In Depth with the Director - Ryan Lovell

Tell us a little about yourself and your background in filmmaking.
I grew up making DIY skate films in my hometown of Kansas City. Shortly after graduating college, I moved to California and spent 8 years living in Los Angeles working for Vans Shoes. I landed my 100% dream job directing skate content all over the world with some of the best skateboarders on the planet.

How did Rare Enough first come together as a project?
I had just quit my job for Vans and moved back home to Kansas City to be closer to family and friends. Once back in Kansas City I wanted/needed a creative project to connect me with the local film community... I really wanted to make something that I thought could help inspire people and DJ story was the perfect fit for that need. 

You opted for a more passive documentary style, letting DJ narrate his own journey. What was the thought process behind this choice?
I felt that the most authentic way to tell this story was through DJ and in his own words. I knew my version of the story and that helped steer the interview questions and overall themes, but I wanted to be very intentional about ultimately letting the story go wherever DJ took it. 

Topics like cancer and death are intensely personal and intimate experiences. Was there any difficulty in striking a balance between doing the story justice and being too invasive or voyeuristic?
Ironically there wasn’t really any difficulty with telling this story because from the very beginning DJ made it super clear that he was 100% open to anything I wanted to do. There were moments though that I had to push really hard to make sure that the severity of the situation was clear to the audience. I remember vividly during the on camera interview, having to tell DJ that we needed to hear from his mouth that the doctors told him this disease would take his life within 18 months. It was very, very hard to hear a close friend say those words but I felt like it was necessary to show how severe his situation was/is, in order to truly be able to understand how strong he is. 

A definite highlight are those gorgeous shots of DJ skating through the city streets with friends. How did those scenes come about?
I wanted a way to illustrate visually that DJ has the city's support and his friends behind him… the clearest way in my mind to do that was to literally have his friends skating behind him throughout the city.

What projects are coming up for you in the future?
I just finished a super fun project for our local Major League Soccer team where they let us skateboard inside of their stadium which was such a blast! That and other fun work can be seen over at my website: ryanlovell.com.

Otherwise I’m really excited to do more sports work in 2023 as well as I’d love a few branded short documentary projects. 

Any final message for our Melbourne fans?
My first thought is that I ABSOLUTELY love Melbourne! Y’all live in such an incredible city. Hope to be back soon! Lastly though I do want to mention that literally every single moment of filming Rare Enough was an absolute joy which is due 100% to DJ Stewart's incredible strength and attitude. It takes a truly amazing person to make telling their story of brain cancer such a wonderful experience. DJ Stewart is nothing short of a superhero and I’m honored to be a small part in his journey.