I Feel Like The Beauty In Life Is Finding The Levity In The Darkness: Roy Arwas On His Short Film "Clarity"
Director Roy Arwas is a British-Israeli filmmaker who has won over twenty festival awards and is a student Emmy nominee. Most recently, Roy produced, wrote, directed, and edited Clarity, which focuses on a turbulent relationship between father and son.
After serving 10 years in the Marines, Tom returns home to find out that his estranged abusive father, Richard, who has Alzheimer's, does not remember him.
This film has already screened Mammoth Film Festival 2020 where it won the Grand Jury Award for Short Film & Best Actor, and it recently will be screened online for the 2020 Indy Shorts International Film Festival – Heartland Film on July 26th. We had the opportunity to chat with Roy about the film, its origins, the importance of comedy, finding the right location, and much much more.
How did the idea for Clarity come about?
A few years ago my father was diagnosed with cancer. It was one of the most traumatic experience and it truly made me re-evaluate my relationship with him. This led to me wanting to tell a father-son story, one that truly captured the complexities and nuances that can come from this relationship.
One of the things I loved about the film was it blended the serious with the humorous. What’s the importance of comedy to you in a drama?
From a young age, I have always used humor to get through difficult moments. I feel like the beauty in life is finding the levity in the darkness. I also find it as an important tool to keep the audience engaged. The best stories are those that take us on an emotional rollercoaster, and don’t just hit one emotional note the entire way through.
How did you get connected with your cast, particularly its leads, Chris Browning and Brett Zimmerman?
Brett Zimmerman is a very close friend of mine, and I wrote it with him in mind. Strangely enough, right after I finished the first draft, I watched a film of his that had just come out on Netflix. Chris Browning, who plays his father in Clarity, was in the Netflix film with Brett. My producer and I were watching it, looked at each other and paused the film. Their resemblance and their chemistry was perfect. We somehow convinced Chris to jump on board, and the rest was history. Jodi Moore Lewis, who plays Tom’s sister, is also a good friend of ours, and was just perfect for the role. Destiny definitely played a huge role in this process.
How did you and cinematographer Becky Baihui Chen develop your visual approach to the film?
Becky Baihui Chen, otherwise called (by us) “La Jefa,” definitely came on board with a very clear idea of what we were setting out to do. We were really drawn to the idea of using the camera, particularly its movements, as a way to express the emotional undertone of each scene. Based on this incredible class we once took at USC, called Visual Expression, we drew out graphs indicating how the visual components of the scene (movement, color, lens choice) could help us tell our story. Becky and I both are fans of approaching cinematography from a raw, and grounded perspective, and we really did our best to bring that into this film.
Let’s talk about location. Where did you shoot? How did you find the right place to set this story?
The film was shot in this incredible house in Lancaster. The owners Bob and Tina, who we owe everything to, were also so pivotal on why we got to shoot there. When I first wrote the story I was very adamant about wanting a house in the middle of nowhere, and one that felt like it had been built on so many memories. When we found this house, and met with the owners, we felt like we won the lottery. They also were the owners of the car (aka “Bertha”) in the film! I wrote the car into the story because it was just so perfect!
What drew you to the visual arts? How did you get into directing?
My parents have a travel agency for films, so I was introduced to the film industry at a very young age. However, my story with film really began when I received my first video camera at 15. I remember being profoundly fascinated with it, and began feeling this indescribable feeling whenever I got to film something. It wasn’t long until I began editing, and began to teach myself how to do VFX. The idea that I could artistically tell a story, and potentially help people or inspire them through my work was the final push for me to go all in. I went straight into studying it for my undergrad, and got my MFA in film production at USC.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
My biggest hope, in all honesty, is that viewers would call their loved ones upon watching it. Don’t wait to tell your loved ones how much you love them. If there’s even a small chance at fixing what was once broken, maybe give it a chance. However, I understand this doesn’t always apply, and sometimes situations are far too dangerous or damaging to explore that option.
Do you have any future projects in the works that you can share with us?
Yes! Me and my producing partner, Tiffany K. Guillen, are currently in development for two television shows, and a feature film. We officially launched our production company, Creative X Entertainment, and have been going full force into making content!
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!