What do you expect when someone tells you a film is dystopian? Is it a barren desert? Is it a futuristic city? Is it masses of people wearing the same government-issued uniform?
While all of these qualities are certainly characteristic of the genre, in order for new dystopian films to stand out filmmakers are under more pressure than ever to put their own twist on these attributes and create a different type of dystopia.
This is what long-time friends and now co-filmmakers Neal Kelley and Jono Sherman did with their film “Daddy” both in idea and execution.
Set in a society where the government controls who can and cannot be fathers, “Daddy” follows four men who have been selected as fatherhood candidates. When the men arrive at their isolated fatherhood retreat, they soon realize there is no “fatherhood monitor” and it is up to them alone to prove they are worthy of being a father.
Like many other dystopian films, “Daddy” is inspired by real world events and issues. The global climate within the past few years made for a unique convergence of themes and ideas not before seen.
After the COVID-19 pandemic made production of their first co-written film too difficult, Kelley and Sherman pivoted and began exploring smaller-scale ideas that incorporated the themes that many people were feeling: isolation, paranoia and the sense of being stuck inside the house.
They got on Zoom, writing scene by scene without an outline, and eventually began to see something come to life.
“At the same time, the (2020) election was going on and we were really in the midst of this intense political climate,” Kelley said. “One day we were talking about masculinity, Donald Trump talking about his kids being on television and our own anxieties and preoccupations with whether we want to have children or want to be fathers.”
As they started developing the story Kelley and Sherman took these thoughts and incorporated the reproductive angle into the film, something they acknowledged has become even more relevant within the past year.
“I think men are very removed from the idea of reproductive freedom, the onus of it and the burden of it is on women,” Kelley said. “To find a way to flip that and put more emphasis on the male body and the male idea of what it might be like to have your reproductive freedom infringed on sort of in this upside down one-eighty way became an appealing fulcrum for the story.”
While the idea of “Daddy” was a product of pivoting on Kelley and Sherman’s part, that was not the only pivoting they had to do.
While they initially envisioned a more traditionally dystopian setting for “Daddy” that also hit on the themes of climate change and lack of reproduction, production costs became an issue.
“Neil and I were really in love with the idea of shooting in the desert, and then we sort of had to revamp and try and find something that was maybe desert-like. We didn’t find anything that satisfied us,” Sherman said. “We had to shift mentally to go from the desert to this sort of beautiful lush, green, gem within Topanga Canyon (in western Los Angeles County, California) , but it definitely worked.”
Although the setting was unexpected for the filmmakers, Sherman and Kelley agreed that it ended up making the film unique from other dystopian films.
“In the desert it may have felt a little more dystopian and may have felt like they were completely out on their own, but the mountains, the greenery and the beauty of that home helped balance out this like insanity that we were slowly unraveling in the movie,” Kelley said.
While the setting plays a role in that unraveling, the actors do their fair share of the work. Kelley and Sherman star in two of the main roles alongside Yuriy Sardarov, known for “Chicago Fire,” Pomme Koch, known for “Law and Order,” and Jacqueline Toboni, known for “The L Word: Generation Q.”
For many, “Daddy” was not their first time working together, Kelley and Sherman said.
“Pomme and Yuriy play Mo and Sebastian. They went to (the University of) Michigan with me in the theater program. The first play I ever directed in New York nine years ago, they were the leads. So not only have they been close friends, but they also are very close collaborators,” Kelley said.
In addition to that, Toboni, who plays Ally in the film, also was once a member of the Michigan theater program. The initial actress set to play Ally dropped out, and Toboni was brought in in less than 48 hours.
“You just have that connection and kinship so that when someone’s coming into a new environment, then they trust you,” Kelley said.
Sherman said that the casting of this film is a result of something that every upcoming filmmaker should be doing: laterally networking.
“While you’re in school, make as many films as you can and try to identify people that you think you’ll want to make films with in the future,” Sherman said.
Sherman and Kelley also said that although there were challenges, going the indie route gives a unique experience to filmmakers.
“For some filmmakers, the dream or the goal is to write a script, and then a big studio comes in and they give you all their resources,” Sherman said. “One great benefit that Neil and I have gained through this sort of indie route is that he and I now feel comfortable. Every process, we can have a conversation about pre-production, about the financing, about the actual making of the film. Now that we’re here. There’s a greater sense of ownership.”
That sense of pride clearly translates into their sense of excitement for the Oxford Film Festival.
“It’s a 20th annual festival which is exciting,” Kelley said. “I think what’s great about festivals like Oxford is it’s really about the craft. It’s not about the industry. It’s outside of Hollywood. It’s about community. It’s about promoting independent art and cinema. It’s a really exciting opportunity for us to share the film with a community that might not otherwise be able to see it.”
“Daddy” will screen on Saturday, March 4, at 11 a.m. at the Malco Oxford Commons Cinema in Auditorium 2.
More information, including tickets, can be found on the Oxford Film Festival website.
