Ryan Piers Williams’ interwoven story of couples facing relationship difficulties, X/Y, has been playing the international festival circuit debuting at Tribeca and going on to show at Seattle and Edinburgh. THN caught up with Williams, who also stars in the film alongside real-life wife America Ferrera, and his co-star to talk about the making of the movie.
Hi guys, welcome to Edinburgh. How have you found the experience of showing the film at festivals; both in the States and in the UK?
Ryan Piers Williams: Oh it’s great, we love being here. We were here four years ago for my first film, THE DRY LAND which was an awesome experience so to be back is a dream
America Ferrera: Last time we were here we got to explore more of the city and go out and see some beautiful parts of the country – Edinburgh is so enchanting!
You mentioned your first film which you worked on together; did you find many differences this time around?
RPW: They were very different films and the process of making them was very different for me personally. On THE DRY LAND I wrote and directed, on X/Y I wrote, directed and acted as well! We also act together in X/Y so it added a whole other dimension to the collaboration which was quite challenging. What was really interesting about working together as actors was that it just connected us even more in the process; we really had to rely on each other for support throughout the whole creative process. For me that was so awesome because we are so connected in our lives anyway, I mean we’re a married couple, so to be able to create these characters together was a really interesting experience. When you’re working with someone you trust so much you can go deeper and find more complexity in the roles because you feel like you’re protected in a way; I had a great experience.
AF: Each project is its own thing and these films were four years apart – that’s a lifetime! So much changes in-between. The first time around we were doing everything for the first time, now some things are easier and some are more challenging. I think the newest thing was that he was wearing this extra hat, being an actor, and everyone signed on knowing we were here to support that process. Ryan was the writer, the director and he had this vision and yet he was going to have to dive in as an actor and we were all there with the intention of supporting him in that. It created a real community on the set; we’re all in it and all facing those challenges together and we’re going to have to move and shift accordingly.
America; coming from a TV background, you’re used to having longer to emotionally connect with an audience. Did you find that helped you in a script which is so emotion and connection based?
AF: I would say TV & film are really different, and you’re right you get more time to show your character’s arc and build it slower in TV but I think in terms of building the character it’s the same. TV is a marathon and film is a sprint; when you’re making a film you dive in and you don’t have time to come up for air – you’re in it and you have to stay in it. In TV you have more time as a person to come up for air and breathe, and then dive back in when necessary. When you’re making a film like this; tiny film on a small budget, fast-paced schedule, you’re wearing multiple hats and it’s such a home-grown situation, we dove in and didn’t really come up for air until it was done. It’s a very different emotional investment.
Do you enjoy one more than the other?
AF: They’re so different! No – what I love about television is you get that time to really live with a character for a long time. I find it harder to let go of my characters in film; you’ve lived with this character for a short intense period and then they’re gone, which can be good if the character is taxing! You miss pieces of the character, I do imagine ‘what would I do with that character if I got to spend more time in their world’ but I don’t enjoy one more than the other, they’re different exercises
The movie features a lot of scenes where energy and frustration are being released; not just through intimacy but through other means. Was that something you were conscious of writing into the script?
RPW: I think everyone is trying to find a way to express themselves in the movie. The physical aspect manifests itself in the sex but also in the surfing, the spin class, the yoga… I wanted to show the characters trying to exercise certain emotions through their physical behaviour, whether they were trying to keep a tight grasp on their emotions like Sylvia in the spin class or when Jake is painting it’s a very outward expression of emotion that then becomes a visual expression. It was interesting to find different ways to allow the characters to spill out their emotions or explore how they were trying to contain them. It connects to a lot of people in life and how they express themselves though physical behaviour!
THN featured X/Y in our Edinburgh Film Festival blog which you can read again here and keep it THN for any news on a UK release for the movie.
