To receive The Developing Story Newsletter, have access to and add yourself to our Directory, and be up to date with the newest edition at the first of every month, sign up here!

June! The month for Dads and Grads!

May was an interesting month for film!

For those of you paying attention to the box office, Obsession and Backrooms both released in this month and have been doing very good numbers, going up against such other films as The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, which had serious money behind those productions, as well as massive advertising budgets leading to large campaigns.

The thing that makes the success of Obsession and Backrooms so markedly different from the majority of other releases this month is the size and scale of those two films, along with the origin of the filmmaking teams behind them.

Obsession

I’ve spoken about Obsession before, the film from the Tik Tok/YouTube star Curry Barker, was made on a budget of less than a million dollars and sold in a multi-million dollar deal to distribute the film shortly after the screening at 2025’s TIFF. The film itself is amazing and creative and inventive, and if you look at it from a purely filmmaking perspective, you can see where they made choices related to having constraints that come with smaller budgets, but the film doesn’t suffer in any way as a result of them. Few locations, few actors, lots of story. I think it’s an incredible film and I suggest everyone try to see it if you have a chance. Word of warning, though: this film is not for the faint of heart. It will stick with you, and it will make you uncomfortable, which some would argue are hallmarks of a good movie, whereas others who only want a pleasant moviegoing experience may disagree (both viewpoints are valid).

Backrooms

Backrooms has a similar but different story of success. While Curry Barker was 23 when he directed Obsession, Kane Parsons was only 19 when he directed this film. Backrooms is based on a series of YouTube videos created by Parsons, about a series of stories about a mythical “back room” area of reality that is surreal, liminal, and potentially dangerous.

Backrooms followed a different path than Obsession. Where Obsession was a film made independently that found success through festivals, Backrooms was produced by A24. A24 is a production and distribution company known for the success it has had with generally smaller budget films that are curated to the point where often just saying something is an “A24 Film”, even if they’re just distributing it, is considered a seal of quality. The story goes that it was actually A24 that pitched the idea for a feature film version of Backrooms to Kane Parsons and not the other way around, which goes to show how much of an interest his YouTube videos have generated.

Backrooms had an estimated 10 million dollar budget and an incredible leading cast of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, and Mark Duplass. Duplass is a well known indie darling who made his mark in the industry multiple times, with he and his brother Jay known as the creators of the “mumblecore” movement of filmmaking that has a very DIY aesthetic to it, with their breakout being The Puffy Chair.

Duplass has long been a champion of doing something, no matter what it is, even if no money is involved, just for the opportunity to have created something you are proud of. He’s been a prolific presence both on and off-screen where he’s been part of high profile television and streaming shows (The League, The Morning Show), and many films along the way (Humpday, Safety Not Guaranteed, Bombshell). He’s famously said that he takes the money he makes on the bigger projects and turns around and infuses it into all of his creative endeavours as well as to support other filmmakers (he’s recently been spearheading an initiative to create “independent television”).

Duplass being a part of the cast of Backrooms was seen as an opportunity both for him to be in the film, but also to be a sort of on-set mentor for Kane Parsons to bounce ideas off of, or to come to for guidance or advice and so on, however Duplass has said that he was impressed with the depth of filmmaking knowledge Parsons exhibited, and ability to provide and execute a clear focus for his vision of the film, and he didn’t need his help at all.

Shelby Oaks

Chris Stuckmann is a YouTube personality who’s built quite the following over the years through his critique of film through his YouTube channel, and took the plunge in making a film called Shelby Oaks. It played at many festivals, first premiering at the Fantasia Film Festival where it caught the attention of Horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan, which helped the film to get a distribution deal and an infusion of cash to film reshoots to more effectively fit the vision Stuckman had for the film initially but due to budget restraints couldn’t fully realize. While the film wasn’t considered a critical success nor a box office blowout, it was another example of faith being placed in filmmakers who didn’t follow the “traditional” route to get to where they are.

Iron Lung

Another film released this year showcasing online creators making the leap to more “traditional” forms of media is Mark Fischbach’s Iron Lung. Better known as his online username Markiplier, he wrote and directed the film, based on a video game of the same name. Fischbach developed a huge following as an online personality, as well as having previously made two films for YouTube before transitioning outside of the digital landscape. Iron Lung reportedly cost 3 million dollars to make, and was only scheduled to be played in 60 theaters, after the enormous fan response to the trailer for the film, the release changed to playing in over 1,500 theaters on opening day, and ultimately bringing in over 50 million worldwide.

Knowledge = Power

I’m always learning things that expand my skillset. Here are a few things I’ve come across that satisfy my curiosity to learn something new, or better educate me about something I already know!

Disclaimer: Some content I share may be sponsored. I support creators being paid for their work, but sponsorships can shape what’s featured. The ideas still matter, but you don’t always need the exact products shown to execute the ideas. If I ever find myself in a situation where I have affiliate links of my own to share, I will disclose that information.

Storm BTS

Last month I shared the captivating and fascinating Gener8ion music video/short film STORM. They have since released a behind the scenes video where you can see some of the processes they went through to create the final product that brought them a lot of rightfly deserved attention.

THX Deep Note

Here’s a fun mini-doc about the making of the signature THX sound that would let people know they were in for a great sonic experience in the film they were about to watch, and how the sound has evolved over the years.

Community

Peterborough and the surrounding area has a wonderful community of incredibly creative people, and we’re only scratching the surface. If you would like to add yourself to the directory for the possibility of collaborating with others, please fill out this form.

The Directory is available to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter.

Working on a project? Want to share something you've worked on? Looking for a crew or collaborators? Holding an event? Want to share information about a casting call, workshop, funding, or something you've learned that's helpful and will help to educate others? Then submit that information here!

Want to be featured in an upcoming edition of the newsletter? Fill out this form!

The Developing Story is a free monthly newsletter that I produce with the goal of connecting people in the Peterborough and area who have a shared interest in the creative arts with regards to film and photography, as well as other outlets.

If you would like to support me on this project, please consider making a contribution to my ko-fi. A contribution is not mandatory or necessary to have access to this newsletter. Thank you for reading!

- Adam Martignetti

June 2026