the American Black Film Festival in South Beach, FL on June 11th. We hope to ride the festival circuit for as long as they’ll have us, hopefully premiering in every major city. We are also looking into distribution options. We hope to dazzle audiences and entertain them while also helping them understand that creatives of all types put their heart and souls into the work we make for their consumption.