Recently I posted a review of a new short film about to enter the festival circuit daringly, some might argue vulgarly, titled I F*cking Hate You (2008, hereafter IFHY). Produced by the self-described "interdependent" filmmakers at Los Angeles based Sabi Pictures, the nine-minute ironic comedy is fueled by a mixture of humor and heartache highlighted by a song performance that you'll either love or hate, but will probably laugh at in either case. The short has earned praise at Twitch, Rogue Cinema, and Ain't It Cool News, among other places.
Often a short film offers a tempting glimpse at an filmmaker's full potential. Other times a short represents a complete picture of an artist's vision. Seeking to uncover which is the case here I invited the film's director, Zak Forsman, to talk with me about the movie. Before I knew it, Forsman, co-producer/editor Jamie Cobb, and actors Marion Kerr and John T. Woods were all on board for e-mail interviews. They were frank, funny, willing to discuss their improvisational filmmaking styles, and enthusiastic about making pictures. The short, it turns out, is designed to be just the beginning of the Sabi Pictures story...
Thom Ryan (Film of the Year): Zak, please briefly describe Sabi Pictures and its goals.
Zak Forsman (Director): Well, the word 'Sabi' (sah-bee) was adopted by us as defined by Andrei Tarkovsky in his book Sculpting in Time: “Sabi, as an element of beauty, embodies the link between art and nature.” Literally it means "rust." But he describes Sabi as the aesthetic where one finds beauty in the evidence of the passage of time. Wrinkles in an old face. The worn surface of a wooden chair. An old photograph that has been handled by many generations of family. Cinema, like music, is a uniquely temporal art form. And I think that "Sabi" speaks to the basic artistic ideal we hold at Sabi Pictures. Practically speaking, our company's mission is to establish a self-sustaining model of production and self-distribution for our unique brand of filmmaking and for indie filmmakers we admire and collaborate with.
Ryan: What did you all set out to accomplish with IFHY?
Marion Kerr (Actor): Zak and I had just come off a feature project together, so really we were just antsy to work together again and not really ready to go back to the real world. So, we started to talk about doing something else that was similar to what we had been doing this other project and IFHY was really a product of that discussion.
Forsman: First, it was to alleviate the depression that had set in after production wrapped on our feature Heart of Now (2008). I didn't know how to go back to my old life, I had just directed a feature-length film over a 22 day schedule. So I contacted Marion who played the lead in Now and discovered she was experiencing something very similar. We agreed to begin developing something small that we could make with the resources left over from making the feature. Conceptually, I wanted to explore the notion of getting married because it's a phase of life I will be entering soon. This idea of being finished with past relationships that once shaped and defined you lies at the heart of what I wanted to explore.
John T. Woods (Actor): I was looking to just make a film that had nice moments that people would enjoy watching. That's really it.
John T. Woods sings the title song in IFHY. |
Ryan: On the website you describe the filmmaking process here as a "radical collaboration" involving the three of you. How does that work exactly? Is it total improvisation?
Forsman: It's "radical" in the sense that the story and characters were developed by each of the key creative individuals on the project. There was no script so there was no writer. And as the director, I wasn't dictating what was "right" for the characters; I trusted that the actors knew their characters better than I did. And this method proved fruitful, resulting in a number of surprises no writer could have conjured. They had to be discovered in the moment, with the freedom to explore possibilities in front of the cameras.
Kerr: Yeah, the "radicalness" of the collaboration was just the fact that John and I as actors had a huge say in what the story would be and a lot of input in these characters, which is so unusual. We spent about two days discussing the basic framework of the story and really figuring out where John and I were coming from. But in the end, the dialogue was 100% improvised all the way up until the song part of the film. But even what we did after the song was improvised. We really didn't even know how this film would end. Which was the beautiful part of it, I think.
Woods: The best way to describe it for me was like being in a brainstorming session with equal colleagues whose first and foremost care was about the quality of the product rather than egos. So in that it becomes a true collaboration because everyone's focus is on the same goal. In this case, making the best short we could. The film was completely improvised and I've actually found it flattering that some people seem to think it's not.
Ryan: Was it difficult to work without a finished script ?
Kerr: No, not really. I mean that's always a nice thing to have, but it's just a different way of working. It's like film vs. stage. One isn't better, they are just different types of performance. But as I said before the fundamentals are really the same. And this way certainly has its perks, which can be a lot of fun. But I don't really prefer one over the other.
Woods: I'd have to agree with Marion on every point. It's not difficult if you're working with a director and other actors that you trust. It becomes fun and rewarding. It would be difficult if I was working with people I didn't trust as much.
Forsman: It should be stated that this is structured improv. There is a framework in place both in terms of story and the logistics of production. The difference, really, is a lack of scripted dialogue.
