Dances with Films | The Festival Celebrates 25 Years

by Nate Rynaski

Dances with Films kicked off its 25th anniversary in Hollywood on June 9 with films fit for everyone's palate. The Walk, a film based on true events of Boston’s desegregation bussing, directed by Daniel Adams, opened up the festival at the TCL Chinese Theater. The festival’s packed film schedule was punctuated by a host of panels and performances.

From Thomas Mignone’s The Latin from Manhattan, which follows the World's First Latina adult film star, Vanessa Del Rio, as she navigates life in 70s-era Time Square filled with crime, to Rylee Jean Ebsen’s Boomerang, the story of a woman forced to move back home after losing her job, to Jerry Pyle's Loveseat, transforming a fun furniture salesman into a customer’s nightmare as he begins to invade the home of a couple after they bought his most valuable piece, Dances with Films remains committed to independent filmmaking highlighting fresh, progressive, and underrepresented voices.

The festival came to an end after 11 days on June 19, closing out with Ghostwritten, directed by Thomas Matthews and starring Jay Duplass. We spoke with Mignone, Esben, and Pyle about their films and more!

Thomas Mignone

The Latin from Manhattan

How do you move between fact and fiction when making a film about a real woman that doesn’t function as a documentary, but as a narrative feature—and what is the wider story you’re hoping to tell about New York City through the lens of Vanessa del Rio’s life in her twenties?

This is such a great question. The tumultuous times New York City was going through during the late 70s to mid 80s is actually the larger backdrop story for Vanessa’s own personal story. These elements are very much paralleled in our world today. I spent over one hundred hours interviewing not only Vanessa, but many of her guy and gal colleagues, all of whom conveyed the way the deteriorating economy, the fear mongering of this horrific and terrifying new disease (AIDS), the massive cleanup effort of Times Square by both the local and federal authorities trying to rejuvenate NYC, and in particular the inequities of women and minorities all led to the Vanessa’s ability to be a strong-minded, confident sexy woman and embrace her sexuality and not let herself be victimized or treated in any misogynistic way. The duality of Vanessa’s story against this larger-than-life NYC transformation story manifested itself more as a dramatic narrative rather than a documentary. The film is not a documentary. It’s based upon and inspired by real life events I researched and then depicted through characters whose lives all threaded through each other. Each of the characters is based on real and in some instances composite individuals.

What is the impact of this film centering on a woman, when so many previous such stories of this time are told from the male perspective?

We’ve all seen many depictions of female adult performers, street walkers, escorts, and strippers, through the male perspective. They are always seen as victimized, horribly abused by dominant male family members or friends, weak submissive battered women who usually have substance abuse issues, etc. One of the reasons Vanessa was so beloved by her fans is because she stood up for the ethical and respectful treatment of women. Her ability to do what she wanted on her own terms reflected the changing societal views and was embraced by many women during her time. An important aspect of Vanessa’s persona is that she is in fact a feminist. She rejected the notion that a guy could have intimacies with a thousand women and he’d be considered a sexual god by his buddies, yet if a women did so she was nothing more than a slut and a whore. Vanessa’s attitude was “I wish to pleasure myself and others because I enjoy doing so. If you have a problem with that perhaps you should take a long hard look in the mirror."

How did you go about financing the film? What sort of creative freedom was granted through that process?

Initially there was a small proof of concept campaign which resulted in a small amount of funds from a myriad of Vanessa’s fans from everywhere. I was amazed at how vast her fanbase is—both men and women. This seed of a positive crowdfunding result convinced me to write the script. I then directed many music videos and commercials during this time to accrue the needed funds for the film. The reality is I’m formally educated with an electrical engineering degree and I love both film and music. Many of my Silicon Valley colleagues stepped up to help me bring the film to life. This approach allowed significant creative freedom to produce a film that was more centered on Vanessa’s philosophies about life and her place in it rather than merely focusing on her adult industry work. This is what distinguishes her as an adult performer and as a confident woman rather than a film filled with gratuitous sexual elements. There’s so much adult-themed imagery available for free it seemed more interesting to reflect how Vanessa’s choices were not at all typical for a woman. These are themes I feel are very relevant in our world today and will hopefully resonate with audiences.

Rylee Ebsen

Boomerang

What was the inspiration behind Boomerang? The ‘flailing millennial’ storyline is a plot so many can relate to—yet you’ve also been listed as a Forbes’ 30 Under 30, having clearly (or seemingly!) found your footing. 

