Your new movie Tribes
- in a few words, what is it about?
Nino Aldi:
Hoodlums trying to rob people who "ain't like
them" and find it difficult to do so.
Andy
Marlatt: In the end, it’s about categorization, how we differentiate
between ourselves and others, for better and for worse. Oh, it’s
also about that in the middle, too. So how did the
project come together in the first place? Nino:
I
reached out to a screenplay competition to read their
award-winning scripts. Andy Marlatt's was by far the
best for what we were looking for.
Andy:
I got an email from Nino, who had heard about the script and wanted to
read it. I could have ignored it – we didn’t know each other - but
c’mon, ‘Nino Aldi’ is just too cool a name to ignore, so I sent
it to him. After he read it, we talked on the phone, a couple times
actually, about his vision; how he saw the script playing out on film.
That was important to me. We both like dark comedy. Well, I was sold.
I really loved the direction he wanted to take it. Since Tribes
is all about self-identity, I just have to ask, what do you (or would you
like to) identify as? Nino: A
Human Being. A Filmmaker.
Andy:
Haha well, gender identity is one of the few things we don’t touch
on in Tribes. I think on set I probably identified as the ‘Old
Guy,’ as in, ‘Who’s that old guy? Is that Nino’s father?’ Andy, what were your sources of
inspiration when writing Tribes? Andy: I’ve
always found it ironic that the more connected the world becomes, the
more ways we find to put distance between ourselves. We align with this
group, but against that group. We identify with this subreddit, but not
that one. With Tribes, I wanted to take that dilemma to its
rational, and ridiculous, conclusion. So there weren’t specific
sources, per se. Maybe ‘humans?’ Do
talk about Tribes' brand
of humour for a bit!
Andy:
It’s satirical, certainly, as satire is my mattress. But I’m not
sure I can answer this well. Maybe Nino could do it better. Nino, what can you tell us about
your directorial approach to your story at hand? Nino:
I
wanted to play it straight, like a thriller, and let the
comedy come from the writing and not the atmosphere or
slapstick acting. Do talk
about Tribes' key cast,
and why exactly these people?
Andy:
I can’t speak to casting in that I wasn’t involved, but I can say,
after the fact, that each of the leads (Jake Hunter [Jake
Hunter interview - click here], Adam Waheed,
DeStorm Power) made their characters better than what I had written,
which is both rewarding and annoyingly humbling.
Nino: The three
leads (DeStorm, Adam, and Jake) were cast not only on the
comedic ability to play the roles, but also on their desire
and ability to dive into the roles and take this project
seriously. Additionally, they had great chemistry from
the first read-through and were on board with my vision.
Not much more you can ask for as a director. A few words about the
shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
Andy:
It was frenetic in that it was filmed over a few days, and Nino did an
amazing job keeping it moving and making sure he got the right shots.
But I’ll tell you, having been on a few sets, one of the best things
was the generosity exhibited by those three leads – Jake, Adam and
DeStorm. They treated people with respect and kindness. I wrote a few
lines on set for other characters essentially because they wanted to
share some of the spotlight.
The
$64-question of course, where can Tribes
be seen?
Nino: Currently,
it is on the festival circuit. However, we have offers
for distribution and will eventually be on multiple V.O.D.
platforms. I suggest following our Facebook page for
more information as it comes. www.facebook.com/
TribesTheMovie
Anything you can tell us about audience and
critical reception of Tribes? Nino: So far
it's been getting great reviews, which is humbling.
Hopefully it can keep it up :)
Andy:
We’ve
had some nice reviews online so far, like at this one site called Search my
Trash, but can you really trust what you read on the
Internet? I don’t know. :-) Any
future projects you'd like to share? Nino:
I am in the later part of development on my second feature
film, Black
Bouquet, which I co-wrote and will be directing.
We are going out to cast in March, looking to film this
fall.
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Andy:
I’m going to replace my old wooden mailbox post with a metal one. Your/your movie's
website, Facebook, whatever else? https://www.facebook.com/TribesTheMovie Anything else you're
dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Andy:
Seriously, the mailbox post is about to fall over. I should have fixed
it months ago. Thanks
for the interview!
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