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Your new movie No
Choice - in a few words, what's it about? No Choice
follows a young woman’s struggle to get healthcare in a US-state where
abortion is banned. Amy is struggling to build a better life for herself,
working and pursuing an education while supporting her opioid-addicted
mother. When a condom breaks, she becomes pregnant, and starts having
terrifying, surreal nightmares about her situation. Of course, the real
nightmare is her waking life, where reactionary political forces have
criminalized what used to be routine healthcare.
What were your sources of inspiration when writing
No Choice, and is the
film to any degree based on personal experiences? Like many
people, I was shocked by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v.
Wade. Even in this time of regression and reaction, I didn’t expect that
essential rights would be rolled back so quickly and decisively. As
always, we know that injustice falls unevenly: women from states with
abortion bans can travel to get care only if they have the money, the job
flexibility, the social support. So I imagined a young woman, living in
poverty, working at a low wage job, struggling to get an education and
build a better life. I imagined her getting pregnant and knowing that a
baby would put an end to her hopes and dreams. I imagined her troubled
relationship with her mother, her frightening encounters with the harsh
treatment that healthcare and legal systems visit on the most vulnerable.
Having imagined this character, I became frightened for her. Her life and
situation seemed like a living nightmare. Then, hitting on this idea of a
waking dream, I wondered “what are her dreams telling her when she’s
asleep?” Our dream life is one of the places we find truth. I have always
dreamed vividly, and I believe that cinema as a medium owes much to
dreams. This vision of a real-world nightmare is the kernel of the film.
To that degree can you actually identify with Amy and the torturous
journey she's on? Because I’m a man, I will obviously never
need an abortion. But just because men have that luxury doesn’t mean that
they can ignore this issue. I deeply believe that men need to speak up
too. Some of the new state laws are so harsh and threatening that doctors
fear performing abortions even to save a woman’s life. So I passionately
believe that men owe it to the women in their lives—to all women—to play
their part in the struggle for gender justice and abortion rights. I feel
the same way about inequality. I believe that inequality in America is too
extreme and unfair. Doing something about these problems is everyone’s
responsibility. So the importance of these issues moved me to write this
story. After the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, I found myself
imagining the struggle of a young woman with an unplanned pregnancy,
working a minimum wage job, impoverished, trying to build a better life,
but unable to get the care she needs in a state where abortion care is
banned. Imagining her life and her struggle moved me to write this story.
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Your film is a rather original
mix of social drama and horror - now how did that blend fall together?
Many of the films which speak most directly to our troubled time are
socially inflected horror films like Get Out. It’s no coincidence that
Jordan Peele expresses his genius so vividly in both comedy and horror,
because those two genres are two different styles of building up and
releasing tension to provoke an emotional response – in one case laughter,
in the other, fear. Bold strokes and exaggeration make for powerful
satire, imaginatively exposing vital truths. Unfortunately, not every
social horror is as good as Get Out, because the
essential unreality of a horror film’s premise risks distracting people
from its moral message. In No Choice,
I wanted to try something different: to tell a realistic story in which
the main character’s real life is like living in a horror movie. There’s
nothing exaggerated or unreal or campy about the nightmare of her everyday
life. The movie’s horror tropes and vivid dream sequences just underscore
how her day-to-day reality is truly a nightmare. But if the film is a
drama at its core, it’s because the humanity of its characters drives the
story. Hannah Deale, who plays the leading role does a superb job of
portraying the main character and her strained relationships to the people
in her life, even her mother (brilliantly played by Jennifer Herzog), and
her best friend (wonderfully played by Robert Denzel Edwards). We see her
struggle and we admire her determination.
What can you tell us about your overall directorial approach
to your story at hand? When I have an idea for a film, it
usually comes in a flash – the whole vision, the shape of the story, the
style – becomes clear all in one go. At the same time, films are made of
other films, and there is much to learn from what has come before. When I
write, I also make time to watch two or even three films a night, as much
for differentiation as for inspiration. (If you’re curious, you can see a
partial list of the films that influenced No Choice
on Letterboxd.) People talk about stories having a structure, and that
architectural metaphor is very useful. But I prefer to think of stories as
mechanisms that wind up tension and then release it. They are driven by
movement, action and reaction, change over time, and they aim for
emotional impact. And when a story isn’t working properly, I try to adjust
it so it has more impact. I also find it essential to remain open to
spontaneous revelations. When I’m writing and a character suddenly does
something that surprises me, it’s an amazing gift. This is my first
feature film, and on the set of No Choice,
one of the things that satisfied me most was when an actor did something
unexpected, true, and better than what I imagined when I wrote the script
or planned the shots.
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You also appear in front of
the camera - so what can you tell us about your character, and have you
written him with yourself in mind from the get-go? There’s
a long tradition of directors giving themselves small, unsavory roles – in
this case, I partly did it to economize, since we were working on a small
budget. But Hayden Frank, who does a great job playing Seth, and I have
been acting together since we were in middle school, so doing that scene
together was a fun throwback.
Do talk about the rest of your cast, and why exactly these people?