Jamie Cobb (co-producer): I think when you have two actors of Marion and John's caliber who are willing to just put it all out there with Zak's guidance, it makes it easier to work in improv. Each take has its own feeling and its own touch of magic. The actual difficulty with improv then comes in editorial process when you have to form and sculpt the best story possible.
Between scenes, Zak Forsman checks the shot as Marion Kerr looks on. |
Ryan: How did you keep ideas flowing during the production, Zak?
Forsman: People would be surprised at how little talking I do on set. Sometimes even I am surprised how little I have to say. And I think the reason is that by the time we go in front of the camera, everybody is on the same page. That's important. And that's where the ideas come from. We had the in-depth conversations and infinite "what ifs" to draw upon as we discussed backstory and character objectives in the days before the shoot. So there is a lot of preparation that goes into improv. It isn't luck. It's what happens when preparation, trust, opportunity and being present to the moment converge on set.
Ryan: Do you plan to tackle a feature-length film using the same techniques of improvisation?
Forsman: Oddly enough, we've already made two features that were highly improvised. My partner in Sabi Pictures, Kevin K. Shah, wrote and directed White Knuckles (2008) which will premiere on the festival circuit this year. And I wrote and directed Heart of Now which wrapped four weeks before we made IFHY. This is an unconventional way of working, but not unprecedented. Trust is the key to its success and I grow more and more experienced with it on each passing project. I'll never say never, but this is really the manner in which I expect to work for a long time
Ryan: The title of the short is derived from the lyrics of the song John performs for Marion at the climax of the film. Is it a risk using that title? Has it caused you any headaches?
Forsman: I've offered to screen it privately for some people who initially refused based on the title. Some make the presumption that it is some kind of "hate film." A few of them, after having seen it, connected with the characters like so many others have. They still had issues with the title of course. Which is fine. And the few times it has been rejected by a festival, I like to think it is for the title. Makes me feel better. My hometown festival in Harrisburg PA rejected me and that is a very conservative area. I'm thinking of resubmitting it next year as Bunnies and Hugs (and Rainbows).
Ryan: John, your performance of that title song is funny, angry, and desperate all at once. Did you rehearse a number of interpretations of the song before getting that performance right or was it a first take sort of thing?
Woods: I didn't rehearse it beforehand. I had to play it a few times so I could remember what the chords were. But when we were shooting, I just played the song a few different ways...with improved dialogue to give Zak a few different options. I didn't want to rehearse it too much because I wanted to utilize the same improv method with the song as we were with the rest of the film so that it was fresh and not staged.
Ryan: Marion, John gets to sing those over-the-top lines but, for me at least, it's your non-verbal reaction that's key to our emotional connection to the scene. Did you ever find yourself wishing your character would express herself through dialogue at that moment?
Kerr: Not really because, I mean, man, what would you even say in that moment? If this was happening to me in real life, I think I would have been just as flabbergasted. Honestly, the hardest thing for me to do in that scene was not to laugh. It's so funny, yet sad, it was hard to just not giggle through the whole thing.
Marion Kerr (trying not to laugh?) in IFHY. |
Ryan: There seems to be a theme in this short about the need to break through despair in order to begin an emotional transformation. Does that reflect your personal philosophy?
Woods: Sometimes I think it is necessary to put oneself on the line in order to come to terms with something in their life that's troubling them. I believe that.
Kerr: Yeah, I suppose when you are as heartbroken as he is--and I think she is, too--I think you need something like that in order to move beyond your own grief and feelings about what has happened.
Ryan: Despite that love/hate dynamic in the picture one gets the feeling that you're having a good time making a movie. Is filmmaking a joyful experience for you?
Woods: Yeah, I had a great time making the film. It was a completely worthwhile effort and I think the end product was amazing. I love filmmaking and honestly I think you have to love it or else I couldn't do it.
Kerr: I loved making this movie. It was short, sweet and something I could really throw myself into for just a few days. I loved thinking about the potential of these characters. I often wonder where these people would be now and what their relationship was like when they were a couple.
Cobb: Filmmaking should be a joyful experience; otherwise all of the energy invested would be a waste. Through the spontaneity of Zak's process we are always on our toes open to the possibility of something new and different happening in each take.
Ryan: So what's next for this short and for Sabi?
Forsman: IFHY is the guinea pig for our emerging self-distribution model. It will have a life on the festival circuit, building awareness, finding its audience. Then it will be available online as a special edition DVD or HD Digital Download. IFHY will serve as the experience we learn from before following suit with the features, White Knuckles and Heart of Now. As for upcoming productions, Kevin K. Shah, who I mentioned earlier, has a thriller set in small town Pennsylvania called Falling Roc that he is developing as our next project. And I have two features I'm writing titled Wanderlust and The New Pink. Both explore different aspects of the spiritual dimension of our sexual lives. Anyone can be kept up to date on festival screenings or dvd releases by signing up for our private mailing list at www.sabipictures.com.
