Directing Team Discuss 'Akron,' Their Timely LGBT Film

"Akron" was a must-see last year when it was on the LGBT film festival circuit, and it remains so as a home video release on DVD/VOD by Wolfe Video. It may even seem more pertinent in our present political climate. Taking place in a gaytopia-of-sorts where queer people are accepted as part of society's complex fabric, its two protagonists face no discrimination and can focus on such things as love and lust and the crazy coincidental conflicts that often arise in everyday life that can test their devotion.

The film tells the story of two college freshmen that fall hard for one another and, soon after, must deal with circumstances far beyond their control that can potentially tear them apart. Matthew Frias and Edmund Donovan give deeply moving performances as the teens in love; and Andr�a Burns and Amy da Luz are superb as their respective moms.

The film is co-directed by screenwriter Brian O'Donnell & producer Sasha King. Brian has written and directed for the stage while Sasha has been producing films in Europe for over a decade. This is their feature directorial debut and they seemed to have found that perfect balance when it comes to collaboration.

EDGE recently spoke with both filmmakers.

Even more relevant?

EDGE: In the wake of the Trump victory, how important is a film like 'Akron' since it takes for granted the familial and societal acceptance of gay relationships?

Brian O'Donnell: We're only barely into this Trump thing so God knows what's happening and where it's going... I went to Montreal for a screening after the election thinking, what is this going to mean now? How is the audience going to read the film now, especially a foreign audience? I was wondering would I get a bunch of questions about Trump... and I found that the reaction was really the same... a real deep appreciation of being able to watch a movie that came from a place of acceptance as being the norm. A lot of people have that in their lives or wish they had it in their lives. But I think people were very happy to not have to fight the battle again, to not be in a position of watching a gay character who has to deal with shame or internal homophobia or homophobia from the outside.

The idea that Sasha and I had when we were making this was to draw the line further than we've seen the line drawn before, but where we know the line is for many, many people. I think it's very important to push forward, especially now when people are trying to bring us backward. We can't cede any ground. We actually have to take more ground now.

Inspired by Verdi

EDGE: Brian, what was the impetus to write this script? Were you particularly inspired by any plays/films?

Brian O'Donnell: I was actually inspired by an opera. I hadn't written anything for quite a long time and a friend took me to the Met to see Verdi's 'Il Trovatore,' and I was really inspired by the themes of two houses against each other because of fate, the heightened emotional lives of the young lovers... During intermission I thought, I'd really like to write a gay version of this... it really came to me in one piece. I integrated a lot of ideas I already had.

Speaking with a lot of younger gay men -- I'm 46 -- my experience is very different from theirs. I live in New York City and I know plenty of young gay men who came out to their parents as teenagers, whose parents accepted them, and they're on their second or third boyfriend, whom they've introduced to their parents. And I hadn't seen that depicted in film anywhere. It seems like gay characters in film are gay because they have to fight against homophobia. That's what makes them gay. And I wanted to make a film where what made someone gay was the fact that they fell in love with another man... I think a lot of gay characters appear to be depressed or are scared to come out and it was really exciting to write a scene where a young, 18-year-old gay man goes up to another gay man, introduces himself and asks for his phone number. I haven't seen that before. And I think it's empowering for people to see that.

EDGE: Sasha, where did you come into the process and can you speak a bit about the decision to co-direct the film?

Sasha King: I've been in this industry for a long time-over a decade-making films and documentaries. Brian and I know each other from way back. We both lived in Manhattan, and moved in the same circles, back in the early '90s. It was a really special time in New York, a very creative time in theatre and in the arts. We stayed in touch. And when Brian told me he had this story I said, let me read it. I absolutely loved it. I thought it was progressive and beautiful and a sensitive love story. The fact that Brian had created a world that was immediately accepting of the young men's relationship was just so refreshing. And I said to him, let's make this... it felt very organic. Brian and I just gelled immediately. It was a really nice, creative marriage. So it was very easy to work together.

Ever argue?

EDGE: How did the duties break up and who won arguments?

(Laughter from both)

Sasha King: (mock cagey) Well, let me tell you... (Then serious) I don't think we ever had an argument...

Brian O'Donnell: Nothing that wasn't very quickly solved. I would agree.

Sasha King: It sounds a little cheesy, but it was really like the perfect combination of people. I came with a wealth of experience in the film world. Brian assembled a vision already with a team in place in his head and everybody jumped to the occasion and wanted to participate in the film so really we were moving with incredible momentum from day one. I brought key people into play as well... over from Ireland. And they were very experienced people who were really interested in working in America.

Brian O'Donnell: We co-directed and co-produced it and it happened very quickly. We decided to make it in September of 2013 and we shot it March of 2014...it was really looking at all the of the tasks that we had to do and divvying them up as to who would be the better person for that particular task. And then we just supported each other through the whole thing.

