Big Apple Film Festival - Adherence
Over the course of one day in an inpatient psychiatric ward, we witness the intertwined stories of a man on the verge of discharge, an Orthodox Jew whose newborns have strained her marriage, and a man whose treatment at the hands of the mental health system has devastating consequences.
Interview with Writer/Director Mav Block
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Well, thank you! I always wanted to tell an emotionally True story about mental illness – and specifically, the experience in an inpatient psychiatric ward. Over the past six years I’ve written more scripts on these subjects than I care to think about, but I didn’t consider any of them to do their subject matter justice. Until Adherence. In this way, one might say I made the film to make sense of the confounding experiences and perpetual struggle many people I love suffer through, that I bear as well, in the manner I knew best.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think of two reasons: one, if you chase extreme emotions you will be sure to find them in spades; two, if you want an honest representation of a world I hope you are lucky enough to never see.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
With empathy, is there any distinction? I don’t think so. What does one do when confronted with an insurmountable obstacle?
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
The script evolved significantly all the way up until production. I have a habit of rewriting along with the audition and rehearsal processes. While there were small scene changes made on-set, content changes on-set pale in comparison to rehearsal. Editorial is really where the film is made. There is a montage, for instance, intercutting between the three protagonists – the thought to do that didn’t even exist until editorial. Throughout the course of making the film, the fundamental change was from a script that was an impression, to one that was an expression: sometimes a few lies are necessary to tell something emotionally true. This is a transformation that was reinforced at each step in the filmmaking process, consistently balancing the dramatic needs of the visceral experience required with the facts and circumstances of the world being represented taken outside the rectangular window of a movie screen.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
“Hard-to-watch – in a good way.” That’s my favorite.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
While testing various cuts, it appeared people showed a preference for either the Daniel storyline or the Maddy/Charlie storyline. For some reason that didn’t seem to be as much the case with the finished film. That said, Adherence represents the first film I’ve made where the audience reaction and feedback has been largely in line with my own. What I do find interesting is how certain scenes in the film – say, one, in which Charlie rides the line between sexually aggressive behavior and sexual assault – revealed generational gaps in thought and definition in the audience: most people I spoke to under the age of 30 believed Charlie had committed sexual assault, whereas most people I spoke to over the age of 30 just thought he was being an ass. To me, being able to find and expose these conceptual fault-lines that are so deeply ingrained on an individual level, that dictate our behavior towards others…I mean, shit, that’s a good part of the goal, isn’t it?
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’m a narcissist, what can I say! I want eyeballs. In all seriousness, this is an age in which it is easier to create than ever before. It is easier to distribute than ever before. But it has never been harder to get notice (obviously, there are exceptions, and the more niche something is the easier in this respect). There is probably the same amount of signal as there always has been – but exponentially more noise. I don’t think of my work as noise, and so I just want to boost the signal as much as I possibly can.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
There are some festivals we have yet to hear back from, but obviously I would love to have the film play as much as possible – anywhere and everywhere. The most important thing is audience, audience, audience, and only audience. There’s no point of making art – particularly films – except to reach as many viewers as you are able to. Otherwise filmmaking is just about the most expensive form of masturbation. I would love to speak to anyone – festival directors, journalists, distributors, and so on – who could help the film find new audiences and amplify its effect. Moreover, as the projects I have up my sleeve grow larger and more varied, requiring greater planning and commitment, I am always on the lookout for insightful producers and other artistic collaborators.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I want to make people laugh uncomfortably and then cry.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
It comes back to an earlier question, that of theme: what does one do when faced with an insurmountable obstacle?
Would you like to add anything else?
First – simply to say thank you for reaching out to me to feature Adherence on We Are Moving Stories. It has been a pleasure to answer these questions about the film; moreover, I find these kinds of questions heartening: so often I see filmmakers, at every level, peppered with questions forcing them to interpret their own work for an audience, which I strongly believe is to the audience’s detriment. I would urge whoever has read this to see the film – whether at a festival or even by reaching out individually for a private link – and to question the representation of mental illness at all levels of film, and all levels of culture.
Even today there are representations of mental illness and inpatient psychiatric wards hailed for their supposed accuracy that couldn’t be further from the truth. This does not only perpetuate misconceptions and stereotypes – harming individuals – on a cultural level, but it deprives audiences of the mind-bending, cathartic, emotionally-True experiences they turn to films for in the first place.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Great question. I’m in the revision process of a feature-length screenplay, and have been toying with making another short film. That said I’ve been preoccupied with photography and planning some smaller projects that fall somewhere in the new genres / new media realm. Everyone is off on their own path through the art and media worlds, whether that is applying to law school, working at production and distribution companies, preparing to make their thesis film at NYU, or shooting out in LA.
Interview: November 2016
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Adherence
Over the course of one day in an inpatient psychiatric ward, we witness the intertwined stories of a man on the verge of discharge, an Orthodox Jew whose newborns have strained her marriage, and a man whose treatment at the hands of the mental health system has devastating consequences.
Length: 20:14
Director: Mav Block
Producer: Devin Tusa, Mav Block, Cat Hobbs
Writer: Mav Block
About the writer, director and producer:
Mav Block graduated NYU Tisch’s film program in September and briefly trained at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre. http://www.mavblock.com
Devin Tusa will imminently graduate NYU Tisch’s film program, and has produced an inhuman number of films, music videos, and commercials while there.
Cat Hobbs is a graduate of NYU Tisch’s film program, and is a creative executive at The Weinstein Company.
Key cast:
Daniel – David Riley
Maddy – Alexandra Gellner
Charlie – Max Woertendyke
Nurse Nate – Jesse Means
Dr. Sera – Lizzy Plimpton
Young Nurse – Kristin Granade
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Distributors and film festival directors interested in finding new audiences for the film, journalists interested in writing about it, and insightful producers who are curious about future projects.
Funders:
A combination of self-funding and crowd-funding funneled into Block-Hobbs, the production company vehicle for my past couple of films.
Made in association with:
OldRiver Productions, Devin’s production company.
Where can I see it in the next month?
Adherence will be screening on Sunday, November 13th as part of the FirstGlance Film Festival in Philadelphia. The screening is 3:30pm at the Painted Bride Art Center. Tickets: http://firstglancefilms.com/tickets/.
After that, it will play the Williamsburg Independent Film Festival on Sunday, November 20th in Williamsburg, New York City. The screening is5pm at the Wythe Hotel Cinema. Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2709531.