David Spaltro's …Around is appropriately subtitled, "Embrace the Fall." For "falling" — both emotionally and financially — is what happens to the film's protagonist, whose hurdles are based on writer-director Spaltro's own experiences while studying film at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
…Around follows the travails of Doyle (Rob Evans — a better-looking and more naturalistic James Stewart type), a young film student from a highly dysfunctional family who suddenly finds himself without the means to pay for a place to live in pricey New York. As a result, home becomes where Penn Station is.
Curiously, the film's chief concern is not Doyle's struggle to come out of poverty or to succeed in film school, but his conflicted relationship with a beautiful struggling actress, Allyson (Molly Ryman). Doyle fears that his precarious social (and emotional) condition precludes him from getting involved with anyone — no matter how seemingly perfect. In order to surmount this obstacle, Doyle must first come to terms with the person he is.
…Around had its world premiere at the Tribeca Cinemas in September 2008. Additional New York screenings were held at the New Filmmakers series at the Anthology Film Archives and at the Big Apple Film Festival (BAFF). The film should be hitting more festivals in the coming months (it's been submitted to the SXSW Film Festival), and later this year will become available online by way of Cinetic Media.
David Spaltro has agreed to answer (via e-mail) a few questions about his very personal project, which is described as a film about "finding home." See below.
Update: …Around is currently available for download/view at Amazon on-Demand.
Photos: Courtesy of David Spaltro
You've said that …Around is based on your own experiences while a film student. Could you elaborate on that a bit?
…Around is a love letter to the places, people, and experiences I had while attending film school at the School of Visual Arts in NYC from 2001-2005. While being asked how much of the film is based on actual experiences — reality — I’ve tried to stay away from saying “autobiography” or “true story” and leaned more towards “autobiographical” because of my firm belief that once you start writing, it’s all fiction simply because you can only tell events from your POV.
It’s also four years condensed, with certain characters and events smooshed into a narrative structure, but the heart of it is very much me and certain "economic" struggles and creative solutions to those problems I attempted. It’s a valentine to the person I was and in a lot of ways still am, with a lot of word-for-word scenes and some that aren’t, but at their core the feelings and emotion are from me and from a place that is very personal.
What made you decide to film (a version of) your difficult experiences? And how much of the film is fictitious — in terms of characters and relationships?
Well, first and foremost I’m a total and complete narcissist…
Actually, I was looking for a story for my first film when I decided I would write and try and direct something, and got tired of my friends rolling their eyes and yelling at me, “How can you not have a story?!” I never thought my own personal experiences would be that interesting, probably because I was so in them at the time.
Then, writing it all sorta came out and was very cathartic, and it was a chance to relive a lot of good memories and sort through a lot of painful ones. It helped me understand and grow a lot, let a lot of stuff go. And it also was a bit of a masochistic exercise when you shoot these moments, then edit them, and then watch them one hundred times over in sound mixes and screenings. But I guess all good film work should probably feel that personal, because even when it’s not autobiographical you put that much of yourself into it.
What was it like working with Rob Evans, considering that he was playing a character based on yourself? What made you pick him?
Rob was great to work with as he was very committed to the role and the film. He put blood, sweat, and tears in really “getting it” and going for it. The only times we butted heads at all on set were when I didn’t give him extra direction because he was flowing in a scene. I think the pressure of carrying the film and doing all these complicated emotions and covers in one character, he felt that maybe I was abandoning him when he didn’t have a “plan.” Later on, he confessed, much as I told him on set, the scenes he got frustrated on or fretted the most and was out of control ended up being his favorites or his best work. Sometimes, you just have to let go and trust that it’s clicking; if it wasn’t, that’s when I would walk over and say something.
Originally, even knowing how talented Rob was as an actor, I was reluctant to cast him because of our many differences both in character and background. Rob grew up with a large family in Alabama, he is a much slower and thoughtful speaker, and is far less of a street-smart hustler and risk taker — as well as smaller in stature than myself. It was during a read-through of a heated scene with actor Marcel Torres ([who plays the character named] “Logic”), where Marcel pushed Rob, that I saw what could possibly work. I offered him the role on the spot.
around is a great contribution for the independent filmmaking!
thanks david spaltro, crew and cast.