Mondegreen
Directed by Linda Mai Green
Screening at The Brattle, May 6th, 2026
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At a remote Northern Californian residency, a sound artist obsessed with eerie sounds in her recordings unravels when a conspiracy theorist warns that she’s provoking dangerous paranormal forces.
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Questions from Adela McFarlane
Mondegreen's soundscape is unlike anything I’ve ever heard, in the best way possible. Once those speakers are on it's like we are learning the ABCs of the gray ones alongside Maggie. While writing the script, could you already imagine what we the audience would be hearing while creating the script or is that something that took more shape in post? Thanks! This film taught me how complex and labor-intensive sound work can be. I was fortunate to work very closely with post production house Roast n’ Post early on in the process. The team read the script during pre-production, and they helped create rough soundscapes and effects before shooting. There are a few layers of sound coming through the speakers. The first is the combination of everything “normal” we imagined Maggie would be recording: subterranean noises, underwater noises, coyotes, etc. These were a bit more straightforward to imagine with the sound designer, Nick Kim. The other part is the mysterious sound. I wanted it to be eerie enough to be spooky, but not too scary that it would make Maggie’s desperate desire to find its source seem foolish. After sending Nick samples of elk cries and alleged sasquatch hoots, we worked to narrow down the sound, while also imagining how it could transform when slowed down once Maggie “translates it.” I think Nick went around recording everyone in the office saying stuff backwards so he could then reverse it and do other magical transformations. Funnily enough, even though we had worked out a sound in pre-production, we didn’t really play the sounds on set for Marcie (who played Maggie). |
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Keri Shewmaker, Mondegreen's set designer, has to take on the task of also being part of Maggie’s workflow. The positioning of speakers and mics within the house and outdoor scenes seems stylized and geometric. Was this part of Maggie’s taste, or more a nod to past sci-fi aesthetics?
Keri did a fantastic job as production designer. She understood the assignment from day one. Despite the limitations of indie filmmaking, she designed Maggie’s creative chaos perfectly.
At the script level, I knew Maggie would place her mics in pipes in a circular formation (we ended up calling that location “pipehenge”), which matched her interior speaker setup. I imagined she was rehearsing for an audio installation in a gallery later. The cistern where Maggie places another mic underwater also has a circular form. The repetition of that circular shape was a good symbol for a ritual or a portal–a rabbit hole perhaps? A deep hole leading into water is a frightening image. It’s a “call to the void.” It practically forces you to imagine falling down into the abyss and what could be lurking beneath.
Keri did a fantastic job as production designer. She understood the assignment from day one. Despite the limitations of indie filmmaking, she designed Maggie’s creative chaos perfectly.
At the script level, I knew Maggie would place her mics in pipes in a circular formation (we ended up calling that location “pipehenge”), which matched her interior speaker setup. I imagined she was rehearsing for an audio installation in a gallery later. The cistern where Maggie places another mic underwater also has a circular form. The repetition of that circular shape was a good symbol for a ritual or a portal–a rabbit hole perhaps? A deep hole leading into water is a frightening image. It’s a “call to the void.” It practically forces you to imagine falling down into the abyss and what could be lurking beneath.
What brought you to telling this story and bringing “the gray ones” to the screen with practical effects? Was there a practical effect or sound to capture that was particularly challenging?
I did a month-long writing residency in La Grande, in Eastern Oregon (thank you Eastern Oregon Film Festival!). Even though they are neighbors to my state, California, I had no idea how many new age and conspiracy beliefs people casually hold up there. By the end of my residency, I was convinced the lights I was seeing in the sky were UFOs. This was also the time when a lot of UFO stuff was being declassified by the government and “whistleblowers” were coming forward to testify. So Mondegreen was about someone going from being a non-believer to becoming a believer, regardless of the actual truth.
The “gray ones” we see in the film were a combination of practical and CGI. Two very dedicated and brave crew members, Conner Wong and Peter Dendrinos, stood in the forest in the middle of the night with glowing lights on sticks that looked like giant lollipops. I think one of them even got a tick. That was hard. And then Gino DeGuzman helped animate those practicals and give them more creatureliness. That was also super labor intensive, and took many rounds to achieve what we were going for.
I did a month-long writing residency in La Grande, in Eastern Oregon (thank you Eastern Oregon Film Festival!). Even though they are neighbors to my state, California, I had no idea how many new age and conspiracy beliefs people casually hold up there. By the end of my residency, I was convinced the lights I was seeing in the sky were UFOs. This was also the time when a lot of UFO stuff was being declassified by the government and “whistleblowers” were coming forward to testify. So Mondegreen was about someone going from being a non-believer to becoming a believer, regardless of the actual truth.
The “gray ones” we see in the film were a combination of practical and CGI. Two very dedicated and brave crew members, Conner Wong and Peter Dendrinos, stood in the forest in the middle of the night with glowing lights on sticks that looked like giant lollipops. I think one of them even got a tick. That was hard. And then Gino DeGuzman helped animate those practicals and give them more creatureliness. That was also super labor intensive, and took many rounds to achieve what we were going for.
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You achieve onscreen something that feels earthy and humanly curious while also bringing the audience into the supernatural. Was there any theory or influence that you used as your compass while directing to say so dialed in?
Thank you! I wish I could say there was, but I just tried to stay grounded in Maggie’s story and perspective! |
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Were there any choices the actors made that made you think “we’re keeping it”? And were there any characters in earlier versions of the script who did not make it to the screen. How much did the story stay the same from pages to the version we saw unfold?
Marcie Rich, who did a phenomenal job playing Maggie, brought a very Chaplin or Buster Keaton-esque physical comedy to the role that I couldn’t have foreseen at virtual table reads. Because she’s a veteran actor, I think she felt comfortable with the possibility of her character being seen as an unserious person.
I wish we could have spent more time getting to know Lili’s character but we just didn’t have time because shorts are just that–short!
One funny story. My partner Ryan plays Lili’s boyfriend (in addition to composing the original score, lending us his truck, and cooking meals for the crew). There was a jump scare scene where he surprises Maggie while she’s eavesdropping on Lili. I was not very good at directing my partner in front of a crew of 20 people on an active road without any rehearsal–surprise surprise–and we sadly had to cut it. The lesson is to rehearse! Especially with people you know very well!
Marcie Rich, who did a phenomenal job playing Maggie, brought a very Chaplin or Buster Keaton-esque physical comedy to the role that I couldn’t have foreseen at virtual table reads. Because she’s a veteran actor, I think she felt comfortable with the possibility of her character being seen as an unserious person.
I wish we could have spent more time getting to know Lili’s character but we just didn’t have time because shorts are just that–short!
One funny story. My partner Ryan plays Lili’s boyfriend (in addition to composing the original score, lending us his truck, and cooking meals for the crew). There was a jump scare scene where he surprises Maggie while she’s eavesdropping on Lili. I was not very good at directing my partner in front of a crew of 20 people on an active road without any rehearsal–surprise surprise–and we sadly had to cut it. The lesson is to rehearse! Especially with people you know very well!
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Linda Mai Green is a filmmaker based in San Francisco, California.
Her most recent award-winning short MONDEGREEN is currently on its festival journey (Mill Valley, Panic Fest, Final Girls Berlin, Bushwick, Court Métrange). Linda’s projects have been supported by SFFILM, where she was a 2024/2025 Resident, Mill Valley Film Festival, Eastern Oregon Film Festival, and The Redford Center. She mentors young filmmakers through programs at Berkeley High School and SFFILM. You can also find her working freelance on projects for friends or clients. She has a BA from Stanford in German literature and an MA in Art History from NYU. She dreams in English, French, and German. |
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