Emmanuel Itier

THE HIGH LIFE

By and with Stephanie Sanditz

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1102885

Q: What was the inspiration with this new series and what were you trying to explore?

Stephanie: I grew up a “Christmas tree-jew”! My father was jewish and an insurance sales man. He had a keen sense of humor but never let it out. My mother was from a Christian family with Texas and Ozark roots. Therefore I was always a seeker and I went through so many experiences when I grew up, seeking the meaning of life. Then I moved to New York and I got a job reviewing a lots of bars and I got in a little bit of trouble. I was trying my way to fit in as I was kind of a black sheep. I had an aunt who I idolized and who was a very successful business woman. She was an executive vice president of MasterCard. She had 3 bmw cars. And she got ovarian cancer, she battled for 10 years and then, sadly, she died. So, my family got together, essentially to read her will and see what would happen. And we were surprised to find out that her dying wish was for the whole family to get together, get naked and hiked her ashes on top of a mountain that was a nudist Buddhist monastery that she had secretly joined the last 10 years of her life during her cancer fight. Imagine doing that with your family. And my family is such a non-groovy repressed family. So, my show and the pilot is about that. But it’s also looking at you and what matters in your life. What’s going on within you, underneath the surface and facing the crisis we all face, at times. It’s about family and communication as well as religious awakening in the face of crisis.

Q: What did you learn about yourself or your family in the process of making this pilot?

Stephanie: This experience was incredible even so it was overwhelming with the so many hats I decided to wear: writing, acting, producing, etc. I was blessed to work with such an incredible cast and crew. Incredible women like, executive producer Kimberly Mc Cullough (‘High School musical’) but also producer Shannon Riggs and my director Amy French. They all joined behind me and as a team effort there was the will to tell this story. In spite of the challenges of not having a big budget; we raised the financing mainly with an IndieGoGo crowd-funding campaign.  And in spite of having to convince actors to take a small pay day as well as a tight schedule, we still had a blast and I’m so proud of what we have done with ‘The High Life’. The schedule was so tight, 5 days! And we had nudity! Quite a challenge. We also had such a rich cast with Amy Landecker (Dan in real life) , Ron Perkins (Spider-man) and Linda Purl (Homeland). Everyone is such a pro and I’m so honored they wanted to join us in this endeavor. I learned that this is truly what I want to do with my life and have the ability to work with good people. I want to tell more important stories like this one. I’d like to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable” (quote from American poet Lucille Clifton).

Q: What are the themes, the messages, one should get from ‘The High Life’?

Stephanie: Even so this was shot before the peak of the pandemic, lots of people suffered deep losses. And collectively we were all forced to look at ourselves and figure out what does matter the most. So it’s an exploration of the bigger picture, spiritually speaking, what’s our purpose on Earth. But also there is the subject of inter-racial love story. The brother is gay and therefore we explore homosexuality. It’s about the challenges people face in a mid-western environment in the US. There is also the theme of aging with the parents. And for sure this is also about addiction and the search for meaning, for spirituality. But it’s all wrapped with comedy. And I love my character who is daring to try every spirituality and religion possible. Maybe next she will try scientology and become a Mormon, etc.

Q: So, what does Religion and Spirituality represent to you these days?

Stephanie: How many hours do we have so I can answer! Haha! Right now, what I learned from my jewish grandmother and that resonates with me is that she didn’t believe in an after-life. Instead we should choose life as a dance and that we are supposed to leave messages for the people who come after us, we should leave a better world for the people coming after us. She believed in living your life at your fullest while you are here and with the people around you. On a practical sense this is what I’m trying to do. In the bigger picture I think we are all together in this experiment and there’s got to be a bigger meaning. There is a lot of pain but there is also a lot of beauty. I just want to do some storytelling to connect people and give solace to those who are hurting. There is a lot of separation, but people need to come together and communicate more. And this is the true message of the series. Life would be easier if everyone would be willing to be vulnerable and talk with honesty about the problems going on. I hope I’m having a warm in-print while I’m here. And lots of comedy and a little bit of nudity!

Q: What is unique about Bentonville and what are your expectations?

Stephanie: I just got to Bentonville with my husband, Jonathan LaVallee, who plays “Hunter”. The idea of Geena Davis and Wendy Guerrero is amazing. It’s so inspiring that they are championing women voices and diverse voices. It’s also great to see Art and more opened minded movies coming to a small community like Bentonville. And I’m so excited to meet other filmmakers. Hollywood is harsh and dry and it’s great to be able to mix with your peers in this free spirited environment.