There is honestly no one who works harder in today’s film and television community than independent filmmakers. When I came in contact with the indie film world a few years ago, I developed a deep and abiding respect for them and what they do. I have interviewed a wide variety of artists in this world of filmmakers, and I simply adore it when a memorable one like Andrea Stefancikova comes back for a follow-up interview and brings a friend! Kirk Caouette is someone with whom I was previously unaware, and I am happy to share both of these dedicated, hard-working artists and their most recent film, Promiseland, with my readers today!
RH: Please tell us the premise behind the movie Promiseland and how your character fits into the storyline.
AS: The storyline revolves around Velvet. You see her transform throughout the film from the moment she encounters Victor, an unhinged war veteran, played by Kirk, whom she falls for. Both Velvet and Victor are characters that live on the edge. They are unstable and troubled; they walk the line between two worlds. Velvet’s life is complex and uneasy. You see the pain in her eyes, even when she smiles. She finds her inner strength through Victor. I believe Velvet represents a percentage of women who do exist, in this very town as well. Women who aren’t given the attention or understanding they deserve and that’s why so few recover and live to their full potential.
KC: The story intertwines three main characters. A troubled immigrant prostitute – Velvet . A mentally disturbed, reclusive man – Victor. And Velvet’s twisted mobster father figure, Vasily, who protects her, loves her, and at the same time abuses her both mentally and physically. Due to her circumstances, Velvet has always given her power away to men. When she falls in love with Victor, she believes she is taking back her power until she discovers that she has actually not taken back anything — she has, in fact, sold her soul, but this time she doesn’t back off.
My character, Victor, is an unhinged, violent war veteran who falls in love with Velvet.
In addition to being the stars of the film, you had other responsibilities as well. Please tell us about those and how you both met and decided to work together on this project.
AS: I will start with how we met. Kirk ran into my ex-boyfriend, also a filmmaker, and I on the street when he was in pre-production for Promiseland, formerly named Real Fiction. He said casting was currently doing sessions to find an actress to play Velvet. I was not brought in by casting because the breakdown did not specify an accent. My ex-boyfriend suggested that Kirk see me for the role. Kirk didn’t know me, so he sent me the script that night and asked me to write a bio for Velvet, and based on my take on her and the story, he would bring me in to audition. I was beyond nervous at the screen test a couple of days later. I had to prepare a few scenes and we cold read a few more in the room with Kirk. I was so aware of sounding different, of my accent, but I just went for it. I was passionate about the role and wanted to tell the story Kirk wrote with my heart and soul. I thought this role called for complete authenticity and so I would not try to sound Standard American. And here I am 🙂
Pre-production until now was a long, uneasy journey. My relationship with Kirk certainly became stronger. We stuck beside each other and overcame the hurdles of post-production, which resulted in a friendship. 
Promiseland is a self-financed, micro-budget film, so the post-production took longer than if proper finances were in place. Kirk, who was already doing so much, needed support in every way. I definitely did a lot of work beyond acting in the last few years–from hiring a new editor, and VFX, to designing the website with the help of the wonderful Nick Marinos, who built it with me. I created and started the social media, and the list goes on. Everyone’s role stretched. It really takes a village to make a film. I certainly devoted a lot of my time, efforts, blood and tears into this one. I care and want this film to be seen. 
KC: Yes, almost countless responsibilities. I am officially titled as the director, writer, actor, and fight choreographer. But because it is a micro-budget film, pretty much everyone on the film had overlapping duties during production. The producers cooked breakfasts for everyone, played small parts on camera, and basically ran themselves into the ground pulling favours and putting out fires on a minute-by-minute basis. Even the make-up and hair departments were jumping in front of the camera as extras. The DP was quite often working without a gaffer or any lighting setups. This is without a doubt the most ambitious micro-budget film ever shot in Canada, so to pull it off, we all had to stick together and pull together every resource we had. 
I auditioned at least twenty females for the role of Velvet. When Andrea auditioned, she simply blew me away. I wanted to book her on the spot, but I auditioned another ten females after her audition. The more people that read for the role, the more obvious it became to us all that Andrea was destined to play Velvet. I honestly think the film would be half of what it is without her performance and presence. Other directors in town who helped me shape the cut have said she is absolutely mesmerizing on screen. Finding Andrea was a godsend for me as a director.
Since you are taking this film to film festivals, what has been the response thus far from those who have seen it?
AS: Promiseland is a mixed genre film. It’s dark and moody. It’s visually stunning, rich in artful imagery, but it also contains violence. Some people gravitate towards the art while others towards the commercial subjects. I can’t disclose what the response has been so far.
This sums it up. It’s authentic, poetic. Raw and wild.
KC: Our cast and crew screening will be on July 13th, 2019 at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver. But without a doubt, the film is going to be monumental. We had nearly a hundred stunt performers work on the movie. The cinematography is stunning. The performances are sometimes so real it feels like a documentary. It is visceral, raw, wild, and unhinged. But a filmmaker never really knows what the audience response will be. It will ultimately be a dark theatre filled with strangers that will decide the fate of the film.
