What was the first LGBTQ+ film you saw that had an impact on you? 

 

On my first ever date with a man, I took him to see Pedro Almodovar’s Bad Education. I must have been trying to come across as edgy by picking a queer, foreign film. But I was only one foot out of the closet door and I remember the movie feeling quite sexually explicit at the time. So there I was, sitting with my popcorn,  not quite ready to come out but on a date with a guy anyway,  already nervous, watching Gael Garcia Bernal emerge from a swimming pool in see-through, wet underwear, walking into the lens of the camera, and I was feeling way in over my head. It was overwhelming and so awkward and kind of amazing. Definitely left an impact. 

 

What was your first day on set like, any big inspiring speeches?

 

It’s funny you should ask because I’m not a big speech kind of guy. But our great first AD Dayyaan Jameel kept asking how much time he should set aside in the schedule for an opening day speech. Whenever I told him I wasn’t planning on giving one, he would just kind of look at me blankly and be like… “But you’re going to say something, right? You have to say something, right?” And eventually that got into my head and I caved and gave a little speech. I had worked with the same production crew on my first movie, and even though we shot Lunar Sway on the opposite side of Canada, we flew everyone across the country to keep them together.  So I gave a cheesy little speech about why that had been so important to me and how I didn’t want to walk onto set and see anyone else’s faces but theirs'. But it was very true. I don’t take for granted how lucky I am to work with a crew that is both so skilled at what they do but also brings the right attitude to set. I never even considered the possibility of working with a different crew.

 

Can you tell me a little bit about how Lunar Sway came about, what was the inspiration behind your screenplay?

 

I’d had the basic premise in mind for many years. But I pictured a very different version of the movie. One that felt like something I would watch but had no interest in making. And then, a couple years ago, I was in an unrequited love situation. Not the first time that has happened. And I was giving a lot of thought to this pattern in my life of looking for love in all the wrong places. And something about this premise kept coming back to me. So I took the basic idea and started from scratch. New setting, new characters, different tone and visual aesthetic. And from there it just all came together quite quickly. 

 

If you could describe “Cliff” in one sentence what would you say?

 

Cliff is someone who is very vulnerable and sensitive but wants the world to think he’s a tough guy.

 

When writing a screenplay like this do you draw inspiration from your own life?

 

Always. I don’t write straight autobiography, it’s usually more metaphorical. But it’s always inspired by lived experiences. I can relate to something essential in each character.  That being said, I also love to find something universal in a character whose life may be very different than mine on a superficial level. I think that’s important for an audience and for a filmmaker. But whenever you sit down to write you’re reaching all around your memory for anything useable. It all comes from something real. Sometimes very directly and other times it’s translated into a metaphor.

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How much does your background in casting help you as a writer / director?  

 

Casting has been a great learning experience for me as a director because it’s given me such an up-close view at how different directors work and what habits to emulate and which to avoid. And pre-pandemic I would spend hours in the audition room some days so that helped me practice how to communicate with actors, which is an aspect of directing I continue to learn more about.

 

What was the most challenging aspect of bringing Lunar Sway to life?

 

Making Lunar Sway was in some was one of the best experiences of my life and in some ways one of the most challenging. So it was complicated. But the short version is we had a lot of issues around money which came down to inexperience. We had to fire a number of people along the way for mishandling spending and we ended up going over budget. There were a lot of consequences to those mistakes that continue to follow me to this day. But I learned a lot of lessons that will shape how I approach the next one and so maybe it was necessary to go through that.  And it’s a testament to the talent of our cast and crew that these issues never derailed the movie. They so easily could have.

 

Had you always planned on editing Lunar Sway, how did you balance all these creative roles?

 

No, I was actually very trepidatious about editing it myself. I have done a fair bit of editing in the past but never considered myself a true editor. But on my first feature, I found the post production process was frustratingly rushed and the financial cost of a long editing process is just not possible on a low budget indie. So I decided to cut it myself and I’m so glad I did. I loved the process so much and it was a lot of fun to wake up every day and play with the footage. I had a lot of help from our assistant editor Emmet Lee who was on location ingesting and organizing all the footage and idiot-proofing it for me. I also got a lot of feedback on every cut along the way.  But giving myself time to experiment and and play around was not only creatively fulfilling but benefited the movie.  I made some significant changes many months into the editing process that I don’t think we ever would have landed at during a regular, seven week editing period. Whether or not I edit the next one I definitely will give post production the time it needs.​