Alexandra and Lucas Krost are co-founders of a production company called The Branching, based in Richmond, Virginia. Their work includes a recent stint production supervising as Washington, D.C. second unit for the forthcoming Jean-Pierre Jeunet film The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet, which was shot in 3-D. In November 2010, they sat down with curator Betty Belanus and her intern Mike West to talk about their work experiences.

As I listened to the interview recording, I was particularly struck by the story of how when Alex and Lucas Krost announced their engagement while working on location for Terence Malick’s The New World, lead actor Colin Farrell bought sushi for the whole crew in celebration. For me, this is just one example of the camaraderie that develops among cast and crew, who together endure physically exhausting conditions and schedules and grow to appreciate each person’s indispensability.

Lucas relayed his slightly surreal introduction to the world of filmmaking when he was assigned to clean out an empty wing of an active psychiatric hospital. Alex described how she was drawn in by the friends and personal connections she was so easily able to make on set.

While film sets are gathering places of sorts, it is something special when such a gathering can be so obviously in pursuit of art. And in the workaday world of filmmaking, such projects can be rare indeed. Alex and Lucas share the story of how dangerous conditions on set translated into a beautiful image on film.

These stories happened because so many people dedicated their time and energy to make a story come to life on the screen. So while the world of Hollywood is perhaps not as glamorous as the glossies would make us to believe, there is still a unique sort of beauty to be found where passion, expertise, and human connection intersect.

Click here to read a transcript of the interview excerpt.

Click here to find out more about the Krosts’ production company.

Julia Fernandez will graduate from Smith College in 2014 with a B.A. in American Studies focusing on popular culture. This past semester, as an intern at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, she worked on the future Festival program on occupations in the film industry, conducting interviews with local film professionals and creating this podcast series.

Interview recorded with Betty Belanus on November 17, 2010.