Why do you believe this story is such an important one to be told?
KC: The underlying theme of the film is belief — belief in your own power or lack of it, belief in your own government, belief in justice, and ultimately the belief in the power of belief itself.
Are there potential plans for distribution with this film yet?
KC: We have no plans for distribution yet. It is a massively complex and ambitious film, so it has obvious commercial properties, both domestically and internationally. Right now, we are just preparing our festival plans.
Do either of you have other works coming up that you can mention?
AS: I play the role of Xantia in a feature film called Unmasked, directed by Mostafa Keshvari, which has been in the festival circuit this year and has already won several awards.
Other than that, I am writing a feature film and am slowly gearing up for pre-production of another film. Fingers crossed. Details TBD. Otherwise, I teach acting at Shoreline. I try to stay artistically fulfilled.
KC: In 2014 and 2015 I worked as a writer and story consultant for the largest film studio in China. If I direct another film, it will most likely be a studio-sized budget, English-speaking film, that will be financed out of Hong Kong and shot in Vancouver. But in our industry, nobody truly ever knows their future. We all just hope for the best and try to enjoy the ups and downs — there are extreme highs and extreme lows. This is just who we are.
What do you see as the most rewarding thing about being an indie filmmaker? What is the most challenging thing?
AS: Indie filmmakers have a community, and being a part of this clique is really quite humbling. Calling myself an indie filmmaker is already a win for me. 
What’s really rewarding is to see the film come together and announce its completion. It’s such a huge accomplishment on its own. Showing your peers and families the film on the big screen is another amazing moment. And festivals, of course, are wonderful, I mean if they are part of the film’s trajectory. It’s just so cool!
Then as an actor in indie films, I love the creative freedom and room to explore and play. The stories are often more controversial, and the roles more complex. There are no boundaries. It’s different than doing television. There are pros and cons.
This isn’t always the case, but the challenge is not having the financial support, not having a distributor or a big production company attached from pre-production; that would make everything so much easier. Oftentimes, people are working for next to nothing. The ups and downs that are caused by this can take a toll on your private life, in addition to the tension and the hopeless moments that happen as a result of this.
But all in all, it’s a ride with many learning curves, lots of laughter and tears. Lots of growth. By the end, you always gain more than you lose, but you do lose too.
KC: The challenges are overwhelming. I can’t even begin to tell you how difficult it is to pull off something of this magnitude without proper financing. When you read a script, your imagination will take hold, and you will see the film play out in your mind’s eye. But the lens speaks the truth; nobody can accurately predict what the lens will capture. Even when you have all the money in the world, the best actors, the best DOP, and the best script — the movie can still flop. On a film set like ours, when we don’t have enough financing to control the environment, we must be able to pivot, change, and solve problems on the fly. This makes capturing your vision ten times more difficult. Making indie films is not for the faint of heart.
Ironically, the worst thing is also the best thing. Sometimes magic happens in front of the camera — it’s like capturing lightning in a bottle. No amount of money in the world can create the look in Velvet’s eyes as she gazes at herself in her bedroom’s cloudy mirror. Those kinds of moments cannot be written. They just happen. This is what makes indie filmmaking so fascinating to me. If enough lightening is captured in the bottle, it can launch careers and elevate everyone’s lives. As an indie director, this is what we all dream of.
There is no doubt in my mind that both Andrea and Kirk have produced something that is near and dear to both of their hearts, and that alone is a tremendous success in my book. However, I appreciate the fact that they shared so much of what went into the making of this film on a wide variety of levels. Even if this movie is not ultimately for everyone in the world, I learned long ago that every person who makes a film, no matter their role within that process, is attempting to make a quality product to the best of their abilities. It’s far easier to be an “armchair critic” than to actually go out and make your own film. Indie films are not for the faint of heart. However, on the flip side, indie films can create and capture the kinds of moments and stories on-screen that are not available within the traditional theater-going experience. Indeed, this is what Kirk and Andrea have created, and I am thoroughly convinced that Promiseland is going to be an extraordinary experience for everyone who watches the film with an open mind and heart. While this film may be too gritty for some of my readers, the fact that these two, along with the rest of their incredible cast and crew, have designed an impactful work of art is reason enough to consider supporting them in whatever way possible. No matter what, I do hope that everyone visits the links below and considers following and/or supporting both Andrea and Kirk in some way. I wish them every success in their endeavors, both present and future, as they continue to devise the kind of films that resonate with them and their audiences while fulfilling their visions and dreams. If my readers are so inclined, I sincerely hope that each of you will make the effort to investigate the amazing artistry of Andrea, Kirk, and Promiseland!
FOLLOW ANDREA
FOLLOW KIRK
IMDb
FOLLOW PROMISELAND
