One of our most interesting and fascinating episodes of BEHIND THE LENS thanks to special guests writer/director CHRIS MUL and writer/director SHRAYSI TANDON.
When I say “fascinating”, I’m talking about writer/director CHRIS MUL and his latest film ASTRAL. A fascinating and intense meld of the ideas behind astral projection and the centuries-old history of “Shadow People” and sleep paralysis, ASTRAL started as the germ of an idea thanks to co-writer MICHAEL MUL’s own interest in astral projection. From there, the brothers creativity took off and crafted an intriguing narrative story of a young man using astral projection to connect with his dead mother. Making the story of ASTRAL even more fascinating is that lead actor FRANK DILLANE himself had experienced sleep paralysis which is the gateway to “Shadow People.” Listen as Chris talks about the film’s visual design, something that for him starts in the writing phase, working with cinematographer Charles Heales and their use of negative space and VFX, as well as the thematically subconscious use of color which comes to life in the production design of Madeau Christou. Plus, the research that went into this story.
Then news journalist turned documentary filmmaker SHRAYSI TANDON joins us talking about her debut documentary INVISIBLE HANDS. Exploring the subject of child labor and trafficking around the globe (and that includes the United States), her passion for factual truth-telling is at the forefront of the discussion just as it permeates the entire film. The statistics alone are frightening and given that, it is surprising that this is the first documentary to focus on the subject. Listen as Shraysi talks about her process in crafting the film visually, and with a throughline of story, obtaining interviews from experts, as well as the Herculean task of editing. And something I found interesting is the discussion on the learning curve from tv news journalist to filmmaker.
But before we get to Chris and Shraysi, we’re talking BLACKkKLANSMAN. Hot into awards season and with BLACKkKLANSMAN already picking up some nominations (Independent Spirit Award nomination for Adam Driver for Best Supporting Actor), we dive into the cinematography of the film with CHAYSE IRVIN as he talks with us in a prerecorded exclusive interview about his approach to the visual design of the film, working with director Spike Lee and shooting on Kodak Ektachrome and Vision 3 film.