Our cast is outstanding. Hannah Deale, who played Amy, the
protagonist, was superb, and her imagination, intelligence, and heart
brilliantly depicted Amy’s vulnerability and determination. We cast Hannah
off an open call, and if we hadn’t found her we would not have been able
to make the movie. Jennifer Herzog, as Amy’s mother Debra, beautifully
portrayed the intimacy and pain of their fraught mother-daughter
relationship. Jennifer and I have known each other since she was an Ithaca
College student co-directing at a local theater where I was a teenage
actor. Robert Denzel Edwards, as Lucas, brought a warmth and humor to an
otherwise bleak story, on- and off-screen – I know the whole cast was
grateful for his presence. As I said, Hayden Frank and I have been acting
together since we were young, and I wrote the part of Seth with him in
mind – he helped me deepen and complicate the character in important ways
which made the film significantly better. I also wrote the character of
Dr. McAnnis for my friend Maria Prudente, confident I could count on her
to make it her own. She does such a great job of evoking her character’s
moral dilemma, which she has also written about beautifully. Finally, Adam
Ratcliffe brought a dimension to the role of Randy which adds sympathy to
the role of the unsupportive boss. We took care to tell a story where
everyone is human, with flaws and redeeming qualities, and our wonderful
actors made it possible.
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A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set
atmosphere? This is my first feature film. We wrapped
production just a year after I first had the idea for the script. Because
we had a very tight timeline and a truly tiny budget, I realized that the
only way would be able to pull it off was to shoot it in my hometown,
Ithaca, New York, where we had friends, neighbors, and connections to the
local acting community. We also brought some unbelievably talented people
to Ithaca from New York City. Our amazing team of women and men included
first-timers learning on the job, student interns, volunteers, and
post-production professionals who generously worked at discounted rates.
We shot using mostly borrowed equipment on sets we hammered together
inside an out-of-business grocery store. We were improvising constantly.
It was a skin-of-our teeth operation, but we had a lot of fun. Working
with my family is one of the great joys and privileges of my life. I’m
lucky to have amazingly supportive parents, who believed in me and
encouraged me since I was a child. Through trial and error, we figured out
how to produce this movie together, and I will always cherish that time,
from the long days of preproduction scrounging props and set decorations,
to the final edits and test screenings. I was also lucky to get to work
with my cousin Shannon, an experienced producer of documentaries and
reality TV, whose skills and creativity added so much. My wife Fariha has
also been extraordinarily supportive, loving, patient, encouraging, and
helpful. Cousins, aunts and uncles, friends, and friends of friends all
contributed to this labor of love. Of course, there were challenges. The
roof of the building where we shot the film was leaky, and we feared a
heavy rain would flood our sets and ruin our equipment! My dad and I are a
great team of producers, but we sure aren’t known as handymen. We spent a
lot of time trying to waterproof the building, with limited success.
Fortunately, some more experienced folks helped us fix the problem. My
mother was a producer and our production manager. What was most amazing
was the tremendous dedication of the whole team. The long hours and hard
work were fueled not just by Red Bull and coffee, but also by passion for
our craft and a conviction that a good film can make a difference in the
world. I am eternally grateful to the cast and crew for its creativity and
devotion. I want to single out our director of photography, Alex
Podolyanchùk, whose experience and patience and above-and-beyond work made
the film possible. He is incredible, and he made every single shot more
beautiful than I could ever have dreamed of.
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The $64-question of course, where can
No Choice be seen?
No Choice
will have its international premiere at Gasp! Horror Festival in
Manchester, U.K., on Sunday June 29! Beyond that, people will have to wait
for our distribution deal to be finalized – stay tuned!
Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception
of No Choice?
Our critical reception so far has been outstanding. It’s very
gratifying to find that both critics and audiences are responding to our
Amy’s story and picking up on both the message we wanted to deliver and
also the artistry of the film.
Any future projects you'd like to share?
Right now, I'm completing the screenplay for my next film. It's a period
piece which follows a small group of artists caught up in the worst of
times. Their country has been captured by an oppressive regime. They are
imprisoned, half-starved, forced to work. They may not survive. But they
make art anyway. They find inspiration in ideals. In each other. In the
practice of creation. They find hope. It's a true story. I look forward to
getting the chance to tell it.
What got you into filmmaking in the sirst place, and did you
receive any formal training on the subject? Since
before I can remember I’ve been making up stories, acting them out,
writing them down, and directing (sometimes unwilling) siblings and
cousins. I’ve been making films since I first got my hands on a video
camera, and writing and directing plays since I first stepped on a stage.
Later on, I studied comparative literature, wrote and staged plays, made a
short film in college. I worked for years in Hollywood script development
and sold screenplays. But I never attended film school
Filmmakers who inspire you?
Too many to name. For this project, the most relevant influences are the
great low-budget self-starters – Spike Lee, Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Smith
– even though it’s stylistically very different from their first films. Your favourite
movies?
I’ll mention one that’s relevant to
No Choice. Today,
horror is the genre that best captures our social conditions. In the
1950s, the Western was the genre that spoke to that era of censorship,
paranoia, conformity, and geopolitical dread. The 1952 masterpiece
High Noon – in many
ways a commentary on McCarthyism – features Gary Cooper as Will Kane, the
sheriff of a small town whose citizens turn their backs on him in his hour
of need. Ultimately, his wife Amy, played by Grace Kelly, is the only
person with the guts to take action and save him. Like Will Kane, our main
character is failed by her community, as the ticking clock relentlessly
moves toward her hour of reckoning. Because this film has these elements
of High Noon,
I named the character Amy Wilkins (Will-Kane). ... and of course, films you really
deplore? Let’s not go there! Your/your movie's website, social media,
whatever else?
http://nochoicemovie.com
http://hilgartnerproductions.com
https://www.instagram.com/nochoicemovie/
https://www.instagram.com/hilgartnerproductions/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565448358460
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093992591642 Thanks
for the interview!
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