Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Halter Off Director, Jake Bulgarino

Jake Bulgarino is a young director to keep your eye on. His debut short feature, Halter Off, has been making its way around the festival circuit, earning widespread acclaim. It premieres this week at the Austin Film Festival, and Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Jake about the film and how he discovered his voice as a storyteller.

PC: Tell us about Halter Off and how you discovered Angelo’s story.
Jake: Halter Off offers an extended look at the underbelly of horse racing in Charles Town, West Virginia. There, veteran trainer Angelo Jackson competes not for fame, or prestige, or glory, but as a means of survival. At a severe financial disadvantage in a rich man’s sport, Angelo grinds out wins with the horses discarded by other owners and trainers, relying on his prowess and instinct to succeed. However, when his checkered past sees him banned from the grounds of the track and he is just weeks away from facing the biggest race of his life against his longtime rival and mentor, Angelo is under the gun. He looks to Halter Off, the first horse he’s raised on his own, to win a race that will do more than bring his books into the black: it will define his career.

I discovered Angelo’s story when I was on a location scout over a weekend. I was driving by and I saw what I thought was a dog track. I drove past it and as I was doing so, I saw this really antique-y old horse barn that had clear slats in the roof and back lighting in it. It was absolutely gorgeous. I was like, “I need to stop.” I ran into someone in the barn and asked if I could take some photos.

I was like “Hey,” and I explained who I was and what I was doing, and he was like, “Why are you asking me? This isn’t my barn, this is his barn.” And then Angelo actually went right off the handle at me, right away. He was like “So what? A black man can’t own a barn?” And I was like “No, no, no, no, no,” and backtracked and so our first interaction was actually Angelo screaming at me, which was actually pretty appropriate for his character, but within five minutes we were talking. He quickly became an open book. I told him what I do, and he started telling me the story, and I was taken back not only by the adversity that he’s facing, some of it of his own doing, some of it not, and his attitude towards redeeming himself and getting back on the horse track. That’s when I mentioned to him, I was like, “You know, have you ever thought of doing a short documentary about your story?”

PC: What is the creative process like when you’re working on a documentary?
Jake: There’s a lot of stone turning that happens. You try and do as much research, planning, and prep as possible before you go into principal photography, but there’s a lot of room for things to change very quickly. You need to understand your subject and the world, but it’s also important for any documentary filmmaker to really go in open-minded and be willing to be agile, because the story’s going to change and evolve as you’re in it. I actually believe that if you go in to shoot a documentary and you come out with the same idea that you started with that you don’t actually have a documentary. I think the world, character, and everything reveals itself to you as you’re in production.

PC: It’s your first project as a director. What was the biggest lesson you learned from the experience?
Jake: There are two massive, massive, massive lessons I learned! The first is the KISS theory, which is keep it simple, stupid. Don’t make things more complex than they have to be. For example, from a technical perspective, we had steady cams, ultra primes…what we didn’t account for is the fact that we were working in a pretty tight barn with really big horses that get scared by big camera contraptions. That was a difficulty that we hit right away. The other one that I’d probably say was even more important is roll tapes, roll tapes, roll tapes. Get as much content and coverage as you can because when you get into post, that’ll be your saving grace.

PC: How has your experience in this industry prepared you for this project?
Jake: I don’t think you’re ever totally prepared. Filmmaking is a pretty deep well. You have to go along and try to learn from the mistakes you’ve made on previous projects. I have a background in branding and advertising, and flexibility is a must. There are high expectations, and last-minute changes happen. It’s taught me to think quickly, make concise decisions, and be confident. Those were probably the most helpful when working on Halter Off. There was definitely a learning curve, especially in the cult underbelly of horse racing.

PC: When did you realize you had a passion for short films?
Jake: There are a ton of benefits to making short films. I don’t think ultimately think it’s the place where I’m going to want to reside forever. I’d much prefer to dive into a feature for multiple years than a short, but shorts give filmmakers the opportunity to identify their voice. There are creative and logistical liberties that you can take on shorts. Some turn out really well and some don’t. But in general, short films are a good place to identify your voice.

PC: Besides Halter Off, do you have any other upcoming projects that you can chat about?
Jake: I have another short that we just finished principal on that’s currently in post. It’s another character-driven documentary about a young man in Virginia Beach, that has a very, very rare genetic disorder. He’s found his sense of independence and community through Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Like most people that suffer from these disorders, the biggest issues that he faces are community, identity, and purpose. Our character has a pretty rough time of it but he ends up stumbling into a jiu-jitsu studio and saying, “Hey I don’t have any money to be training in jiu-jitsu, but I would love to learn.” The instructor took it upon himself and told him, “If you clean the studio, we’ll teach you Brazilian jiu-jitsu.” Through jiu-jitsu, he not only finds his community but he also starts working a full-time job and grows into his own.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Jake: Big Brother

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Jake: Die Hard

PC: Favorite book?
Jake: The Things They Carried

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Jake: Rent

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Jake: Justin Bieber

PC: Last show you binge-watched?
Jake: Ozark

PC: Hidden talent?
Jake: I like to jump rope.

Make sure to follow Jake on Instagram and if you’re in the Austin area, showtimes for Halter Off can be found here. Plus, follow his company, Eastward, on Instagram and Twitter.