La Libertad: Where are you from?
Paul: I was born in Montreal, but moved to the suburbs of Toronto (Mississauga) when I was ten. After growing up a suburban kid, I was eager to move into downtown Toronto, which had its draw as a hub of life, culture, and cinema. Turned out to have a thriving film industry, which is where I’ve been working for a couple of decades...
La Libertad: How did you get your start in film?
Paul: Despite taking film studies in Toronto and at the University of Wisconsin, my real introduction to the film industry came through a connection I made at a retail job in my hometown of Mississauga, where I worked through high school and university. A co-worker’s dad was in the industry, and heard that I had studied film, even though I knew NOTHING about how films were actually made, and [he] introduced me to a couple of great video technicians who got me some early gigs, on set, helping them out. Once my foot was in the door, it quickly became a place I never wanted to leave.
La Libertad: Of which accomplishment are you most proud?
Paul: I’m sure the one thing I’m most proud of, in my life, is my family, and the fact that I’ve mostly managed to keep a work-life balance in this industry, where I can still have a meaningful role in my wife and son’s lives.
As a technician, I think I am most proud of having had a chance to assist some truly iconic filmmakers, running video assist for them, especially in those cases where I was able to assemble, edit, and/or composite, on set, for them. One of my first features was Hewig and the Angry Inch, and I was on set, live syncing the multiple tape recorders, while playing back, so that John Cameron Mitchell could view two or three cameras simultaneously, for the musical numbers. (Now, of course, this is instantaneous, with digital playback systems). I also had the chance to work with George Romero, on Land of the Dead, where I would assemble sequences with him, which amused him greatly. He often joked that we could just cut the movie ourselves and release it. For someone who was such a visionary, George was one of the kindest and most generous people I’ve met in the industry. More recently, I’ve worked on several films with Guillermo Del Toro; starting in particular with The Shape of Water, and his films since, Guillermo would painstakingly assemble the majority of scenes, on set, with me doing the quick assembly for him, as we shot, often take by take. It’s amazing to see how focused he is, with such a precise understanding of how he plans to cut each frame of his films. To have had even a small role in helping that has been an incredible learning opportunity and a privilege.
As a filmmaker, I think I feel the most proud when I see the people I’ve worked with have continued or even greater success in the industry. For instance, Stalkers started out as a pitch teaser for a film contest, in 2013, and some of the actors I worked with have gone on to great success in T.V. and film. I hope I fostered a positive creative environment, and that, in some way, working with me was an experience that was a small step on their road to success. Now, having completed the feature film version, I’ve had a chance to work with some more amazing cast and crew, and I hope their Stalkers experience will likewise be a positive part of their journeys.
La Libertad: Where did you get the idea for your new horror movie, "Stalkers"?
Paul: Stalkers started out as just a collection of ideas for a pitch teaser about a woman, with a secret life, reuniting with her daughter, while an obsessed fan pursues her. At the time, films about captivity and torture seemed to be the state of the horror genre (Captivity, Hostel, et cetera) and our early teaser reflects that, with Kate tied up in a spooky house. But, as we filmed the teaser, and, as writer Luke Sneyd crafted the first screenplay, it became apparent to us that the more interesting angle was probably more about how people... see women and girls. So we have Kate, who has made a career of being leered at, and more, as porn star Tabitha Swann, coming back to her home town where just about everyone she encounters is still leering, even if they don’t know yet about her alter ego, something she hopes to keep a secret, as she tries on a new life as mom to her daughter, Charlotte. We also have Aubrey, a teenage girl who is exploring her sexuality, but whose boyfriend has basically limitless access to porn. How she’s affected by that is another side of the coin, as we explore their relationship as they creep into Kate’s life. Somehow, this was all before "Me Too," when the film was initially conceived, but we certainly felt even more urgency to make this film as more things about our world have come to light. Co-writer Maryna Gaidar got involved with us at around that time, and helped hone some of those ideas for us, as we started showing the script to actors and other creatives.
La Libertad: What would you like to tell our readers about your upcoming festival screenings?
Paul: This weekend [October 26 & 27, 2024], we are screening at the Tucson TerrorFest, which looks to be an amazing event run by fans all things horrific and spooky. Stalkers is being shown alongside classic genre films, and also some great upcoming films, like McCurdy Point and Meathook, which I recently saw at the Chicago Horror Film Festival, where we also screened. We were a little late on having a finished film to submit to the rush of genre festivals that happen during spooky season, but we have a few other festivals coming up that we can’t yet announce, and we also recently won the seasonal award for best Canadian Indie at the Montreal International Film Festival, which puts us in the running for the annual award at the Montreal fest, where we will be screening.
La Libertad: What is your favorite, classic, scary movie, and why?
Paul: It’s possible this is the hardest question in this interview to answer, as the genre is so rich and diverse, and also constantly developing in exciting new directions. I’d have to say my favorite sub-genre is definitely the slasher film, which means that I have to give the nod to proto-slashers like Psycho, Peeping Tom, and Halloween, while also confessing that I’ve always had a love for the Friday the 13th franchise, especially the first four movies. As a film student, I probably always wanted to make films that were like Hitchcock’s, and I’d say that in addition to Psycho, films such as Vertigo, Rear Window, and Frenzy are big influences in terms of the idea of looking, and… well, stalking. We also have a little nod to Halloween in our film. I’m not sure anyone will catch it. I hope they do.
La Libertad: What are you most looking forward to in 2024?
Paul: Well, 2024 is almost over, so I think I’m most looking forward to taking Stalkers to the finish line, and, hopefully, seeing it in distribution sometime in the new year, so more people can see it. We are working towards a small theatrical run, which will require some negotiation and planning, in sync with a distributor’s marketing.
La Libertad: What are your overall career goals?
Paul: Making an independent film like this is a long journey, and I feel like I have to ask myself that question a lot. Sometimes having an answer to that is the thing that can motivate and drive me towards finishing the project, and, other times, not answering it is the best way to keep your head down and keep working. But, having given it a lot of consideration, the end goal of making this film is probably to create future opportunities to make more movies. That’s probably the start of some kind of vicious cycle, but I hope to get the chance to do it again, and just keep making more films.
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| Olivia Stadler and Scarlett DiCaro, in Stalkers |
La Libertad: What links would you like to share?
Paul: I’m not personally a huge presence on social media, but...
my Insta is videobypt
and the film's is stalkersmovieofficial
My IMDb is www.imdb.com/name/nm0860582
La Libertad: What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers?
Paul: Support independent cinema, and support your local cinema, be it an art house or a multiplex. Seeing movies in a cinema is a unique, communal experience, and checking out independent films will give you a chance to see things from different perspectives and styles.
Interview edited by William Mortensen Vaughan
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