The Double Life of Hugh
Hugh (Nate Ruth) and his father Hugo (Colin Allen) have very different ideas about what it means to be a mime.
Interview with Writer/Director Ben Tobin
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
During film school I took a class on directing commercials. The idea I ended up executing involved a father and son mime duo. There ended up being a lot more story to the characters than anticipated, and while we were shooting the spec commercial I ended up having these discussions with the actors about all of the things we could possibly do with the characters. Everything from samurai mimes to pirate mimes. The film ended up being about the relationship between a father and son, and the son growing away from the father and finding his own identity. The commercial was a great deal of fun to shoot, and I think we all wanted to go back to this world of mimes.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It's a film about a father and son mime duo, what's not to like?
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I think one of the big themes was identity, and finding your own identity. When we shot the commercial the tone was very different because the actor who played Hugh was still a kid, and when we shot the longer film he'd grown into a teenager, which obviously changed the familial dynamic with the father. Having Hugh rebel against his father rather than having a playfully combative stage act moved the film into a more interesting direction. The other big theme is family––in this case fathers and sons. There's sort of ying and yang element to the relationship where Hugh and Hugo are connected and they care for each other, but there's also a great deal of discord.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script really evolved quite a lot over the course of the development and shooting. I ended up capturing unplanned moments, and certain performance beats and props ended up having more of an influence since everything was based around the silent performances of the mimes. Originally there was a whole other plot thread involving the son mime, Hugh, falling in love with a human statue and that being the reason he starts growing away from his father. We shot that material, but it ended up feeling like a different movie tonally, and it was a lot of information to have to convey that Hugh and his dad had this difficult relationship and then also tell a love story that was fairly removed from the father/son dynamic. There were a number of improvised moments that changed the story. It ended up feeling almost like a documentary in some ways.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
So far there's been positive feedback. It's a family comedy, and it's a silent film so it's pretty universally accessible. The issues presented are fairly simple and relate to what most every family goes through, the push and pull of connectivity and the dissonance of a child trying to find their own way in the world and forge their own path.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I've definitely gotten some interesting perspectives to think about. I think since the film, even though it has a very silent-movie esque nature, is fairly open-ended and it invites people to put themselves in shoes of the characters. The bizarre cocktail of mimes with family drama and coming of age story...turning familiar tropes on their heads...it doesn't stop people from identifying with the situation of being a rebelling teenager and being a parent trying to parent and protect the child.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I'm hoping to actually expand on this concept and go back in and make it something bigger.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Distributors, festival directors, buyers, producers...I'd love to meet with anyone who felt like the story was worthy of taking a deeper dive. I have a larger vision for what could happen that I hope will come to life one day.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope that it travels far and that people will laugh and that it will lead to more stories with Hugh and Hugo.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
I think it goes right to the question of nature versus nature, and also what does a relationship look like with one's child? We see the father trying to mold his son into himself basically, and we see Hugh trying to accept that but also forge his own identity away from his father.
Would you like to add anything else?
One of the things that emerged during the course of making the film was what Hugh's rebellion would look like. It's a bit of a strange joke, but the idea is that we took the trope of the teenager in the coming of age story who rebels by doing something shocking and asked what that would look like for a full time mime. The inspiration ended up being George Clooney in The Descendents. I remember reading an interview with the director where he discussed the humor of the scene where Clooney is running through suburban Hawaii in sandals and this kind of boring suburban getup...it's this contrast to the characters we typically see Clooney play...that's where the humor came from.
One of the big things I like to play with is contrasts, and because Hugh is already in the circus his act of rebellion is instead to run away to something predictable. It ended up being a really wonderful contrast having the colorful stage lights and the classic mime getup with Hugh essentially dressing like a caricature of a suburban dad (how he thinks non-mimes dress) in a fanny pack and high waisted pants. Hugh's a little like the little mermaid finding something miraculous about a fork. He has no idea how to engage with the world outside of being a mime, and that comes down a lot to living in his father's world for so long. I really loved those moments of "discovery" for Hugh because they are so whimsical. The actor did a great job portraying the pure delight he finds in these new experiences and discovering something that's just his. My favorite part was really seeing Hugh and his father come together at the end and they accept each other even though it's not perfect. It's not a healed divide but they can still be family.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm working still on a short family film about a boy who encounters a jackalope in 1952.
Interview: August 2021
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
The Double Life of Hugh
Length:
8:58
Writer/Director/Producer
Ben Tobin is a filmmaker from Western Massachusetts. A graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, Tobin returned to Massachusetts to make documentaries about various artists living and working in the Hilltown region of the state. Ben has recently completed the cinematography track at Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema.
Key cast:
Nate Ruth, Colin Allen
Looking for:
film festival directors, producers, distributors
Social media
https://twitter.com/NewfzillaProduc
https://www.instagram.com/newfzillaproductions/?hl=en
More info:
https://www.newfzillaproductions.com/the-double-life-of-hugh
Where can I watch it now?
The Double Life of Hugh will be showing at KidsFirst Film Festival and the Universal Kids Film Festival.