Los Angeles is still the center of the film industry, but to Candice Cain, nowhere has more “fan-freaking-tastic” movie locations than Long Island.
“You want a farm, you talk to a local farmer and see if you can use their farm,” said Cain, a New Hyde Park-born filmmaker. “… You just go and you ask. That’s what I want to do.”
That’s part of why Cain chose to shoot her first two feature films in her hometown of Brookhaven. The first, “What Happened Last Night,” features actress Amber Rose and opens in U.S. theaters Nov. 4. Filming for the second, “Live to Tell,” is set to begin in August, she said.
Bringing Cain’s films back home also helps grow the economy in the town that raised her, she said, as the film industry has done for Long Island as a whole in recent years.
It’s also a way to exercise her control over her own films, she said, a rarity for women in an industry that men dominate.
“I walked around the block and I drew my own map,” Cain said. “… I can’t take the same route as a man.”
Cain lived in Elmont for the first few years of her life before moving to Brookhaven. She acted on stage in Bellport High School before going to George Washington University, where she graduated with a degree in dramatic literature in the same class as actress Kerry Washington, she said.
“What Happened Last Night” follows two college-aged strangers who retrace their steps after waking up in bed together following a night of partying. Cain brought it to this year’s Marche du Film, the Cannes Film Festival’s film market that’s one of the largest in the world.
But it was filmed entirely in Brookhaven, she said, which helped boost businesses and create jobs there.
“Why am I going take all this money and go out to Los Angeles and spend money in Los Angeles, or spend it in different locations?” Cain said. “Why not shoot it in my backyard so people benefit from the money that I bring in?”
The film industry’s presence has grown on Long Island in recent years, particularly in Nassau County, where a former Grumman aircraft assembly plant in Bethpage was turned into a film studio. A review by economic development firm Camoin Associates found the industry created more than 1,700 jobs and an economic impact of more than $533 million in Nassau between 2013 and 2015.
Centered on a school shooting and addressing themes of bullying, “Live to Tell,” Cain’s second film, has caused some controversy at home, she said.
While Cain was bullied growing up, some parents in her home school district think the film reflects her experiences when that is not the case, Cain said. But even with the blowback, Cain said she thinks the story is too important not to tell.
“The most dangerous kind of people are the people who have nothing to lose, and being a woman in the film industry, I’m one of those people,” Cain said.
Cain has started a GoFundMe campaign to fund “Live to Tell.” For every $5,000 it raises, she said, she will donate 1 percent of the film’s net profits to one of two charities: the Julian D. King Gift Foundation or Rachel’s Challenge.
Women are underrepresented as film directors and producers, Cain said. For instance, women were directors on only 9 percent of 2012’s top 250 films, according to a New York Film Academy review.
Cain said she hopes her work can help change that.
“Maybe I’ll get noticed by somebody bigger and I’ll be able to make a bigger difference, but right now this is just me doing whatever I can to make a difference,” she said.
