Director of Award Winning Film Voice Activated And How He Found Comfort In His Stutter

Transcript

Maya Chupkov:

I am a woman who stutters welcome to Proud stutter a Show about stuttering and embracing verbal diversity in an effort to change how we talk about it one conversation at a time.

Hello, it's Maya your host of proud stutter before we get into Today's Show. I just wanted to shout out a quick reminder. That proud stutter is having its annual Gala comedy community night on Thursday, December 7th, featuring Nina G. And you're hearing hit here first. We also confirmed Alexis magical of kqed's forum. We are also having a silent auction with a tour of KQED headquarters. As one of our items. We also have a wine package a spa package a Book Lovers Package. You won't want to miss this event at the peacock Lounge in the lower hate to learn more and by ticket you can either check out our show notes or visit our website proudstar.com. So now let's get to the show. I am so excited to speak with today's guest. His name is Stephen and thoughtfulness. He is an Australian based writer director his latest film which is eligible for an Oscar is a short called voice activated the film follows a florist with a stutter who is forced to cooperate with a voice-activated car on the way to an important delivery it won 11 awards at festivals around the globe premiering at the Sydney film festival and screening at Tribeca. And yes, you heard me right? This film is gonna be submitted for the Oscars really hoping we can get the word out. The film can now be watched on YouTube the link to view it is in our show notes Stephen. Welcome to the show. I'm so excited to have you on

Steven Anthopolous:

yeah, appreciate you having me on the podcast Maya.

Maya:

Yes. I am. So excited to have you here. So, let's Dive Right In. My first question is where did the idea of your film originate? Yeah.

Steven:

Um the spark for the idea was really years ago. But I was first trying out a Siri on my iPhone and I was having a lot of trouble. Yeah, obviously, I'm a person who's So that is and serious seem to be having some trouble and she'd misunderstand me or she didn't interrupt me. And of course she's not sentient and she's not a a person but you kind of got the feeling that she was mad at you which I just were found really funny really and that was really the spark for the short film just the idea of a buddy comedy almost situation between Siri and a person who's daughters. It's also a drama and it also has this emotional heart too. And I think that came our draft after draft it became more and more about of more about avoidance and acceptance which is a journey that I'm on and have is something I learned a lot more about just through the process of creating the short film too, and I'm have been on that acceptance Journey for maybe 10 years or a bit less, but A yeah, it's certainly isn't a thing. I was ever perfect at or I'm perfect at and I think that um, yeah in the creating of the film and having to talk to so many people about it in this context where they know I you know, I thought are has been so helpful because it's been situations where stuttering stops feeling so dangerous to me and like something I have to avoid because it's just part of me and part of how I talk about the Short film so yeah, it's been a great. Personal Jude Journey on that front too through making this film and maybe even other films you've learned to accept your stutter because stuttering is almost like I mean it is part it's like the central part of the film. And so you there's that Comfort there and I feel the same way about doing a podcast on stuttering. It's really helped me just feel more comfortable in my own skin. Yeah. It's kind of great because If you're allowed to start on this purp podcast, right? It's normal and Yeah, if you didn't it would almost be. Strange, you know and I think that's kind of great to have that kind of Avenue to um prove it things don't have to be as scary or dangerous.

Maya:

I'm I'm wondering like because this is something I grapple with when it comes to like story to telling around stuttering. is you know, I'm you know podcasting is part of the audio world radio is part of the audio world too and one of the critiques I've gotten about my show is that The interviewees responses are too long. And like I get it, you know, these are audio people that have spent like decades in the industry, but I just feel like when it comes to stuttering we kind of have to break that mentality almost that like because there's all this like in our day and age there's like attention spans or shorter and like people just want to digest stuff quickly and there isn't as much patience. So I'm wondering in your story telling if that's come up for you and how you If you grapple with that, especially doing like a short film

Steven:

on the podcast thing. Yeah, absolutely. I mean you listen to all of these podcasts and people are speaking incredibly quickly editing out pauses and I think even like speeding for things up. So but I do think you know, when I do to listen to your podcast and other podcasts with people who started it, it's a kind of a nice break to be honest.