Casting is key

EDGE: And did you both work with the actors?

Sasha King: Yes.

Brian O'Donnell: Oh, absolutely. We held the auditions here in New York and Sasha reviewed all the auditions as they were happening so we made all those decisions together. I brought my experience with playwriting and directing and theatre from when I went to NYU years ago. And Sasha brought her experience working on film sets in Ireland. We both worked directly with the actors. And I think that helped because they could come to both of us with questions and we could give them, pretty much the same answers, only from different perspectives. It allowed there to be that extra level of dialogue about character and relationships.

Sasha King: Any questions that came up that were story-related, Brian was able to really have in-depth conversations with the actors. I know Matthew and Edmund really enjoyed that; everybody did... That was so valuable.

EDGE: Casting was key to the film's success. How did you find Matthew and Edmund?

Brian O'Donnell: We hired a casting agent here in New York who just finished assisting on 'Birdman' (Stephanie Yankwitt). She brought in over 50 young men for both roles so we saw a lot of Broadway actors, a lot of very talented guys. We received tapes from Matthew and it was immediately clear to both of us that he was Benny. And with Edmund Donovan, who came in for an audition for Christopher, it was immediate apparent that he was the one. They both showed that they understood the material. They connected to the emotional content in a very honest, subtle way and, as you said, the casting was of utmost importance, it being such an emotional journey for all of the characters. So we were lucky to get our first choices for all of the roles.

Why Akron?

EDGE: Brian, you mentioned that you're from Akron, and that city acts as a character in the film. What is it about Akron that made you want to set it there?

Brian O'Donnell: Obviously there are some very personal reasons for it... then there were more thematic issues, setting it in the Midwest was very important. Having come from there, when I moved out of Akron, I didn't even know I was gay. I moved in 1989 to come to New York. I didn't know a single out person in Akron... My family is from (Akron) so going back and seeing how gay people are out, that it's a very good place to live if you're gay -- much more accepting -- and becoming more progressive... it was very important to show Ohio and Akron, in particular, in a light that might be surprising.

EDGE: Sasha, do you see any difference between producing overseas and producing in the U.S.?

Sasha King: It's basically the same. It's interesting that in Ireland there's a lot of state funding for projects and I'm not seeing a lot of that in the U.S... so when you're raising money you're on your own. Whereas there are all these bodies of support (in Ireland)... but the stories have to have an Irish base to them to qualify. But producing generally is a universal strategy you stick to.

EDGE: Brian, You've written for the stage before, describe the transition to this very different medium?

Brian O'Donnell: It was eye opening. The writing really changed through the directing phase but most especially the editing phases where the difference was much more stark to me... it was really in the editing phase where you are fine tuning the whole film. And in a sense you do have to be able to throw the script away and do what best serves the film, not what best serves the script. And I think in theatre it really does come down to the script and paying tribute to and honoring the script. In film, it's really about creating something new using the synthesis of all of those things including the script. It was difficult for sure at stages because we had to cut a couple of scenes where I thought the writing was fantastic... but it didn't serve the film... in film if you can show something rather than say it, you should show it.

The underlying emotion

EDGE: Brian, the story feels so deeply personal. Have you been ruminating on these themes for a while?

Brian O'Donnell: After I got the idea at that opera... It wasn't until later that I started realizing that parts came from different parts of my life in a sense. But it wasn't something I was actively trying to figure out. The idea of grief being an underlying human reality that people have to deal with and how grief moves through people and through relationships and families might be connected to the work I've been doing for many years at Broadway Cares and the Calamus Foundation, working to give funds to people living with HIV and AIDS and working directly with people who lost 40-50 friends. And seeing, through time, how they coped with grief. And how it affects relationships. Perhaps that had something to do with it.

EDGE: Are there one or two takeaways you'd like you audiences to leave with?

Sasha King: It really goes back to day one of reading the script and feeling the feelings that it invoked in me back then and I still feel today. I'd like those feelings to resonate with people. It's a very sensitive love story between two people. And the fact that they're gay shouldn't matter...especially with the way things are right now, 'Akron' and projects like it have become so valid now -- ever so much more valid now with this divisive rhetoric... Things have taken quite a sharp turn (from just a few months ago). And I think what that means is that 'Akron's' message is that much more important. And it's a very simple message of love.

Brian O'Donnell: That's spot on. And I would add that what I've been encouraged by, in audience response, is that they relate very directly with the characters. Different audience members have different characters they relate to most strongly. And that's intentional. Andr�a Burns and Amy da Luz, who play the mothers, give incredible performances. You feel for them. And I think this is another thing that makes this gay movie different. You feel just as strongly and deeply for the adult straight parent characters and situations as you do for the boys.

"Akron" is available on DVD/VOD via Wolfe Video. For more information, visit the Wolfe Video website.

Watch the trailer to "Akron":