DYSTONIA IS A MOVING FILM

Kenny:  Through experience, I learned how hard it was to multitask as an actor and director, (as well as a writer, and producer). Trying to get where your character needs to be and having to worry about the shot or whether or not your other actors are in a relationship and telling the story you want… it’s a lot. So I knew when writing the script that I needed to trust someone to oversee everything, and I was lucky to find that someone in Julian Stamboulieh. Of course, we chatted a lot to make sure we were on the same page with everything, but on the day, I simply let go and solely focused on acting.

Kenny:  I wanted to share with the world a unique subject matter. Very seldom are people aware of what Classical musicians go through daily to get to where they are today. Some, unfortunately, have to find another career path due to injuries or conditions such as Focal Hand Dystonia, which is what the film is about. I also was a bit tired of seeing films/tv shows put little care of showing characters that are supposed to be good instrumentalists.   I am proud to say that Dystonia has Classical masterworks performed by actors who double in real life as professional musicians.

Kenny:  Yes, it was a challenge. Because it is me, but it is me from ten years ago — more naive, more proud, less aware, and no understanding of what was happening. Another challenge was forcing me to relive everything because it was such a painful time of my life. Things like making my affected fingers curl under the instrument to reenact certain scenes… visually seeing that happen, even though I’m faking it, was emotionally taxing.

Kenny:  I remember sending my ‘Dystonia’ feature film script to the Toronto Screenwriting Conference and thinking nothing will come of it. I just did it to give myself a deadline to finish it. When I got the email that I was a winner of the Telefilm New Voices Award, I was very surprised. Like… I was confident in the script and the story but didn’t have high expectations then. A month or so later, I went to the conference, attended some great lectures, met a lot of amazing people, and left there wanting to pursue writing a lot more. So I did — I wrote more scripts, studied the art form, and kept working on ‘Dystonia’ to the point that I decided to make a short version of it. My producing partner, Sydney Van Delft, and I were extremely excited when we got the TakingitGlobal grant.   It paved the way to getting the film made — it gave us the confidence to approach a director (Julian Stamboulieh) and another producer (Benjamin Warner) who worked with us to find more funding AKA Jeunes Volontaires. When we were approved for that grant, we were able to bring in an amazing crew, rent out beautiful locations, and hire stellar actors and musicians. I knew then that we could make something special.

Kenny:  For sure. In my opinion, all one can hope for when they are dealing with such chaos is for some understanding and comfort, but any little thing that doesn’t seem to be as such for the affected person can be gasoline on a fire. This is especially true for people who are proud or with low self-esteem. I feel Dystonia showcases that breakdown in communication well as we see Emily trying to help James through this ordeal but he takes it as an attack more than anything else.

Kenny:  I would say it is a mix of therapeutic and a bit overwhelming. It is therapeutic in the sense that it reminds me that my condition has come a long way since its diagnosis. And it’s overwhelming because it brings up so much from my past that it just hits me hard sometimes. I remember watching the completed version for the first time. I just sat there as the credits rolled and were just lost in thought.

Kenny:  It is very exciting! We had our fingers crossed for Dystonia’s world premiere to be in either Toronto or Montreal so we were stoked when we found out we were accepted into Toronto Shorts. We’re looking forward to sharing this story and the amazing work put in by our cast and crew.

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