I was was listening to a podcast you did with a young man who blocks a lot. Um, and I don't know as a person who studies and blocks at times. I found it kind of comforting because I found it easy to listen to and the slower Pace was kind of nice and it's kind of nice whenever I encounter other people who start up and then kind of forget about it. And I think oh, okay. So actually that could be what happens to me, you know, it's possible that people don't find as big of a problem as yeah. I Thought in my head but um, yeah in terms of films. Um, yeah, I think films are so visual. Yeah so so much of it was can conveying on screen so much and emotion and in from information through the the lead actors are based her. I think it's not probably as hard of a thing to think about in a short film but I am working on a feature film. That's Loosely inspired by the short and yeah at times I do think oh, is it is there too much? Stuttering in this film like rule. Is that that? Okay and yeah, it is a thing. I do. Yeah, which I think should be totally. Okay, but um, yeah, it's something that has crossed my mind. But before the biggest challenge is really being someone who wants to direct films or TV and this I suppose feeling when I was coming up in the industry this a fear of Stuttering and what people would think and just being incredibly inside? My own head about that and kind of coming to this point now where I've kind of learned that the more. That there's more to communication than just being perfectly. Learned at all times the more I accept myself the more comfortable. I am talking I think you can be a person who studies and being incredibly on, you know, personally on comfortable and you know, that potentially could make other people uncomfortable too. Or you can be a person who studies who has somewhat stop caring or is trying to stop um caring as as much and that can really change like how you're able to Communicate and present yourself to

Maya:

totally agree and the actors like they were so incredible especially the main character. How did you find someone like does he start her himself or how did he get the stuttering? So right because as you probably know too like we know this as people who stutter depictions of people who stutter so Horrible and other films so like how did you work with the actor

Steven:

Alex? Yeah, he's incredible. And as you saw he's on He's he's on screen almost the whole time. So it really did matter that, you know, he was able to pull up a pull off that performance. He sent her a self tape alone in the process, and he really at that point had a pretty good handle around how Startup put a sound and also just emotionally bringing you on that a journey too. So like I almost cried just playing that but I'm Self-tape, he had just recorded in his a bedroom. Um and working with him. Yeah for him. I think he had his own process of how he got that's um, perfect performance, right? I think what was important for me in the short was that not all stuttering is, you know the same and there's a certain kind of at times. It's just a no sound or a long block and things can be quite a subtle too. And I think yeah, I am proud of how um that's captured in the show these kind of tiny moments that Alex was able to just pull off really authentically

Maya:

I had every emotion watching this film I cried and then I laughed too like it was hurt so many funny moments and I just cry again like yeah, it had this just emotional Arc that I think was so powerful and I really felt myself in The character and you know, like I talk with people who start her all the time. So I've kind of become people feel like I've experienced so many emotions just like hearing other people talk but to see it. In a fictional story and to see it. In the way that you've written it and told the story. It was just a totally different feeling that I've never had in my whole life. And so I'm just I'm so excited for others to watch this film and feel all of the emotions that's come with it. How did you like navigate all the emotional things because it's like there's the there's the emotional part but then there's the the funny parts too. And I think it's really important to have have both so I'm wondering if you can talk about both of those elements.

Steven:

I do love films that make me laugh and cry with all the drafts. I did of the shore. I was always trying to head in that direction that was on Yeah, the dream I think a big inspiration for the short was a Pixar animated short films, too. I'm just in terms of how they are able to. To make me laugh and cry so quickly and just capture this really. Meaningful ideal theme so quickly. Yeah. It's it's a really challenging thing to do and I think it you know starts in the scripting but then there's so many more parts of a filmmaking. Um, there's you know, there's a cast and cinematoga and and music. Um, so yeah that that was really Um, yeah, it was really important to me that I get that right that. the film creates that because I also was I think it was important to me that it not be kind of a Film about how traumatics stuttering can be because obviously it can be but I also I think in trying to put the audience in the shoes of the main character as much as possible, I think it inevitably becomes a funny to me because you know as a person who studies some things can happen to you that are painful and then something's can happen to you that just make you laugh because of how silly it is or um, yeah how amazing that can can be your the irony of it can hit her. Um, so I think in making it really through this characters point of view, I think that's what came out and I think that's what allows you to you know, allows you to reach this more emotional state where you've connected with this character and

Maya:

now and yeah, you can feel more powerfully and I think it also shows that we as stutters like are used to kind of thinking quickly on our feet because we're put into situations where it can be really tricky to like navigate things can go sideways every day for us.

