1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?

I grew up in a suburb just outside of Philadelphia, so my world always felt very expansive and full of possibilities as well as very insular and like I was destined to remain in the same place forever. I can never really pinpoint a specific moment in my life when I decided to be a filmmaker. I was always interested in storytelling, but filmmaking was never on my mind until about midway through high school. It just never even felt like a real thing. However, before that, I did a lot of different things growing up that I really think informed my filmmaking not just in practice, but in simply experiencing a full life. There was something special about pulling up to choir rehearsal in my basketball uniform underneath a Hollister hoodie. Switching my medium, and selling the music equipment I got for a Canon 5D because I couldn't figure out the Fruity Loops interface. It all informs my filmmaking because now I score my films, and I compose the images, and I work with my actors, so I feel I've spent my entire life building my way up to becoming a filmmaker.

2) What was the initial idea and how did it evolve from there?

The initial idea was just about the shirt, and how something that simple could illustrate the conflict between the two generations. But I also feel that usually these kinds of coming-of-age, or coming out, films are about the younger generation's realization, and I wanted to experiment with that. I wanted the son to already have a firm grasp on his identity, and for the father to have to deal with a reckoning. When I first start working on a film, I usually just absorb a lot of information and stories and visuals. The summer before I began working on the film I read Turgenev's 'Fathers & Sons', and that air of unhinged, youthful confidence really struck me, because one could really lose it with the shifting of the times. I also went back to watch some of my favorite Ozu films like Tokyo Story and An Autumn Afternoon, and noticed how there is always a big event that never occurs on screen. His stories are always about the drama unfolding around the event, which propelled the idea of the birthday party for me.  

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And generally what part of the creative process do you enjoy the most?

I always have to say that writing the film is the most difficult part of the process. Especially when you have so many ideas in your head that would really serve as many different films. Filtering those thoughts is the toughest part. I actually thought I had a pretty great final draft of the script, but after we casted I went to Japan for two weeks and rewrote the entire thing from scratch. That being said though, every aspect of filmmaking can be so difficult and frustrating. Just as well, every aspect of filmmaking can be the most invigorating and joyful experience I've ever known. I can't say I love being on set more than I love cutting. I can't say I love cutting more than I love writing. Actually, in a lot of ways, every part of the filmmaking process is just writing another draft. 

4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?

I recently watched 'The Human Condition', a 9.5 hour epic Japanese film trilogy by Masaki Kobayashi on Criterion. I couldn't believe that I had never even heard of it before. It's an extremely tragic story following a leftist war objector named Kaji (played by the unbelievably handsome Tatsuya Nakadai) as his ideas are in direct conflict with the state, and he is eventually turned into their best soldier, and what happens in the aftermath of Japan losing the war. Every single second was masterfully crafted. 

5) What’s next for you?

I'm currently working on two films: A short film that I'm going to shoot this summer called Essence of a Flower and my first feature length film titled I'm All Laughed Out. We originally planned on shooting I'm All Laughed Out this August but Covid had other plans. That being said, we're casted and working to make it great. You can follow updates on it on Instagram at @LaughedOutFilm.

—

http://cinemachad.com

IG/Twitter: @cinemachad