Rhode Island International Film Festival 2019 – Influence
Cal, a private school student struggling with his identity, starts to explore rebellion after his older brother suddenly drops out of college.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer/Editor Indy Dang
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Influence was my senior thesis film at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design). When our class was planning our thesis films, I knew I wanted it to be about the unique relationships that brothers have. My brother is a big part of my life. Growing up as an impressionable and closeted gay youth, it almost felt like I was steered down so much of my path by other people in my life, in good ways and bad. And I felt that my brother had perhaps the biggest influence on my decisions, hence the title. I wanted to make a film that captured that stage of youth.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think audiences should watch this film because everybody has somebody who is like a brother to them- somebody in your family who is your best friend, but somebody you also get into terrible, terrible fights with. Everyone has somebody that they share these extreme emotional highs and lows with. This film has those moments - some are funny and heartfelt and others are frustrating and emotional. The characters take this emotional, twist filled roller coaster ride throughout the film that I think audiences will find to be engaging and relatable.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Influence deals with the choices you make when you’re vulnerable. You have to make a lot of choices when you’re young. Cal (the brother through which the story is told) is 16 years old. Like all 16 year olds, he’s dealing with identity issues, crushes, academics and thinking about his future. So his choices aren’t going to be perfect, or even good. We were all this insecure, impressionable teenager at one point or another. I sometimes still feel like I am. The film is about how your environment affects, or “influences” these choices.
But at its root, I think the film is about unconditional familial love. No matter how jagged or imperfect your relationship to somebody is, you’ll still accept those flaws and love them because you care for them that deeply. It’s definitely about accepting your loved ones for who they are, even if they screwed up the night before.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I was really excited about the story and writing process of this film because I didn’t bind myself too closely to the script as I was directing it. This film for me was about creating genuine moments on screen, and less about watching words I wrote being spoken by actors. So sometimes we would just ditch the script and focus on what had to happen in the scene. While there are a lot of scenes that were done pretty closely to the script, there are a lot of nuggets of improvisation scattered throughout.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback I received has been incredible! So far, I’ve screened this at the RISD auditorium for our senior show and to a large group of my friends. The best kind of feedback has been when people tell me that their relationship to their brother was similar to the one in the film. I’ve also received great feedback on the technical aspects of the film - and while it is a given that films should look and sound great, it’s extremely hard to make that happen, especially as a student filmmaker. That kind of response also means the world to my crew and I.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Sometimes, after working on a film for about eight months, you get so deep into the technical process of making the film that it numbs you to the fact that you’re going to make an impact on others with your art. Without giving too much away, there’s a pretty emotional scene in the film that people had come up to me about, telling me that it moved them to tears. I’d watched the scene so much during the editing process that I had almost forgotten why I put the scene there, and the story I was trying to tell. So to know that the scene was actually resonating emotionally with many people was surprising and validating, and reminded me that this story was actually worth telling.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’m hoping to get more people to see the film! I’m trying to do the most I can do to honor the countless hours that my cast and crew spent making it. We Are Moving Stories is really admirable for aiming to specifically amplify the voices of underrepresented filmmakers - women, people of color and queer voices. I identify with two of those groups, so I’m here to show that there is an increasingly diverse landscape of film artists who are telling their stories.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I would definitely love the film to get in front of more festival audiences before it finds its new life online. I’m also planning to submit it to a lot of LGBTQ+ festivals- we need more queer films that aren’t about romance because being queer bleeds beyond your romantic life.
On the topic of producers - every time I make a short, I can’t help but envision it as a feature. In the case of both of the largest films I’ve made so far, I feel like they’re bursting at the seams, dying to become a feature length film. If a producer came up to me and proposed to finance a feature length version of Influence, let’s just say I wouldn’t say no. Yes, the short stands on its own but some themes invite deeper exploration. And there’s so much good material from my life of my brother and I making questionable decisions!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I’m hoping that the film makes audiences want to hug their siblings and their loved ones!
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How has your family shaped who you are?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I have a few scripts brewing, but being two months post-grad, it’s too soon to tell if any of them will see the light of day. What I can tell you is that this creative is working on finding a job!
Interview: August 2019
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
Influence
Cal, a private school student struggling with his identity, starts to explore rebellion after his older brother suddenly drops out of college.
Length: 28:32
Director: Indy Dang
Producer: Indy Dang
Writer: Indy Dang
About the writer, director and producer:
INDY DANG is a filmmaker from San Jose, California and a recent graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design. He believes that some of the most powerful stories happen in our hometowns. Indy loves every part of the filmmaking process, but particularly enjoys directing, writing and producing.
Key cast: Kyle Brier (Cal), Samuel Blustein (Landon), Alexander De Vasconcelos Matos (Jackson), Callie Beaulieu (June), George Vezina (Greg), David Wingate (Roy)
Looking for: journalists, film festival directors, producers, distributors
Twitter: @indydang
Instagram: @indystagram
Hashtags used: #influence
Website: www.indydang.com
Other: Vimeo
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Rhode Island International Film Festival / The Vets Cinemateque (1 Ave of the Arts, Providence, RI 02903) - August 11, 2019 12:30pm