Russel Redl is a director from the United States whose work lives at the intersection of the deeply personal and the wildly supernatural. His project Luma Was Here uses vampiric mythology not to frighten — but to ask what happens when grief refuses to let go.
Tell us about your background in filmmaking.
I believe every film or screenplay I've ever worked on has been a deeply personal project. Whether the story is taken from my own life, someone I've met, or a subject I'm passionate about, I tend to pour a lot of myself into my work. For me, filmmaking is the ultimate way to process reality through fiction.
Tell us about the project you submitted to our festival.
The project is titled Luma Was Here. Currently it's in screenplay form, and I'm having it translated into comic panels to serve as storyboards before moving into pre-production. It's essentially a "vampire rendition" of a story — but instead of mythical creatures, it explores how memory, specifically memory tarnished by trauma, can be vampiric. The story examines how pain can feed off a person's vitality. The main character is desperate to overcome the grief of losing loved ones and decides to use "blood magic" to contact them one last time. By using her traumatic memories, she literally bleeds into a cup and drinks it, which sets her on a dark, transformative path.
"Filmmaking is the ultimate way to process reality through fiction."
You mentioned your characters often represent the "ultimate outsider." Could you elaborate?
The character is actually based on my best friend, who is gay. I use the LGBT aspect not just for representation, but as a means to portray the "ultimate outsider." It's a way to tell a story that feels raw and real, but within a very fictionalized, supernatural setting. When my friend — who is an actor — read the script, he immediately clocked it. He said, "This is just me!" I partially wrote it for him, and that personal connection was a huge part of why and how I was able to write this character.
How would you describe your film in a few words?
Visceral. Haunting. Magical. Cathartic.
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