Dances With Films 18 Audience Award TV Pilots - Yellow
Ten characters interweave over the course of a seemingly ordinary afternoon in an art gallery as each encounters a crossroads in their lives…
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Sarah Deakins
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! I made “Yellow” because I’ve always been interested in how people connect and how they struggle to connect. The setting of an art gallery allows for a more intimate and self reflective space where I felt the characters would be more open to connection than they perhaps are in their outside worlds.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
“Yellow” is definitely a performance based film with incredible actors doing great character work. I still fall in love with them every time I watch it and I hope you do too. I think you will care deeply what happens to them after they leave this space, and perhaps the piece will also cause you to reflect on your own human connections and give you the time to breathe through these wonderful characters as they struggle through this path changing afternoon in the art gallery…
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The personal themes are those of connecting with other human beings through art and how art can help us connect with one another on a deeper level. The universal themes of that human connection play out through several of the characters in the piece experiencing the struggles, joys, sadness and triumphs of the human spirit during the course of the piece, and in particular, one character, The Poet, has a particularly specific perspective that echoes through the piece and is beautifully brought home by the actor who plays him, Ryan Robbins, in the ending monologue. I hope you will experience something akin to the August Rodin quote, “The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live”.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script was written with several specific actor friends in mind, so in writing for them, not much changed. I was deliberately crafting something that would both move me and play to each actor’s personal strengths. I did five sets of minor rewrites based on a few generous writer friends who read and gave feedback, and then there were a few changes on the day as there always are, and in post-production.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We just received the Audience Award in the TV Pilots section at Dances With Films and it was quite magical to hear the feedback after that first screening. I knew, going in, that this was a quieter, gentler piece, requiring people to lean in, and I was quite certain it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it was mine, so I didn’t worry about that. But the feedback after that first screening was so positive, heartwarming, and specific; each person I talked to brought up specific moments where they were moved or surprised and that was so gratifying. It’s still early days, and we’ve only had the one screening, but I feel confident it will go on to move people that are open to being moved, and possibly make others uncomfortable, but that is the purpose of art!
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Nothing yet has challenged my POV; the surprises come from which specific things people respond to the most, due to their own personal perspectives. Another nice surprise was when Ryan Robbins, who plays the “Poet”, received a Leo Award for his performance in “Yellow” last month in Vancouver. That felt like pretty great feedback!
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
First of all, I love your name! “Moving Stories” has a great double meaning and my hope for this piece is that it goes on to move many more people, and helps get us the attention to gain financing and move forward with the remaining six anthology episodes that will complete our first season!
Who do you need to come on board to amplify this film’s message?
Film festival directors, journalists, and down the line, a streaming network for the whole series!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would hope that “Yellow” makes people feel and think and smile and weep and connect deeper to their own humanity. These are the kinds of films/shows I love to watch and I hope others will respond to this deeper connection being asked of them.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
“What happens to them all after this…?” So many viewers have asked me what happens next, and I love that this piece ends in a bunch of beginnings, which causes the audience to start musing about where they think it will go next. These particular characters do not carry on in subsequent episodes (it being an anthology series) but I’ve left room in season two to bring them back in in various ways, so we’ll see how far this goes…!
Would you like to add anything else?
I’d like to send a shout out to all our Kickstarter and private investors! We literally couldn’t have made the piece in the way that we did without their generosity and support. The hardest part of indie filmmaking is finding the money, and we are most grateful for their belief in us and for coming on the journey with us. We also had an incredible group of people who came out to work for three days on little to no money, and we cannot thank them enough!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am currently developing the rest of the anthology series, “In Person”, that “Yellow” is the pilot presentation for. The series first season consists of seven episodes, one for each color of the rainbow. Each episode will stand alone as a film unto itself, but all together, “In Person”, illustrates a running theme of how different art forms connect us to our humanity and allow us to connect with each other in deeper and more meaningful ways.
Interview: June 2018
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. 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
Yellow
Ten characters interweave over the course of a seemingly ordinary afternoon in an art gallery as each encounters a crossroads in their lives…
Length: 34:30
Director: Sarah Deakins
Producer: Sarah Deakins, Julia Benson, Arielle Boisvert
Writer: Sarah Deakins
About the writer, director and producer:
SARAH DEAKINS is a multi award winning actor, writer, director, and is a graduate of the U-Vic theatre program and has extensive stage and screen credits. Yellow is her fourth piece of produced writing and her second as the director. She is in development with multi award winning Brightlight Pictures’ Shawn Williamson and Arielle Boisvert, and Producer Julia Benson on the rest of the “In Person” series.
Key cast: Adrian Holmes, Kacey Rohl, Mylene Dinh-Robic, Kyra Zagorsky, Sarah Deakins, Stephanie Belding, Alanis Peart, Ben Ayres, Michael Shanks, Ryan Robbins
Looking for: film festival directors, journalists, network creatives (to pitch series to)
Social media handles: Sarah Deakins
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YELLOWthepilot
Twitter: @YELLOWthefilm1
Funders: Raised over 20K on Kickstarter and Brightlight Pictures put in finishing and post costs.
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? We are waiting on more festivals and will keep you in the loop!