Pat Kondelis Discusses His Crime Docuseries Outcry – SXSW Filmmaker In Focus

The 2020 SXSW Film Festival is just around the corner! In order to make the most out of your experience, get to know the films in our lineup a little bit better with our Filmmaker In Focus series.

Check out our Q&A with director Pat Kondelis as he tells us about his series Outcry, which will screen in Episodic Premieres.

"I really want the audience to be able to experience this story from every possible perspective and see every piece of the puzzle before it is all pieced together. I believe the audience will be shocked by what they see while watching Outcry." - Pat Kondelis

In your own words, what does this film mean to you?

Pat Kondelis: Outcry to me means the struggle to find the truth. This story touches so many people and in such a profound and emotional way, that clarity becomes most elusive. Over the three years it took to make Outcry, my creative team and I really obsessed over the details in this story and worked very hard to make sure we were always moving closer and closer to the truth.

How did you find your subject?

PK: A friend of a friend attended the second screening of our documentary Disgraced at SXSW in 2017, and after the screening she said "I have story you should look into." Now I’ve heard that no less than a thousand times before, but this story was certainly unique and quickly hooked me. The origin of Outcry was at SXSW and three years later the film will premiere in the place where the first conversation about the story took place. That’s just crazy.

What motivated you to tell this story?

PK: When I first started looking into the story I really wasn’t convinced Outcry was a story I wanted to tell, but as I began to dive deeper, I became unable to stop thinking about it. I was really intrigued by the way all the themes within Outcry influence and interconnect with each other. Outcry is a haunting story and I would say it certainly began to haunt me.

What do you want the audience to take away?

PK: I really want the audience to be able to experience this story from every possible perspective and see every piece of the puzzle before it is all pieced together. I believe the audience will be shocked by what they see while watching Outcry, but I would really hope that some valuable information is also taken away. Far and away the most important take away I want for the audience is the truth.

What made you choose SXSW to showcase your film to the world?

PK: SXSW is the ideal place to premiere Outcry. On top of SXSW being an incredibly unique festival, one of the best parts of SXSW is the really sophisticated audience that attends. The series was also made start to finish in Austin with an all Austin-based creative team at Bat Bridge Entertainment. It’s exciting to premiere this film in the location where the story took place, at the most creatively inspiring festival out there.

Do you have a past experience at SXSW that impacted your decision to come back?

PK: In 2017 our film Disgraced premiered at SXSW and it couldn’t have been a better experience. The SXSW folks were great to work with and the venues we screened at were completely awesome. We also received a huge amount of buzz following our 2017 premiere that really helped get the word out about our film.

Add Outcry to your SXSW Schedule. Stay tuned as we share more interviews with our SXSW 2020 filmmakers!

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Outcry - Photo courtesy of series