The vibrant “Yanvalou” finds an awkward computer programming enrolling in a dance class to make a connection with his neighbor. We asked director Angeline Gragasin how the project started, her interest in juxtaposing dance culture with startup culture, and what’s next for her…

1) Can a talk a bit about your background and how you first got interested in movies?

My background is very interdisciplinary, and it’s always been that way for as long as I can remember. I was already painting and writing obsessively as a little kid, and in middle school I became seriously interested in music and theater. I began singing when I was 6 and acting when I was 10, and for a long time I thought I wanted to become an actor. So I trained very extensively in theatre for many years, and became especially interested in physical comedy and improvisation—clown, mask, and mime. People knew me mostly as an actor and that was how I found my way to movies—in 2008, I was cast in an indie feature, written and produced by my (soon-to-be) friend and collaborator Rachel Wolther.

 I’d always loved movies my whole life, but never imagined I might be able to make them myself—until one day I found myself on a film set for two weeks straight. Around this time, I had also begun making experimental docs and video art. It was actually Rachel who suggested I start making narrative films. She offered to produce and we began collaborating. We ran a production company together and made all kinds of crazy stuff over an action-packed 5 year period. I’m thankful to Rachel for her encouragement and support at a time when I knew absolutely nothing about filmmaking—in theory or practice. I hadn’t gone to film school (yet) and was totally inexperienced and naive! But my skills as a visual artist, writer, musician, and actor were invaluable to making movies. It was a natural progression.

 But what I love most of all about filmmaking is collaboration.

2) What about “Yanvalou,” how did this project get rolling? What was the initial seed? How quickly or slowly did it pick up steam?

“Yanvalou” was inspired by a personal struggle to connect with human beings—and my own body—within the conflicting cultures of the dance studio and digital startup environments. I shot the film in the fall of 2016. At the time, I had just spent what felt like an eternity (but was actually just two years) sitting nonstop in front of a screen, working first for a fast-paced digital media startup, and then later on a fellowship as part of a curated incubator for creative entrepreneurs.

I also wrote this film specifically for Ikechukwu Ufomadu and Rachel Wyman, both of whom I had known and collaborated with for several years before. Ike and Rachel are absolutely essential to “Yanvalou,” I couldn’t have made it with anyone else.

I wrote and revised screenplay over the course of a few weeks, and shot the film very quickly, in two days divided over two weekends. Preproduction took about a month, post took a month. The whole thing was created from conception-to-completion in about four months, which felt like the right amount of time for this project. Most of the time I spent on this project was spent in rehearsal with the actors and dancers.

3) I love the mix of genre — it’s both a silent film and a dance film and sort of a romantic comedy and workplace drama as well. How did these elements come together for you? Did you have a clear idea of how you wanted it to feel, or were you discovering as you go?

Thank you! I’m so happy to hear this. I did indeed have a very clear idea of what I wanted, how I wanted it to look, to feel, and most importantly—to sound. I scripted, I lookbook-ed, I storyboarded, I improvised and rehearsed with our actors, dancers, and DP (Tine DiLucia). But there were countless discoveries and happy accidents along the way—especially as a result of my collaboration with Tine, for which I am very grateful.

4) It also has this interesting contrast between movement and expression, which I would consider timeless in a way, with a sense of modern alienation and the modern workplace, that finds employees sitting on balls and staring at screens. Can you talk a bit about how you view those juxtapositions?

Working for that media startup nearly destroyed me. Whereas the incubator was actually a positive and valuable experience in retrospect—but at the time, I felt disembodied and alienated from my cohort because everyone always seemed to be plugged into their computers and devices 24/7 with no time for any real interaction. By day, I felt like a walking zombie. By night, I was going to all kinds of dance, yoga, and athletic classes, where I could be reminded that I was not a digital avatar, but a human soul inside a physical body—capable of action, emotion, and transformation. This contradiction between the two environments and ways of being was the main inspiration for this film, and I’m really glad it comes across.

I also see the film as an ode to failure. I’m always trying to laugh at and embrace my own shortcomings—instead of feeling ashamed or embarrassed—so that I can have the courage to try again, and to keep trying!

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

I’ve got three feature scripts in development, one of which was recently nominated for the 2019 Sloan Student Discovery Award. I also have a documentary project in development in partnership with The Moth, which was recently a finalist for the 2019 Sundance New Frontier Lab, also a finalist for a 2018 Borscht Commission. Unfortunately I didn’t win any of these awards—and hey, I was honored to have even made it to the final round on all counts!—but “Yanvalou” serves as a helpful reminder about the power of persistence and the importance of heartfelt human contact. So my plan is to double down on both of these things and hopefully grow into a stronger and better filmmaker as a result.

Contact Info:

Email: hello@angelinegragasin.com

IG: @angelinegragasin

Twitter: @angelinegragzin