Boomerang is a Frankenstein lovechild, based on several experiences, that was constructed with care. We mined tidbits from my own life, my co-writer Sydney Steinberg, and our friends. The lockdown had an effect on all of us, no matter who you are or what you do. We all had to juggle life’s responsibilities while dealing with fear & anxiety, wiping down groceries, and navigating Zoom calls. I did not have the 30th birthday celebration I had dreamed of, instead I felt like Little Edie in Grey Gardens sandwiched between my parents, worried the isolation would never end and that this would be my new normal. Though our specific experiences may vary, we are connected to our larger shared history of going through it together. This story is our love letter to anyone who hosted family or was hosted by family during that time, especially if that family drove you crazy… which is a lot of people. At its core, Boomerang is about complicated family relationships and how deeply funny life can be even in its most serious moments. A heartfelt, funny, timely, and relatable tale about an entire generation of people who were forced to move home and suffered arrested development.

You’ve described the writing process as cathartic. Do you hope the viewing of the film will engender a similar experience? 

Absolutely. What we’ve all been through is traumatic, bizarre, and ripe for turning some of our collective pain into art. We could all use some levity and laughter these days. Some of my favorite films are comedies about complicated life moments like Mrs. Doubtfire, What About Bob, & Grosse Pointe Blank. I like this genre and it’s why I gravitate towards making films with a similar tone. Like Judd Apatow’s This is 40 or Jonathan Levine’s film 50/50. I think it’s because I believe humor is a great way to process difficult experiences. I’ve read studies that say laughing activates hormones that boost your immune system which can help fight illness, so you could say laughter is actually medicine. Many people who watched Boomerang have said it touched them because it reminds them of either their own experience or friend’s experience. They relate to some part of it and that makes me happy because it’s what we set out to do, to make people feel less alone. It might be the difficult mother/child relationship, the preserved adolescent bedroom, or the dysfunctional long term marriage, whatever it is, it’s something specific the audience connects with. I hope this film helps people process what we’ve all been through. As this pandemic continues to unfold, all we can do is hopefully use our gifts to give these moments meaning. And laugh. We can't forget to laugh.

In addition to a female-heavy cast, you also had many women behind the scenes of the movie—a move reflective of Dances with Films’ embrace of diversity and inclusion. Could you speak about the personal importance of having female representation across all aspects of your set, beyond just on-screen?

Boomerang is about a woman's journey and it was written, directed, and produced by women. Our film has three fantastic female actors who are hilarious, uber talented, and whip smart–Marin Hinkle, Sydney Steinberg, and Kaitlyn Tanimoto. My partner in crime and producer, Katie White, is a fierce leader, great collaborator, and badass Sundance Institute alum. We discussed the importance of DEI from the start and built our production team with that in mind. My assistant director, Leslie Bellows, is a smart, wonderful, and steady leader who managed our set beautifully. We brought on a few young female USC students to be production assistants. It was lovely to look around the room and see so many women on set. The collaboration was seamless. I’ve been on panels and spoken to young women at schools and conferences around the world because I’m eager to share my leadership and negotiating experience with the hopes of helping and inspiring the next generation. I actively attend the Women’s Steering Committee, within the Directors Guild of America, where we promote diversity through networking events, screenings and seminars. Inspired by my mentor, DGA Director and now Madam President of the DGA, Leslie Linka Glatter, I’m passionate about supporting women, heightening their visibility, creating career opportunities, and paying it forward.

Jerry Pyle

Loveseat

What comment are you making on current attitudes about sexual identities and intimacy through your dark comedy?

The main character in Loveseat is a 6'9" African-American man who is having a passionate love affair with a couch at his workplace. I wanted to make a story about an outsider who just wants to be with the one he loves and in so doing, makes a lot of really bad choices. I hope the statement this film makes is not only that love is love is love and we are emotionally compelled by it in any form. But that it all can go horribly wrong if we don't take care of ourselves, protect ourselves as we cultivate it. Be careful out there, kids.

You've spoken about how working as a welder's apprentice informed your appreciation of beautiful design. Do you think this also influences your approach to the aesthetics of your film? How so?

My dad is a welder. When he taught me to weld, he explained how satisfying it was to drive past a building or a tank or a truck he worked on and know that inside it lies a perfect bead, a flawless weld no one will ever see. When I became a film editor, I found the same satisfaction. If you do it right, the visual story washes over the audience and all the seams, all the hard work, all the tricks and bells and whistles, come together to make fun things to look at, things that make you feel something. When you see some of the "welding" we did for Loveseat, especially on the final set-piece, a 3-minute, 720° time-lapse/panoramic camera move leading up to the final sequence, it's very satisfying.

Dances With Films champions disruptive filmmaking—what kind of interventions are you hoping to make with this offbeat narrative?

I feel we're not only pushing boundaries with the subject matter, a story about characters on the fringe of alternative sexualities but the way we choose to tell the story and the tools we use to tell it. Not only is it a unique story, I think it's a story that rewards the viewer with a powerful finale, punctuated by a song by Syd Straw, Marry Me, that I think captures the emotion of the whole piece. I want there to be more films like this, more films that are bold, that make interesting choices, that have a perspective, and that deliver an emotional punch. Thank you to Dances With Films for programming our film and others like it.