"It is always possible to have regrets," a quote from Tommy, the main character in Erica Jordan's new digital film "In the Wake." View the trailer and read more about the film at http://www.inthewake.com/.

      Tommy, a struggling sculptor by night, doesn't like her day job. Her boyfriend has left her. Her friends are starting families and becoming estranged from her. She has been served with an eviction notice. Maybe she should just escape to Mexico, she speculates.

      Being an artist in any medium can be a solitary lot in life. Artists live tortured existences. While they are loved by some (even many) they are often hated by others. Tommy's struggle in "In the Wake" is a good example of an artist's pain, resistence to success, refusal to embrace the mainstream, and rejection of financial gain. There appears to be some type of maturation process occurring as well. Not all artists are Andy Warhol, nor do they all want to be. Of course, they got to eat, and they have to find a place to live, even a "crash pad."

      Personal tragedies go unnoticed--wounded feelings unresolved fester creating damaged people and painful lives. Erica Jordan's film "In the Wake" examines some of the collateral damage associated with love's betrayal and the aimlessness of aging twenty-somethings today. Its a slow-moving subtle tale with a soft jazzy score carefully told by a fine artist behind the camera in Ms. Jordan.

      I spoke with Erica Jordan by email after viewing her film a few weeks ago. She was kind enough to answer a few questions.

EInsiders.com: Tommy, the central character of "In the Wake," is a tortured artist (a sculptor) searching for love and purpose. Must an artist be tortured and lonely to be successful?

Erica Jordan: Not necessarily. It's just that our society overall doesn't respect artists unless they are the few who become stars and have financial success. As we know, most artists are struggling with juggling day jobs which won't consume their lives, while making their art in the evenings, weekends, at coffee breaks and lunch. In order to do work in today's commercial climate, you have to be tenacious and driven. Creating a body of work as an artist must feed you on a deep level, though it often feels like torture and the internal dedication is lonely. Overall, I believe a committed artist experiences a deep richness, texture and emotion in the world which is priceless.

Do you identify with the Tommy character in your film "In the Wake?"

I have to identify with every character I write on some level in order to make them real and believable. There were some situations in my own life which inspired scenes in the script. Tommy's character then developed as the scenes were created; during her interaction with her family, friends and lovers. She responds to the world with her own individual voice, not as I would necessarily respond. Julia D'Orazio, who plays Tommy does an excellent job, making the character real as well as compelling on many levels.

Where did you get the idea for the movie-within-a-movie approach of "In the Wake?"

I think you're referring to the parallel story of Tommy in the 21st century and Veronica from 1906. While browsing through an estate sale, Tommy finds the diary of a once-famous dancer who has an affair with a Mexican fisherman. Inspired by this free-spirit of a distant era, Tommy who is despondent over her lover's betrayal and her own economic circumstances, gradually returns to herself and her art.

This idea was initially sparked by visits I made to a very special place in San Francisco--Musee Mechanique. In this museum of wonderful antique viewers (which became an important location in the film) you can see amazing and often radical images of strong women from the turn of the century.

I don't see the personal struggle as separate from it's relationship to history and the social climate in which we live. It is what forms a character's motivation and choices. This relationship is one of the most exciting things to discover in life, literature and film. It gives depth to our existence.

I noticed, at times, that some of the photography lacked texture and seemed a bit flat and somewhat rounded around the edges (probably because I viewed the film on video), while at other times it was wonderful. Compare for us digital filmmaking to filmmaking on film.

I'm not sure what scenes you're referring to in the film exactly. Because we were often shooting very spontaneously in many locations without permits, there was little time to set up lights. I think we were successful overall in achieving a rich look while capturing the naturalism and grit of the moment.

Of course, it is hard to compare the beauty of film with digital video, but shooting digitally has a great way of freeing filmmakers from the expense and preciousness of film. This new wave of filmmaking has inspired me to work more daringly and creatively, breathing a new life into my work and keeping the process fun.

What type of digital camera did you use to film "In the Wake?" What equipment do you recommend to the independent filmmaker?

I used a Canon XL1 to shoot "In the Wake" which I think is a great camera for it's price. I would recommend that independent filmmakers just get out, shoot and develop their craft. It's far more important to have a good script than a lot of expensive equipment.

I read that you edited the film on a Mac Computer, what does that mean?

The software I used was Edit DV on my Mac. This is another great aspect about digital filmmaking--the ability to shoot and edit as you go.

Have you ever seen the foreign television show "The Kingdom?" They utilized a crazy process to form the finished product, looking dingy and yellow. Any inventions or novel approaches in editing "In the Wake?"

I do use visual techniques to reveal the psychology of the main character in the film, but I'm not sure if they are novel in relationship to high budget special effects films. I do think they're novel in that they give the viewer more insight into the inner workings of the characters conflicts, obsessions and dreams.

What books do you read?

I read all kinds of books, but I would say I usually read fiction, both contemporary and classic novels. In novels as well as films, I'm interested in character motivation and relationships within a historical or societal context. Some authors I love are Joseph Conrad ("Heart of Darkness") and Colette ("The Vagabond and "Cheri").

Tell us about your experiences as a producer, writer, and director all-in-one. Does this mean that you could fire yourself, or better yet, give yourself a raise?

I wish I could give myself a raise. I made the film on money I saved as a commercial editor. I had no investors and shot the film over a year's time, on weekends, while editing in my spare time. This process gives me complete freedom to make the kind of film I would enjoy watching rather than someone else's vision. At the same time I ended up playing many more roles than normally performed in higher-budgeted films. I was also the caterer, craft services person, transportation, script supervisor, production coordinator, production assistant, editor, and the list goes on. Yes it's very hard, but also very rewarding.

Ang Lee is supposedly making "The Incredible Hulk," what genre, if any, is next for you?

I'm interested in stories which explore the human condition with all it's complexities and contradictions. I think all genres are capable of containing good stories about real issues, even if the setting is completely fictitious. I have always enjoyed science fiction, especially in literature, where the stories tend to be more complex. I wrote a science fiction script before "In the Wake" which I plan on making some day. I'm currently working on the script for my next film, which I'm very excited about. All I can say for now is that it contains both drama and comedy using the language of cinema to reveal the internal world of its characters.

Ms. Jordan is certainly fluent in the language of the cinema folks. Her film "In the Wake" gives us a few of the small moments in a person's life often overlooked in mainstream film. These days, the movie-going masses sit awestruck by dreadful films like "Hannibal" and its progeny.

Jonathan W. Hickman