Comfortless: Q&A with Director Ryan Manley
1.
How did you shoot Comfortless?
While I was writing the film, I knew I wanted it to be different.
So many thrillers and dramas exist, but I wanted to make this one a little bit
different. I decided on shooting the entire film with an iPhone, which was a
bold move, that in my opinion, really worked for this film. Comfortless is a
realistic film… abusive relationships happen in real life, and I wanted to
create a film with something people use every day: their cell phones. Another
reason I decided on this was because it allowed us to get some cool shots. With
our budget, some shots would have not been possible by using high-dollar professional
equipment. There is one scene, I really love where Rebecca is walking through
her house. It’s made to be an intense scene with no cut. It simply follows her
for about three minutes, and I feel it’s a strong, intense scene of the film.
2.
Why did you choose Madison
Sturges and Jared Battle for the lead roles of this film?
My producer Zachary and I had a ton of auditions to sit through for
this film, both online and in person. We opened auditions to anyone, anywhere,
and didn’t specify how a character should look, other than being young
high-school age and the character’s matching gender. Writing the script, I had
no idea what any of these characters would look like. We solely wanted to
choose our lead cast based on acting abilities. I feel it is a casting
director’s job to give equal opportunities to anyone, and base auditions on
acting performance, which we did. After a long selection process, Zachary and I
decided on choosing Madison and Jared as these lead roles. Both roles are very
significant to the story, and I feel these actors’ have done an amazing job
becoming the characters they are in this film. I feel like Madison put a lot of work into preparing herself for the emotional
situation of Rebecca. And, Jared, he is also an amazing actor. Jared is one of
the nicest actors I’ve ever worked with. In real life, he’s a really cool,
relaxed person. It was incredible to see how his versatile acting skills helped
him to prepare for this role.
3.
What do you want the audience
to take away from Comfortless?
I feel as though this is a difficult question to answer, as I don’t
want to tell an audience how they should interpret the story. It can probably be
interpreted many ways, but one thing is for sure, it has several important messages.
Some may see the film as a story of hope, getting out of a bad situation. Others
may see the film as a narrative film reflecting the “Me Too” movement. Whatever the audience thinks, I hope they find
an important message somewhere.
4.
What has been your biggest
achievement in your career so far?
Comfortless has been my biggest achievement. I’ve always wanted to
make a film with great emotional power, and superb performances. I feel as
though this is it. I’m not sure what I will be creating after this, but as of
now, this is my biggest achievement.
5.
What are your plans for the
film after the premiere?
I just want as many people to see it as possible. I want to read
reviews, talk to people about it, maybe even win some awards along the way.
I’ve entered the film into several film festivals, and maybe one day it will be
distributed on a larger scale.
