5 Questions with Drew Angle and Katelyn Douglass

“Shirt Vile,” is a lovely portrait of Katelyn, a young woman with a feeling she was a Kurt Vile t-shirt in a past life. We asked directors, Drew Angle and Katelyn Douglass, how the film came together, their interaction with Kurt Vile, and what comes next for them…

1) Can you talk briefly about the origins of the project. Katelyn, is this based a real feeling you had/have?

K: I really did start Googling Kurt Vile tour dates, like weekly, mostly because I’m a fan and had an urge to see them live. But also it felt like a slight compulsion. They weren’t coming to Chicago so I contemplated just buying a shirt as some sort of conciliation.

Then I found myself trying to track down the perfect shirt…that’s when the thought came to me - maybe I crave this shirt because I was one. People talk about their spirit animals - I’d say my spirit animal could definitely be an old t-shirt.

D: We started filming on a trip we were taking to Asheville just exploring different images and how they could fit with Katelyns writing. When we got back we edited what we had and started talking about shooting more with a narrowed focus. We got an amazing group together and with that new footage took another pass at the edit. When we felt like we were in a good place we reached out to Kurt’s team and they let us take a photo.

2) How does it work between you two as co-directors? What’s your working process like?

D: Totally fun. We don’t get too serious about things first of all. And when it comes to decisions we’re both able to appreciate how stepping back a bit and embracing the other’s ideas gives us something unique we wouldn’t have arrived at on our own. I’m a very visual person and Katelyn’s good at distilling direction and understanding performance. But there’s overlap in everything. If one of us has an idea we’re interested in, you’ve got someone there to help you see it through.

3) It’s sorta a tribute to Kurt Vile, which is nice, but what I think makes the film really special is that it’s also a personal portrait of Katelyn —talking about people not remembering you are after meeting several times, or the imagery of dad pouring ice into the cooler. Can you talk about finding that balance of personal vs famous musician?

K: I’ve always been fascinated by Kurt’s style, he’s a famous musician but he also seems kind of shy and uncomfortable filling that role. As I started writing the narration, it naturally turned more personal. I found myself coming back to the parts of my life that felt soft, common or mundane. Like a favorite tee.

The physicality was always important - Kurt and I have similar hair and mannerisms, so it felt true that we could be tied together in that way too.

It takes me a few times to make an impression, and people really do forget my name all the time - it’s kind of a sad inside joke between Drew and me.

4) Are there any good movies about reincarnation? There must be, any come to mind?

D: That Michel Gondry short Interior Design or Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

K: My first thought was Splash...I guess it's not quite reincarnation, but he turns into a mermaid at the end.

5) What else are you guys working on at the moment?

D: We’ve got this film we just finished, Terrible Accident at the Bread Factory. It’s a 15 minute, single shot that moves through a welcome back party for a bread factory worker who was injured in a mysterious cooking vat accident. It’s kind of an extraterrestrial anamorphic meltdown with about 20 actors, lava lamps and bread sculptures. We’ve sent it out to a few festivals we like and are plotting an online release soon.

K: Drew edited a feature documentary,”Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records” that will be released on iTunes in April.

Bonus question: When you met and took the photo with Kurt, did you tell him about the shirt thing? What was his response? Has he seen the film?

K: We sent him a rough cut of the film and asked if he’d be interested in helping with the final shot. When we went to see them in Chicago he was nice enough to let us take a moment to grab the picture.

He was very chill and appreciated the t-shirt concept. He was definitely a little shy to meet us and didn’t say too much, but I think the fact that he decided to be a part of the project means he digged it. It was great to meet him.

Contact Info:

Katelyn Douglass - Instagram: @katelyndouglass, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katelyn.douglass 
Drew Angle - Instagram: @lars_lettuce