"Journey to a feature film"

An interview with Rick Palidwor By Ryan Burt

The Independent Online October 3, 2002

IW: You co-directed this with local musician Mitch Perkins. How did you two hook up for the film?
RP: When I first moved to Toronto I didn't know anybody at all. I went to a show at the El Mocambo to see Bill Bruford and Patrick Moraz, both formerly of Yes, and the guy at the next table asked me to help him save some chairs for his friends. I did and we became friends. We started hanging out and he was in a band, Amoeba Quiche, so I would go to their shows and that spawned my network of friends in Toronto.
IW: Are you a self-taught filmmaker?
RP: Yes.
IW: The press kit said you didn't have a set shooting script. Did you end up doing a lot of improvisation with the actors?
RP: Yes. Especially in the intimate conversation scenes. The two leads were first-time actors and it may not have sounded right if the dialogue was all planned out. We covered the scene with two cameras so they wouldn't have to recreate the moment. As well we allowed the character of Ed the Neighbour (Ed Fielding), who is a professional actor, to expand his own scenes. He did a terrific job.
IW: What were some of the problems?
RP: Not having a lot of help. When all the paperwork would change it would have been good to have a production secretary to keep up with the changes. And co-directing. It was hard as we (Mitch and I) disagreed a lot. We often pulled ourselves off to the side so we didn't argue in front of the actors.
IW: The camera work is reminiscent of Darren Aronofsky's films (Pi, Requiem for a Dream). Was he an influence?
RP: Mitch was responsible for the camera work ... and he's more influenced by David Lynch. I actually disagreed with some of his shots initially.
IW: And like Lynch, you guys were really fastidious about the sound. How was Jeff (Mitch's Oscar-winning sound wiz brother) brought in?
RP: We sent himn a rough cut last spring to see what he'd think. He loved it and [said] as long as we re-recorded the dialogue, he'd mix the sound. He came up to Toronto to do the mix at his own expense and before we knew it we had four sound editors working on the film. It was like having ten thousand pounds lifted off our shoulders.