Deany Bean is Dead

This is a deeply romantic story about an outsider, a young woman still suffering from a bad breakup. What I was most interested in as director was the story’s unique tone, resulting from the combination of a comedic, at times even farcical story-framework, with a darker, more absurdist side.

Deany, the protagonist, is a flawed anti-hero, a character struggling to get grip on her life – and a character that doesn’t conform to the usual “easy likability” aspects of a typical Hollywood film.

Our approach was to apply a realistic, almost documentary-style visual treatment: naturalistic, truthful performances; naturalistic lighting, handheld, simple camera work, minimal lighting to allow for flexibility in the blocking of the actors; the visual style is intended to play on the constant tension between the three emotional cornerstones of the story: Deany’s initial lethargy – the franticness of the farcical central complications – and Deany’s frequent romantic day-dreams. We were inspired by the work of John Cassavetes, Wong Kar Wai’s Days of Being Wild, and PT Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love, as well the Duplass brothers’ TV-Series TOGETHERNESS - films by filmmakers who are interested in exploring human interaction, films that put the characters and performances at the center.