“Seven Dreams,” directed by Anthony Oberbeck, shows us the life of a nervous comedian who sneaks into movie theaters to perform his stand-up act. We asked Oberbeck how the idea started, what it was like performing in front of unsuspecting audiences, and mixing real with surreal…

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

I grew up moving around a lot, I lived in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Barbados until I was thirteen and then we ended up in Missouri. So instead of ever making friends I read a lot, watched a lot of movies, wandered around playing pretend. I'd write short stories too, I wanted to be a writer ever since I was a little kid. And then when I was almost 15 my dad had to sit me down and tell me I was too old to be playing with toys and I had to go make friends, haha. So after that I decided I wanted to make movies. I guess that was sort of my compromise. I moved to Chicago first, to try and be a sketch writer, and then through that fell into performing comedy and acting, and now I’ve come back around to writing longer scripts and trying to make movies.

 2) What’s the origin story here - what started the project, and what were some of the first steps to get it rolling?

I was waiting for "The Thing" at IFC Center to start when I had the idea to film myself walking into movie theaters and doing stand-up. And then I also had a few short weird scenes I was trying to turn into a bigger script, and at some point it clicked to just put those two things together. The abrupt shifts in tone felt right, and the idea of putting what are basically dumb prank videos in the middle of a kind of dreamy “short film” felt funny to me.

In general, right now I’m just experimenting with stuff to try and find a tone and voice that feels unique. I like making things that feel ambiguous, disorienting, jarring, a little confusing, like you aren’t sure when or if you’re supposed to laugh or if it’s taking itself seriously or not. The last big thing I made (“Reveries”, with Matt Barats and Graham Mason) is definitely that. I like making things where audiences have to navigate an unfamiliar rhythm and tone, and decided for themselves how to take it.

3) I’d love to hear a bit more on what the experience making this, particularly the movie theater scenes. Those were real and people didn’t know you were going to perform, correct? Were their any weird or angry responses that didn’t make it into the film? How many times did you do it? Do you get a thrill out of doing it, or was it just awkward?

Yeah, that’s all real, it sucked, haha. But at the same time was very fun. We went into six movies I think, at different times. The most surprising thing is that for the most part no one cared. I’m pretty deadpan and I committed to just acting like I was supposed to be there, so I think for the most part people thought I actually worked for the theater. It was still pretty uncomfortable though, and I always wanted to leave right away but the DP Whit Conway would always push to hang out longer and try and film in the lobby, or sneak into other movies. One time he made me keep walking into the same theater I had just “performed” in, trying to get different shots and takes of my entrance and that felt truly awful to me, haha.

 4) I love the combination of real and surreal - can you talk about developing those ideas - like the opening scene where the guy’s girlfriend is a cowgirl heading out with a gun…

I guess it’s just the way I write – start with a real emotional core and then fill in details that are unexpected to me. I try to simultaneously take what I’m working on really seriously and also be the asshole who’s trying to deflate the tension with a weird laugh, so then everything ends up halfway between those two things. And I like to be deadpan about it, just let weird details pop up out of nowhere and not acknowledge that something weird or surreal just happened.

 5) What’s a film you’ve seen, new or old, so far this year that you really loved and why?

 The Garden by Derek Jarman was pretty great. Re-inspired me to push the boundaries of what a movie can look and feel and move like.

 I also saw Y Tu Mama Tambien for the first time this year and I think it was an immediate Top 3.

 Bonus Question) What’s next for you?

I wish I knew.

Contact Info:

IG: @anthonyoberbeck

Twitter: @anthonyoberbeck