5 Questions with Kevin Vu
A self-help exercise that takes place while blindfolded in the middle of an open field is where “Mata Laya Pata” gets its name, as its lead character, Tracy, seeks out the unusual challenge to find motivation and self-worth. We asked director Kevin Vu how it began, the stages of its development, and what comes next for him…
1) Can you talk briefly about your background and how you first got interested in movies?
I was a bit of a hikikomori growing up in the Southern California suburbs. I had a kinship with movies pretty early on because I insulated myself with lots of television and VHS tapes. They always made me feel less alone in the world.
Although I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker, there was always a fear that prevented me from taking chances and just creating something. So I talked more about wanting to be a filmmaker than actually making them. I eventually studied English literature in undergrad but then became more exposed to arthouse and experimental films thanks to Netflix (you know, when mailing DVDs was a thing).
After making a few abstract films for fun, I realized I was probably better at expressing myself with visuals rather than writing.
2) What inspired this project? Can you talk a bit about your different stages of development?
It was sparked by the image of a well-dressed woman lost in a vast green and manicured landscape. So everything started from there.
I’m very susceptible to melancholy so I often turn to self-help and meditation to make sense of all the chaos in the world. I originally wrote it as a light comedy... but then what’s-his-name became President and then I felt it had to be more of an existential nightmare. So it was an amalgam of all those emotions plus the memory of being saturated by self-help infomercials and public access from the 80s and 90s.
3) The film is pretty open for interpretation. Was it always this way, or did you tinker with giving more or less information at any point in the process? How much of a character backstory did you build up with your lead, even though we don’t learn much about her?
Oh boy, that’s a good question. I’m sure this sounds like a studio executive’s nightmare but I think I wanted to challenge myself by not having a traditional narrative. So leaving it open-ended was always the plan. But I love hearing other people’s interpretation, and they make me think about the film differently.
For backstory, I gave my wonderful lead Erin Neufer some ideas about who this character was and why she was going through this journey. But I trusted her to make the character her own.
4) I would love to hear about your production. Where was this filmed? How much crew / how long did it take / any particular obstacles that come to mind?
We shot this for 5 days during summer 2017 primarily at Storm King Art Center and upstate New York. I wanted to make something manageable with a smaller crew, especially since it required lots of set-ups and movement, so it was pretty bare minimum.
I remember that I must had done something to piss off the gods because we had to contend with the weather. There were times when I had to postpone shoot dates due to rain, which would ruin the continuity, and then our last day of filming with the dancing sequence was the first heat wave of the summer at 100 degrees. Thankfully, my cast and crew were amazing troopers throughout the whole experience.
5) What is a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that really resonated with you, and why?
I saw Jacque Rivette’s “Celine & Julie Go Boating” for the first time at Quad Cinema. I just thought, “Holy Toledo, what am I watching? This is so fun and strange!” I love filmmakers who give us a different view of the world. And I think it’s a wonderful feeling when you leave a theater and the images stayed with you long afterwards.
Bonus Question: What’s next for you?
Well, I’m finally graduating with an MFA from NYU Tisch this month and my thesis short “Perfect as Cats”, a gothic tragicomedy, is in post-production. I’m also in development on my first feature, so if you happen to have a wealthy aunt who likes weird artsy films… wink wink…
Contact Info:
Email: kevinvufilm@gmail.com
IG: @kevvu