The independent film Thoughts & Prayers, directed and produced by Danny Farber, tackles sensitive themes with a dark comedic tone, featuring trigger warnings related to violence. The result of a collaborative effort by various industry professionals, the film has begun its journey through the festival circuit, garnering attention for its bold and emotionally gripping approach.
What inspired you to tackle such a heavy theme and, at the same time, weave it into a dark comedy in Thoughts & Prayers?
Growing up in the public school system in America, it’s hard to ignore the reality of school shootings. They’ve become so commonplace that people have grown numb to the tragedy. Back in the Spring of 2023, two Tennessee state congressmen (Rep. Justin Jones & Rep. Justin Pearson) both peaceably marched on the state capitol with their minor constituents. They were promptly expelled from their positions and it lit a fire inside of me. If these two lawmakers, who were democratically elected to stand up for the rights of the people in their state, were unable to speak out against gun violence…who is left to speak for us but ourselves? Truthfully, I’ve had this idea written in my Notes app since 2014 but was never brave enough to tackle it. But something about that incident set me off and here we are. Approaching it satirically, with heavy satire and dark comedy seemed like the best packaging with material that is so heavy and serious. It’s a little bit of sugar to make the medicine go down, so to speak.
How do you balance the elements of humor and violence in the film, especially considering the trigger warnings?
It was important to keep things grounded in reality. Most of the dialouge is actually spoken in a hushed whisper. The threat of danger is omnipresent in every move these characters make. With that in mind, it was important for me that we have brief moments of levity, to give the audience a chance to catch their breath. Only to be immediately followed up with tragic violence and a new space to have these characters explore.
Thoughts & Prayers was a collaborative project with various professionals. What was the process like of bringing together different voices and perspectives in the creation of the film?
It was always important to me that whomever was brought onto this film understood the tone of what I was trying to make. We’re not punching down at shooting victims, we’re punching up at our government. This film wouldn’t have been possible with my chief collaborative partner, Anjelika Washington (who plays Simone). I had Anjelika in mind while writing this film because she’s a truly gifted performer with a resume littered with really big roles on major studio projects but never a leading role. I wanted Simone to be somebody who felt passed over, a character ‘getting left at the altar’ in this relationship. In many ways, Anjelika feels at home in the role. She’s bright and funny and beautiful and deserves every leading character under the sun. I can’t give her all of those but I can give her one or two from my arsenal. Everybody else in the creative process also fully understood what we were making. My cinematographer, Will Brunker, has been a close collaborator of mine since film school. He’s a person that I trust with my vision, especially while I’m on the other side of the camera performing while directing. If he tells me we should do another take, I’ll listen. If he thinks we got it, and it felt right to me – we’re moving on. It’s important to trust your team. There are so many other wonderful people, our editor Zoé Kraft, our producers Summer Moore and Stacy Snyder, the rest of our wonderful cast all that played major roles in making this project come to life.
What do you hope the audience takes away after watching a film with this theme?
That we can’t become complacent to random acts of violence. It takes a society to change a society.
How has the film been received on the festival circuit so far?
Ha! Good question. We’ve won ‘Best of Fest’ and ‘Best Dark Comedy’ at two festivals here in Los Angeles. We were rejected from every single major film festival under the sun. I think we got accepted in like 7 of 35 festivals. Soooo roughly a 20% ‘success’ rate. But it’s okay! I rather our film reach a wide audience than win a thousand awards. Know anybody that can help us reach a wide audience, Popsize UK? 🙂
How has the experience of creating an independent film influenced your directing and production style?
A majority of the work being produced nowadays is independent projects. It’s a wonderfully challenging thing that creates better art. Without the bells and whistles and major money donors and studio notes – you’re forced to sit with the script. And a good movie starts with a good story. I feel that this project has help establish a deeply sardonic voice in my head. My general apathy towards the state of current affairs has somewhere to flourish within telling political dark comedies. I have about a dozen more ideas in this vein, I’d love to make about half of them over the next 5-10 years.
Based on the film’s theme, did you have any specific concerns about conveying the message to the audience?
I constantly have concerns with this film being out in the world. I have anxiety about this interview in fear that it won’t age well after some horrible tragedy might unfold in front of me one day. I didn’t want to tell this story for TEN YEARS. It sat as an idea in my phone for almost a decade. But once I realized that it was just as relevant ten years after I conceptualized it, society hadn’t changed at all, it changed in my brain. Suddenly, this deeply sensitive issue held even more weight if I chose to remain silent about it.
Is there any particular experience or insight you gained during the production of Thoughts & Prayers that you’d like to share with other filmmakers?
Work with your friends. Don’t be afraid to be bold. If your gut is saying go for it, jump in with two feet. Don’t half ass a good idea.
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