Interview with the director of Saving Paradise: Jay Siverman

Director Jay Silverman with stars William Moseley and Johanna Braddy

SAVING PARADISE

Directed by: Jay Siverman

Q: Why this film? What were you trying to express with this feature?

Jay: First, we discovered the screenplay on the famous “black list”, the list of unproduced screenplays. We then came to term with the writer, Van Billet. Together we worked closely on developing this project. And we ended up, what I consider, a meaningful picture. We started in 2018 and we filmed ‘Saving Paradise’ in the fall of 2019. We completed post just before they shut down everything in March 2020 and the beginning of the covid pandemic. I’m attracted to films that make you think and this applies whether you live in the States or anywhere in the world. It was important to me to tell a story about a community that was essentially on the cliff, losing everything, and being bypassed for an acquisition from a foreign entity. And that’s applicable anywhere. And the human factor is vivid. And it’s ironic the movie is coming out in a such a political turmoil, still here and everywhere else on the planet.

Q: Tell me about the various difficulties you faced making this film?

Jay: What we all face, independent filmmakers, is having high expectation to make a good movie but to do so you need to do it affordably. You have to be realistic about the cost of your production if you want to survive it. And this means you sometimes have to compromise between what is on the page and what you can really film. For example, instead of the action taking place in a 500,000 square feet factory it will have to take place in a 50,000 square feet building. So we really had to rethink the script and the logistic to make it work. For me it was challenging but enjoyable to bring our a high production value in spite of the various limitations. Everybody can make a movie, these days, with an i-phone. And actually, the opening scene, the making of a pencil, over the credits, was done entirely with a i-phone! And the reason wasn’t because of the budget but because of the only 4 hours we had in that factory to get the shots I needed.

Q: Talking about “pencils”, what do they represent to you in this age of high tech, of i-phone when one can wonder if we can still write with a pencil?

Jay: Haha! Pencils are a great metaphor for the story. Pencils are still used every day. And this is a true story about a pencil factory and how they are made globally. The wood is sometimes harvested in Africa and then it’s shaped in China and it ends here in palettes to be turned into pencils. So it’s really about the old and the new clashing, like in our movie between the owner of the factory and his son, from wall street, taking over. It’s also about the choices that need to be made in life, and sometimes it’s complicated and difficult to make these choices; the right choices. It’s a wonderful story that has long time ramification. It’s a very timely movie that shows that you need to take critical decisions during critical times. And there are always pros and cons.

Q: Tell me about releasing this film during these critical times.

Jay: For sure, the business has changed dramatically. Before it was a fairly safe environment to recoup your investment from one or two countries released. But the game has changed all around the World. Local productions is sometimes more prolific than independent or major US movies. So, this is a delicate situation and it’s not easy at all to release any independent movie these days. But I’m fortunate that Vertical Entertainment has embraced the movie and his putting efforts at promoting it. And we are doing our share of marketing on our side as well. I hope our film finds its audience because this is such a meaningful picture.

Q: What is coming next for you?

Jay: I have been working for the last two year on a passion project: ‘YALE’. It’s a true story about an extraordinary individual. And I’m looking to cast it with someone like Henry Winkler who I think is a fantastic actor. I’m highly invested in it and I’m very excited about this new project. I hope we can film it next year when we find the financing and when the pandemic is less present.