Conversations with Gorman Bechard

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gorman Bechard.

Hi Gorman; so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
The story of this film began at the world premiere of the one that came before it. Zina Goodin, the co-founder of the Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, talked to me at the World Premiere of Seniors A Dogumentary. She mentioned how Old Friends was moving into a new state-of-the-art 20,000 square-foot facilities and how they were going to close down the streets and have a senior dog parade marching the elderly pups from their old home to their new. How could I not film a senior dog parade? I knew it right then and there. And thus, Old Friends A Dogumentary was born.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This is my 20th feature, and it was one of the easiest to film. We started in June 2021 and had the world premiere in April 2022. Everything just fell into place perfectly.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I’ve been making films since 1983, so almost 40 years. I began in horror, spent most of the 90s writing novels and screenplays, then got back into the independent film world in 2004 with a feature called You Are Alone, which I am incredibly proud of. In 2009 I started work on my first documentary, Color Me Obsessed: A Film About The Replacements, and I have yet to look back. I’ve made over 10 feature-length documentaries since and love the genre and process. I’m probably best known for my horror comedy, Psychos in Love, my novel The Second Greatest Story Every Told, and my documentaries Color Me Obsessed and Pizza A Love Story. What sets me apart is that I refuse to compromise. I only make films on subjects about which I am completely passionate. I don’t do work for hire but make only my films my way.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’m a risk taker in that I don’t work for other people but put it all on the table for too-tall stories which interest me and tell them my way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.OldFriendsMovie.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/OldFriendsADogumentary/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OldFriendsADogumentary/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9oHB5w8fzJxoTgoDqzKsGQ

Image Credits
Poster: photo by Devi Sanford Stills from film: from the motion picture “Old Friends A Dogumentary”