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Your new movie Protanopia
- in a few words, what's it about?
Protanopia
is about, in a literal sense, a missing girl and a strange house that
connects her brother and the homeowner. In a less literal sense, it’s
about the American Dream and the horrible delusions that it can elicit.
What were your sources of inspiration when writing Protanopia?
I’m
a big fan of David Lynch and surrealist Americana, so I definitely drew
quite heavily from films like Mulholland Drive and, of course, Twin
Peaks.
I’d also say that a lot of Tim Cox’s character (Alan jr) [Timothy
J. Cox interview - click here] probably
came from the surreal comedy and pathetic male characters often featured
in the Coen brothers’ films.
Protanopia
is at times quite surreal when it comes to storytelling - so how easy or
hard was it to not literally lose your plot when telling your story that
way? There
were honestly only a few moments during filming that got me into trouble.
A lot of the script was pretty clear in my mind, but a few production
issues buried the story a little bit more than I intended. Overall, I had
a fairly clear vision of the major beats of the story, so it wasn’t
terribly difficult to keep track of the plot, but for my next film I’m
definitely going to ease up on the level of surreality and try to tell a
more approachable story. Do talk about Protanopia's
approach to horror!
I wouldn’t say the film is scary, which I know is kinda contradictory to
the genre. There are some films or ideas that have to piggyback on the
horror name cause they don’t really fit anywhere else. I’d say, the
intent was to deliver a feeling of discomfort rather than fear. Like many
horror fans, I’ve grown really tired of jump scares and the horror
formula, so I wanted to try something that felt oppressive instead of
edge-of-your-seat. Probably something I’ll dial back in the future, but
it was a great experiment.
A few word about your overall directorial approach to your story on
hand?
I’m a big fan of collaboration on set, and I definitely brought that with me
into this production. For this story, it was very important that the
direction take big swings. I really wanted to get away from a naturalistic
look to the film that I see a lot of younger filmmakers gravitate
towards. I wanted it to be very expressionistic and obviously surreal, so
lighting with intense colors
(à la giallo films) was integral to the story—not to mention
that the placement of the colors red and green throughout is important in
my mind as a connective tissue to the themes of the film. Essentially, I
wanted to take a lot of risks with this film, film with serious intent,
and create a vessel for Tim Cox to give a great performance.
What can you tell us about Protanopia's
cast, and why exactly these people?
Well,
Tim Cox is my go-to lead. I’ve been working with him for about a decade
now and it’s always a treat. I pretty much exclusively write films with
Tim in mind. As far as Anthony Carey, he’s been my best friend since
senior-year at high school, and we’ve made a few shorts together. Acting
is definitely not a passion of his, and it took a lot of convincing to get
him to co-star in this film, but he really is a very good actor,
especially for someone who’s only done it a handful of times.
The supporting actors include both my parents, my grandparents, my aunt, and a
good family friend. There was definitely an element of simplifying the
cast to facilitate an easier shooting experience, but I was really happily
surprised at how good all of them were. Especially my mom, who plays
Janice, and John Heerlein, who plays the detective. I’ll definitely be
tapping them to act again in the future. Do talk about the
shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere! Electric.
Frantic. Terrifying. This was my first major production since my final
film project of my freshman year at college. I had to withdraw from the
program due to chronic pain issues that are still on-going. I knew we’d
have Tim on the island for only three full days of shooting, so the stakes
were high. It was a lot of running around, haphazard and chaotic sets, and
long shooting days. But as I said before, working with Tim has always been
such a wonderful experience, and my family and friends really pulled
together to help me get what was needed. A great experience that I can’t
wait to do again. The
$64-question of course, where can Protanopia
be seen? Anyone can watch it at protanopiafilm.com. A lot of smart-TVs and similar devices
have the Vimeo app available on them. I’d recommend trying to watch it
on a TV rather than a computer. Searching on Vimeo for Protanopia should
bring it up as one of the top results. It will be from the account Matthew Mahler.
Anything you can tell us about audience and
critical reception of Protanopia?
I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the feedback so far. It’s my first
feature and, as you mentioned, it’s pretty surreal, so I anticipated a
lot more of a negative reception. I’ve gotten good feedback from the few
less-favorable reviews so far, and it’s all stuff I agree with. But
I’ve also gotten a lot of very positive reviews, from critics and
audiences alike, that was honestly unexpected. I’m happy to see people
have been enjoying the trip!
Any future projects you'd like to share? Nothing
concrete right now, but I’ve been itching to work on another project for
months. I have a few ideas brewing, so there will definitely be another
Kickstarter campaign for a film in the relatively near future! What
got you into filmmaking in the first place, and did you receive any formal
training on the subject? My
dad is a massive film buff, so I was exposed to a lot of great films from
an early age. I ended up making a short movie for a school project in the
5th grade, and since then have pursued the medium. I attended the film
conservatory at SUNY Purchase for just over a year, but as I mentioned
earlier, I was forced to withdraw due to chronic pain problems. In that
year, I learned a lot. I would be a radically different filmmaker today
(in a bad way) if it weren’t for that experience, so I’m very proud to
have attended. What can you tell us about your
filmwork prior to Protanopia?
I’ve
made quite a few shorts before this one. Most of them I don’t care for
anymore, and that’s good. I forget who said it, but there’s the notion
of ‘if you look back on art you made five years ago and you still love
it, you’re doing something wrong.’ I think that’s a very useful
tool. The last major production I worked on was my final project for my
freshman year, To Be Alone. That can also be found on my Vimeo account and
stars Tim Cox. I feel it’s a decently solid work, but just like Protanopia
there are always things to improve.
How would you describe yourself as a director?
I definitely gravitate to the macabre and stylized. I’ve been told when
I’m directing I get a crazed look in my eyes, so I’m definitely
overtaken by a manic sort of fervor during the process, but I think that
excitement bleeds through
to the actors and the crew and invigorates what can be a very tiring
experience. I know it sounds very pretentious, but as I’ve matured as a
filmmaker, I’ve been viewing films more like poems, rather than novels.
Some poems are very straightforward and tell a digestible story, and
others are very freeform and prioritize style and feeling to evoke a
reaction. Both are great, and the mixture of the two styles is where I
feel my directorial style sits.
Like I said earlier, I believe in collaborative filmmaking. I always want ideas
on set, from the actors and crew. I never want to come off as
megalomaniacal—I definitely have a vision that I want to achieve on
set, but the great thing about working with so many talented creatives is
nearly all of the creative feedback I receive while filming is
constructive in the direction of that vision. Filmmakers
who inspire you? My
biggest inspirations are definitely Tarkovsky, David Lynch, Wong Kar-wai,
Robert Eggers… I could go on and on, but those are probably the ones I
draw the most inspiration from. Your favourite movies? Stalker,
Mulholland Drive, Wild at
Heart, Chungking
Express, It’s a Wonderful Life, Another Round, Jurassic
Park, Death Proof,
The Long Goodbye, The
Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), Mandy,
Güeros, The Lighthouse… ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
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There are plenty of films I dislike, but I just try not to watch those. As a
whole, I detest the watering-down of the medium in recent years with the
over-saturation of sequels, prequels, reboots, origin stories. But I’m
hopeful for the future of film. Some of the recent massive blockbusters
have hopefully shown major studios that strong, creative films can still
generate huge box-office numbers.
Your website, social media, whatever else? @matthew_mahler
on Instagram is the best place to see what art I’m making. Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Yes!
Support your friends’ art! Donate your time if you can’t donate money.
Donate your support if you can’t donate your time! I wouldn’t be able
to make the films that I do if it wasn’t for the support of my friends
and family! Thanks
for the interview!
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