Steven:

Yeah friend asked me is this what a normal day in your your life is when I said not all in combination, I think everything that's happening. The short has happened in some point to me, but I think if it all happened on a single day that would yet be as hard as it is in a short film.

Maya:

Yeah. Gosh, I love that. Yeah, it's it's interesting because like my stutter is Like it comes and goes like today. I've had more of a consistent stutter like at a meeting this morning. I stuttered throughout the whole thing. And so yeah, I'm wondering if you can kind of try to talk about your own stutter and how you see it like Were you trying to like replicate your own stutter and that the film or like? Yeah, if we can just talk more about like how like your personal relationship with your stutter.

Steven:

I would also agree with me. It does tend to come and go it almost feels like it's three month periods almost so I can be in a Bad period old I think acceptance would mean yeah, I should stop thinking about things in those terms. But yeah, there are months where it's harder to be more. to be more element and months when I somehow can just speak, you know or sometimes you can depend on the person not in any explicit way because of what they're like, but yeah, it can depend on the day or situation. So I I can be on a zoom call where I'm stuttering a lot. It's quite a challenge and then I can be on a zoom call where I am talking about the short film and about how I Stutter and the person is like oh, you're not stuttering at all, you know. So yeah, it's interesting how it just comes and goes cognitive behavioral therapy has been helpful in kind of Stopping those types of negative thoughts and I think it was helpful to do the short film because I'd be heading to a meeting. I'd have this thought this familiar thought pattern in my head. Just saying what happens if you stutter, what are they doing it think how will you avoid it? And what can you say that's easier to say or happy plan and and then I realize oh, I'm Heading to a meeting about a short film about. stuttering they know I stutter everyone is there to make a short film about stuttering? It's not a big problem. And I think the fact that that thought pattern would happen throughout the whole process of making sure at that times kind of proved to my brain that that makes no sense. Like I think that bullet pattern isn't always a rational. So I think that kind of has been my journey that the more I accept my starter the more comfortable I become and the better Communicator I become and I think I'm that always would sound a bit utopian to me the idea of um X the idea of acceptance sounds kind of crazy, but

Yeah, it actually has like really practical tangible results.

Maya:

Yeah, that's I definitely feel similar to like My podcast is called proud stutter. But you know accept is isn't something they can just check off and be like, okay, I've arrived like it kind of Ebbs and flows. Yeah. Yeah, and I'm trying hard to like. Not because I still feel myself. cringe when I'm stuttering in front of someone I may not know as well and I'm really trying to just like Be better about like not constantly thinking. Oh, I wonder what they're thinking about me. You know, that's kind of the first thing that pops up when I'm stuttering so yeah, but it does help when people's Google you that they know I have a stutter probably now, so that's oh that always helps with the pressure because I feel like I get the looks like less and less now because people Like I just Pete like what if you would Google my name is just like starters right next to it. So I feel like it's less of a shocked to people lately.

Steven:

Yeah, it's been good for me too. Because I can you know, if I'm if I have a meeting or Yeah, it's it's often in the context of the short film or they've seen it and it's been almost. Yeah, it's just been great for people to worry know it beforehand or to have seen a sure sure shorts on that expansion to them. So yeah, I think the more my name online is associated with stutters. Yeah has been great. I think for other people's confidence in mind and everyone can be just yeah happy and comfortable and I I think I'm always in conversations. Yeah, when I do have that judgmental part of me, I actually like it sounds Cringe and lame but like I do think about the character at the end of the short and I just try and be a bit more like him because I think yeah, as you said it's a journey it's you know, you can have a podcast called crowds that are and you can make a short film about how you can be totally accepting but maybe you know kind of living up to that at all times. So I think it's helpful to have have made the short and tried to make this statement on what's possible and just like try and kind of yeah use that to to make sure that you know, I don't look away, and I you know just Yeah achieve that that level of just just not caring, you know, if I'm in a Converse station with a new person and

