In Depth with the Director - Ingrid Haas

Tell us a little about yourselves and your background in filmmaking

I'm a writer/performer from Toronto, Canada now living in Los Angeles. I have worked primarily in comedy but have always created my own work (sketch and improv shows with Upright Citizens Brigade, writing plays, writing and selling TV shows). SW is my directorial debut and I'm super proud of it.

How did Still Wylde first come together as a project?

I had the idea and I knew that I had to be the person to direct it. So I wrote a draft that I was excited about and sent it around to some filmmaker friends who all encouraged me to keep going. I've always wanted to direct but there was a lot of self-doubt and imposter syndrome standing in the way. But once I wrote this particular film, which is deeply personal, those excuses didn't work anymore. I found a great producer and asked some pals to act in it with me and things snowballed from there.

This was your directorial debut. How did you strike a balance between your roles as director and also as performer?

I was in every single scene so I'm not sure if there was a real "balance" per se. I just tried to make it work with no time and no money. Ha! Wearing both hats forced me to be less precious overall as both a director and an actor. It served the project really well.

The subject itself is one that remains taboo, even in media and film. What drew you into exploring and demystifying pregnancy?

It's a deeply personal story and as someone who has gone through it — I felt like there was very little content about it. And certainly almost no comedic takes on the subject. Pregnancy, pregnancy loss, being a woman in a man's world, can be very isolating experiences. I wanted to explore the subject in a way that could make people feel a little less alone.

The final scene in particular is breathtaking in its intensity. What was it like filming that scene and performing with that level of emotion?

Oh, thank you so much.

It was a cathartic experience for me to create and make that scene happen. I was so lucky to have such a small, loving crew that I trusted to let myself become that vulnerable. The camera work in that particular scene is exceptional and my camera department did an amazing job capturing it. Fun fact: I was showering in freezing cold water! Little actor's secret to help get to that "raw place".

What projects are coming for you in the future?

We are making the feature to this short! It’s very exciting and I can't say much more but we've got great producers on board and I'll be directing it. Dream come true.

Do you have any message for our Melbourne audience?

Thanks so much for taking the time to support indie filmmaking! If you want to stay in touch hit me up on IG @ingridhaas. Would love to hear from you. Thankyou!