Meet SnagFilms Filmmakers: Andrew Bryan, Director of Coen Brothers Inspired Short ‘Statue’
IndieWire Staff
Director Andrew Bryan started making films with friends in High School, standing behind the camera to avoid documenting his self professed social awkwardness. It was in college that Bryan’s appreciation for cinema really flourished, and he found he “could communicate something that couldn’t be expressed with words alone.” Inspired by the Coen Brothers’ short “Tullieries (via “Paris Je T’aime”) and New Orleans, “Statue” is his latest short film. View the film on the SnagFilms website or below.
What’s it about? “Statue is a silent love story that explores the power of unspoken attraction between two people and how they interact despite limitations in communication. A lonely, ‘living-statue’ street performer in the French Quarter of New Orleans tries to win the heart of a nearby street musician.”
What was the biggest challenge? “I think the biggest challenge was finding a location to shoot the film that I could afford. I almost didn’t make this film because it was set in Jackson Square. There’s no way I’d be able to make it there without an expensive permit, police, crowd control, etc. But after riding my bike around the French Quarter one morning with a friend of mine who lived there, we found a little alley tucked away from a lot of the tourist traffic and business of the quarter that still provided enough New Orleans flavor to fit the bill.”
Andrew Bryan on street performers: “I’ve always been enthralled by “living-statue” street performers, not only for their talent and dedication to the craft, but for the simple fact that they are turning themselves into a piece of art. The goal, of course, of the illusion is that people view the performer as actually being inhuman. But I always wondered who that person was under all that paint and how an occupation like that might affect them. Does it cause them to lose a sense of their humanity and their ability to interact with others if people tend to no longer view (or treat) them as human beings?”
How do you think SnagFilms audiences will respond? “I think they will respond to the character of the “Statue” despite never hearing him say a word. I think they will find what he wants and how he feels are both very clear.”
What’s next? “I’ve considered making a feature-length version of Statue. This is one of many other ideas that I have stewing around in the pot right now. We’ll see which one comes out first. Whatever it is, though, it will be a feature-length film.”
[Full Disclosure: SnagFilms is the parent company of Indiewire.]