Maya:

you mentioned that you're working on a film which is based off of the short film or similar. Can you talk more about that? Project or

Steven:

I can't talk too much about it. It's quite early on and I think could potentially change quite a bit. But yeah, it's Loosely inspired by the short. So I think inspired by the journey and themes of the short and what it's trying to to say it generally I do feel this almost obligation to like spread this type of idea and story on a biggest scale and can use it tell us like so

Maya:

you drew inspiration from the short are there other films that you've drawn inspiration from for like the film that you're working on now.

Steven:

Yeah a lot. I think there's different versions of The film I considering so like there could be Inspirations as broad as ET the lobster. There's all types of interesting possibilities. I'm exploring as I think the way I am approached the short film which I think was valuable was I really tried to figure out what the rider genre could be in story and place and character. Um, so I'm kind of pursuing the same idea with the feature film and of course with features that can be quite xxxtentacion, too. So I'm just absolutely considering what is on feasible. Yeah.

Maya:

Oh my gosh, I love both those films. So

Steven:

yeah same

Maya:

okay. So you you were you were selected. I think that's the term to show your film in all of these. Film festivals. Can you talk about like one of your favorites most favorite moments of like showing that the film like I know you were at Tribeca and others, like what was one of your highlights of like just going through all the the bestivals with your film

Steven:

The Highlight was probably not at a festival. But when I got the call from Tribeca that the Film had been since selected that was a better area emotional call. Um, and there's just been this great. It's a really great film to play and to sit in audiences and watch and yeah, there's just been some great times. I think it was Anish Australian festival at the start of the year and it the locally here and the cinema was just packed out and just hearing the audience go on the journey. With the main character and gasp and and laugh and I think that was amazing to be able to experience and that's to be honest at the point where I just thought. Yeah, I I have to turn this into it feature film just be yeah. Seeing how a story could work on in audience was just great.

Maya:

So tell me what is the status of the film? Like where does it go from from here?

Steven:

The film is now through Manhattan short film festival. The film is amazingly eligible for and Academy Awards or yeah, it's some playing in the street the screening room. They have online now of voting big begins on in December, I believe so yeah, we're Releasing the short are now just to get it out there for that purpose. but also just people to be able to see it and but people who've ever seen it at a festival to share it with. To share it with their friends. So yeah, it's exciting to be able to be eligible. And I think the dream is to be shortlisted. So we'll see if that happens. But yeah, it's a piano just a really I generally yeah, it's just been a very exciting surprising process to see how far the short film has. Come since we should shut it a year and a half ago. I want to see that.

Maya:

Yeah, we're actually. at the California speech language Conference they have like this California speech language conference every year and next year. It's going to be in San Francisco and we're actually going to do a panel. on stuttering and TV and film so so I'll definitely be sure to mention this but it's not until March but it's fine. But yeah, I I I'm really passionate about like having better depictions of stuttering in a TV and film like I think it's one of the like one of the biggest impacts we can have on pop culture and Society is just like telling these stories so Yeah, I'm very excited about. About this and what inspiration others will pull from this too.

Steven:

I'm just excited that people will be able to shush share it and yeah, it's it's nice because it's a short film. Yeah, I've made for a purpose, you know, so it's good. it not to be um, yeah for it to be shareable and for people to be able to show their family and friends and yeah, it's I'm Happy it's a finally on online.

Maya:

Yeah, well Stephen, thank you so much. I am so excited for our listeners to watch it's amazing. So thank you so much Stephen for being on the show and for Creating that this film.

And that's it for this episode of proud stutter. This episode of proud stutter was produced and edited by me Maya chupkov. Our music was composed by Augusto Denise and our artwork by Mara Ezekiel and Noah chukov.

If you have an idea or want to be part of a future episode visit us at www.proudstutter.com, and if you like the show, you can leave us a review wherever you are listening to this podcast want to leave us a voicemail check out our show notes for the number to call in more importantly tell your friends to listen to until we meet again. Thanks for listening be proud and be you.