Matthew Osubor’s path to completing his debut feature film began with a chance encounter in a grocery store in Providence, Rhode Island. When Osubor picked up an orange dropped by a stranger, he discovered the person was Alexandre Rockwell, an established independent filmmaker known for the 1992 Sundance grand jury prize winner ‘In the Soup.’ This brief interaction led to Osubor joining Rockwell on a film project, eventually resulting in a mentorship that would shape his career trajectory.
When Rockwell suggested that Osubor pursue formal film education at institutions like NYU or Columbia, Osubor declined, citing existing undergraduate student loan debt and the impracticality of affording New York City rent. Instead, he proposed an alternative: using the creation of a feature film as his educational foundation. Rockwell agreed to support the project, providing Osubor with free housing and access to camera equipment during production. His wife, actress Karyn Parsons, contributed to creating a residency-like environment that gave Osubor the stability typically unavailable to no-budget productions.
‘Big Daddy’s Flowers,’ a crime comedy about a flower delivery driver who discovers he works for a crime boss, was completed through what Osubor describes as “100 percent sweat equity.” Filming occurred without permits and with a budget of $2,000, with all cast members working unpaid. Production relied on negotiations and trades with businesses and property owners willing to provide locations in exchange for services. Osubor performed all his own stunts, including a scene involving walking across a highway with oncoming traffic traveling at 45-50 mph.
The film’s narrative itself reflects Osubor’s financial anxieties, using satire to address economic insecurity and the illusion of financial stability. The project world premiered at the Oldenburg film festival in northern Germany, which Osubor describes as an unexpected achievement given the production’s constraints. Currently, the film lacks both a distributor and sales agent. Despite the grueling production process, Osubor indicates openness to filmmaking with a modest budget for future projects, while viewing the no-budget approach as a formative experience that eliminated his fear of the filmmaking process itself.
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