“Father Figurine” is a darkly comedic satire, both elegant and grotesque, about a wealthy patriarch who leaves an unusual request in his will. We asked director Matt Kazman (who we’re featuring for the second time after 2016’s “Killer”) how the project started, what the biggest challenge was, and what comes next for him…

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

I’ve always loved movies, and a lot of my adolescence was spent watching darker comedies that I was too young to fully understand (like Welcome to the Dollhouse, Election, Slums of Beverly Hills, etc). Still, they had a big effect on me. When I was 13, I got a Handycam and started making dumb little things with my friends. Like, we would film our own “Jackass” stunts, except we were too afraid to hurt ourselves, so I would film them in a way where it could be edited to look like we were getting hurt (it kind of just looked like bad movie stunts). That’s weirdly how I got into the construction aspect of it all, and eventually, I started making things with actual stories. I was definitely influenced by the kinds of movies I saw at a younger age, because while I always liked making comedies, I liked making them weird or dark or uncomfortable in some way. And as I got older, I started making things that were more personal.

2) What’s the backstory here - what was the initial idea and how did it evolve from there?

The initial idea came from wanting to make something that poked fun at super wealthy people. So, naturally, I was thinking about the Trumps, but more as a family unit. I was curious about what those people are like when they sit down at the dinner table (if that ever happens). And I was specifically thinking about Melania and Barron, who I feel are more defined by their patriarch than by anything they’ve done themselves (to clarify, I don’t think that Melania is a good person, but I think she’s married to a much worse person). I thought about how if I was in their situation, I would feel trapped, so I started writing this idea about a wealthy family who doesn’t like their patriarch, but are forced to be associated with him.

Separately from that, I was developing some ideas about people grieving in weird ways, and one of those ideas was about a family living with the stuffed corpse of a loved one. I wasn’t sure about what direction to take that in, but then I had the thought that someone like Donald Trump would definitely request to have his body stuffed and kept on display if it was possible. And that’s how the whole setup came together. Once I had that, I knew that I wanted to lean into the absurdity and grotesqueness of the situation, but I also wanted it to be emotionally grounded in some way. And again, I pictured this family as kind of trapped, and feeling pretty angry towards this guy. So, it became about them getting to tell him (well, his corpse) how they really feel about him, and how that ends up being really cathartic for them.

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And generally what part of the creative process do you enjoy the best, and the least?

The biggest challenge on this one was probably getting a stuffed corpse made on a budget, which was made especially difficult by the fact that the guy’s head was supposed to fall apart over the course of the film. We spoke to a few different prosthetic and special effects companies, and as a result of those conversations, had to make some changes and compromises on our end. We also just learned a lot about what was realistic in terms of having a human taxidermied (fun stuff). We ended up getting lucky in that the company we were talking to in New York happened to have a mold of an old man’s head already made, which cut a lot of costs, but we could only have some heads and a set of hands made, and the body itself was a pretty no-frills mannequin body that kept falling apart on the shoot.

The part I enjoyed the most on this by far was working with these actors. I was truly lucky in that everyone - from Amy Landecker (who plays the wife), to Katherine Reis and Ryan Foust (who play the kids), and David Rasche - was insanely nice and wonderful to work with. They all had slightly different approaches, but each one was really collaborative. They were also just clearly having a lot of fun. And on a base level, they’re all such pros - even Ryan, who was 12 or 13, had already been the lead in a Broadway play - so they just elevated everything. The shoot was a little stressful because we were trying to accomplish a lot and we had to move really fast, but whenever the actors were around, those were our moments to slow down and be in the moment. And whenever we were rolling, you could feel everyone’s spirits lift up on set.

I don’t know if this is my least favorite part of the process, but the most painful part is always the editing, because that’s when I tend to be the hardest on myself. There’s always the inevitable feeling of “This is bad. How do we fix it?” I’ve never not had that feeling. The editing on this one was particularly tough because even though it had a structure to it, it wasn’t very plot-driven, and it was really long (the first cut was 23 or 24 minutes). So, it became about trying to cut it down as much as possible without losing this feeling that I was going for.

4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?

I saw Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice recently and I loved it so much. Even though it was made 50 years ago and is very much a movie of its time, there’s so much in it that still feels relevant. I thought it was so unique in that it was a satire that clearly cared about its characters and their feelings; it all felt very humane, and real, and so so funny. I also loved the documentary Jawline that came out this year, which is another humane look at a specific subculture: teenage boy live-streamers and their fans. It’s a world that you could so easily ridicule, but it was clear that the filmmaker had a lot of empathy, and watching it, I couldn’t help but feel for (almost) everyone involved. It also just had a lot of genuinely funny and absurd moments where I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Like, true “oh my god” moments. It was insane.

5) What’s next for you?

Right now, I’m in a bit of a writing cave. The main thing I’m working on is a feature-length version of my short Killer that you had on the site a few years ago. I actually had no interest in making a bigger version of that, but this year I came up with an idea that I’m really excited about, so I’ve been writing that. And I’m writing something else that expands on Father Figurine. I also made another short this year with my friends Matt Porter (who made the short Damage) and Ryan Nethery (who shot Father Figurine) in an attempt to make something quick and cheap. We were all going to Palm Springs for the ShortFest and Ryan had a camera left over from another shoot, so we borrowed some lavs, batted around some ideas, and shot something out in the desert that turned out better than we thought. I have no idea what we’re going to do with it, but it was fun to make something like that.

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Website: http://www.mattkazman.com

Facebook : www.facebook.com/mattkazman
Instagram & Twitter -- @kattmazman