Spotlight: Ry Russo-Young

Using split screen footage of three different actresses peforming the infamous shower scene from PSYCHO, Ry Russo-Young creates a tapestry of horror that finally breaks conventions with one quick step outside the frame. MARION won the Jury Award for Best Experimental Short at the 2006 SXSW Film Festival, as well as the 2005 Chicago International Film Fest. Soon after, it won 1st prize at the Potenza Film Fest for Best Emerging Vision. The tireless Russo most recently appeared as the character Rocco in festival darling Joe Swanberg's HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS, and her first feature-length film, ORPHANS, won this year's SXSW Special Jury Prize for best narrative feature. IndiePix's Jordan Mattos takes a moment to chat with Ry about girls in rock bands, deconstructing conventional narrative structures, and wearing the same clothes every day.

Jordan: What attracted you to the part of Rocco in Joe Swanberg's HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS?

Ry: Rocco is the girl I always wanted to be but never was in reality. She's in a rock band and wears the same thing every day. These are both things I could never do.

Jordan: Both MARION and your latest film, ORPHANS, have been really well received. What advice would you give to a film festival newbie on getting similar results?

Ry: I don't think there is a set way to get results. I had no idea if anyone would like ORPHANS so I just tried to make it a film I liked. Ultimately it's important to care about the subject matter a great deal and to stay true to what you want to express inside.

Jordan: MARION has a lovely, almost old-fashioned "I love film history" quality to it that makes it particularly appealing to the university-library demographic. Do you think a study of the film arts is still necessary to make an "informed" picture?

Ry: I think there are all different kinds of processes and filmmaking. For me to make MARION, it was necessary (and very inspiring) to study film history and in particular PSYCHO. Looking at other films can be a great way to figure out what kind of movie you want to make but you don't have to have seen every movie to be "informed." If you are making a film about deconstructing conventional narrative structures then you need to do your film history homework so you know what you're talking about. But every film is different and processes change based on content. I mean, if you're making a movie about a virus you might want to start spending some time at the hospital to get informed.

Jordan: What is your definition of an "informed film"?

Ry: Good question. An "informed" picture includes but also goes beyond research and having an inner understanding of the material. I guess it's really about the elements that give a film it's shape and contours, it's colors and it's tone.

Jordan: Now that almost any kid with a camera can up and make a movie, there's alot of content that's being produced, but the distribution end hasn't met the demand for alot of these new works, so alot of what's being made will never be seen. How do you think the model of distribution will change in the upcoming years?

Ry: Distribution will be less of a big bad mystery and more of a DIY niche based communication. In the next few years filmmakers will have an even greater opportunity to reach their audience directly through the web so that one's tastes can be met specifically instead of trying to shove bananas down someones throat who's allergic to them!

Jordan: Thanks Ry!

Ry: Talk soon.