5 Questions with Chester Vincent Toye ("I'm SO Sorry")
1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?
I’ve always been interested in image making, most formally through portrait photography. I also grew up filming and editing skate videos with my friends. Over the last few years I’ve found myself increasingly interested in creating more context for my work and for my subjects. I also wanted to find ways to start to introduce conflict and humor, both of which I feel are best explored with time/duration. I’ve always been obsessed with details and how the parts all fit into a whole and I love working with others so filmmaking seemed like a logical next step. COVID hit during the final quarter of my MFA I decided to take a screening writing course and then..
2) What was the initial idea for this project and how did it evolve from there?
After shooting a separate piece on virtue signaling I began researching BLM signs on Amazon and was blown away by the range and number of signs they offered. I immediately began writing off signs as ugly or too expensive before pausing and realizing the absurdity of what I was doing and how quickly and how far I’d strayed away from the actual purpose and messaging of these signs. At the time I was also working through my own feelings about the text messages of solidarity and support I was receiving from white friends and colleagues.
3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And the easiest part?
Editing kicked my ass. As a first time writer/director it took a lot of finessing in post to get things feeling right. After shooting I was terrified to touch the footage and my co-editor Yotam had to sit with me for weeks to help me get to a rough cut before I could take the reins myself. I’m super glad I had to clean up my own mess. I’m sure my next go around as a writer and director will be worlds better because of it.
Another challenge was dealing with my anxieties around centering and writing characters with experiences vastly different from my own.
Shooting was the easiest part. Both cast and crew really made it fun and painless.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?
I watched The Square by Ruben Ӧstlund three times over the course of three weeks. The first two times in 48 hours. Over the last few months I’ve been ranking each film I’ve watched out of 5 stars and I gave The Square three stars. Despite it having some shortcomings, I was blown away by how efficiently, sharply, and quietly the film was able to get its jokes off and undress its characters. In scene after scene we see characters dropped into some of the most uncomfortable, ridiculous, yet deeply human and familiar situations and get to cringe watching characters attempt to save face and avoid conflict. After watching the film I did a deep dive and learned that Ruben is obsessed with YouTube and it shows in the film. So many of his scenes are able to stand alone and pack a serious punch as would a viral YouTube clip/video. Also, his filmmaking style reminds me of words the late great MF DOOM had about his writing process: “When I’m doing a Doom record. . . . All I have to do is listen to it and think, Oh shit, that will be funny. I write down whatever would be funny, and get as many ‘whatever would’ funnies in a row and find a way to make them all fit. There’s a certain science to it. In a relatively small period of time, you want it to be, That’s funny, that’s funny, that’s funny, that’s funny. I liken it to comedy standup.” “The Square” felt like Ruben in a lab trying to fit together as many would be funnies/cringies in a row and I loved the attempt.
5) What’s next for you?
Make more films. I really want to get my chops up. I want to write and direct as much as possible. I’m currently in the development stages for a short titled Hangtime that I’ve written about the Black artistic ecosystem surrounding a multimillion dollar diamond encrusted noose artwork. I plan to shoot Hangtime in September 2021. In the meantime I plan to write and direct smaller films that require as little resources as possible.
—
chestervtoye.com | IG: @chesterisherefornow