RYDER ALLEN

In making this, I was thinking a great deal on what is an artist, why do I want to work in the broad medium of art, and why does my work matter? The answer to all these was fairly simple. For me, creating art is giving life to that which was buried, best represented in the visual mediums of Film (movies and television) and Photography. I feel that these mediums allow me to show the unseen part of the human experience in life. It was director Michael Mann who once said “It bores me to present the events of the story in a realist style. My approach instead is to conceptualize the elements of the plot, taking into consideration the various torments of the human spirit. My aim is to exteriorize the spiritual in the Expressionist manner, and this always leads me to reject realism”. Mirroring this ideology, when I write a screenplay, I love exploring morally ambiguous facets of life, those which are deemed too taboo to analyze . I feel that this allows me to focus on details that help make a story more relatable, whilst at the same time disregarding realism. To put it bluntly, realism, to me at least, blends best with story and character, yet detracts from visual style.

With regards to this in the medium of film, a few directors who have served as personal inspirations for me include David Cronenberg, Michael Mann (fellow Chicagoan shoutout!), Julia Ducournau, Bill Hader, Ousmane Sembène, Sam Raimi, and John Singleton.

Specifically, Ducournau and Hader are filmmakers whose work ethic I strive to emulate, as they’re well versed in both the technical and directorial side of film. I find that this creates a greater appreciation into creating art, and this applies for other artistic mediums.

So far, I have only directed one short that is currently in the editing phase. With my photographic work, I really just like showing of whats in the moment with little direction as possible. This has helped me to capture authentic moments with my subjects.