THE FLESH PEOPLE, 105min., USA
Directed by Keshav Srinivasan
Two roommates, desperate to feel successful in the milieu of New York City, turn to macabre money-making schemes by performing underground surgeries and serving human meat to unsuspecting customers.

https://www.instagram.com/thefleshpeoplefilm/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
Honestly, a lot of it was be channelling post-grad anxiety, especially in the midst of 2020. I graduated in 2019 for reference, and so that feeling of uncertainty was even further compounded by being stuck inside all day. I started writing the first draft of the film back in 2022 and was trying to think back to how I felt during that time. I thought to myself: “what could be the worst possible outcome of living with this mindset?”. I’m a big lover of horror films, especially the stuff in the 70s and 80s like Evil Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so I was really interested in exploring that anxiety and insecurity through that genre lens.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
About 3.5 years! Funnily enough, the production itself was only about 3 weeks. It was the pre-production and post-production that took up most of the time. But that’s the case for any independent film, I think. It’s all dependent on the budget you get.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Deranged insecurity

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
I think with any independent film, there’s gonna be a whole cornucopia of obstacles, from budgeting to scheduling to permitting to time management. But ultimately, the most difficult aspect of it had to be spending so much time in one location. The majority of the film was shot in this one house in Queens that we intentionally dressed to feel as claustrophobic as possible. So, if it felt claustrophobic for the audience, it felt 10x more claustrophobic for the cast and crew during production. Spending very long days stuck in that space definitely gave us a lot of cabin fever.

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development.
Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.

What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?
I love writing, even more so than directing, so it’d have to be the development stage. The great thing about writing is that you can do it anywhere at anytime, so being able to carve out that time to let my imagination wander is always really fun. It’s the part of the process that’s least constrained by practical realities so I find that freedom really invigorating.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
Honestly, I think the earliest moment I found myself fascinated by cinema was when my grandpa took me to see Hugo in theaters. There’s that particular sequence where they show a montage of moments from silent films that made me feel like I was transported to this completely different reality. I especially remember seeing that moment from The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari where the somnambulist is staring at the camera. It creeped me out so much, but in a way where I couldn’t get that one image out of my head.

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?
It’s hard to pick one, so I might have to throw out a couple! Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out the Dead really seared itself into my brain when I first watched it in high school-that’s been a favorite of mine for years. Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing is a movie I constantly find myself coming back to time and time again. And Terry Gilliam’s Brazil was also incredibly formative when I first saw it as a teenager-I’d really never seen anything quite like it at the time (and honestly, I still haven’t)!

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with on a film?
There’s so many incredible actors I can only dream of having the privilege of working with, but if I were to create a shortlist: Willem Dafoe, Dev Patel, Cate Blanchett, Robert Pattinson, Song Kang-ho, Christopher Walken, Nicolas Cage, Tom Waits, and Lakeith Stanfield.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your
experiences been working on the festival platform site?
It’s incredibly convenient for me to have so many festivals organized under the same umbrella. I think that, after finishing a film, the festival application process can be really overwhelming, so it’s nice to have it streamlined.

10. What is your favorite meal?
Poke!

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I’ve just been writing a bunch as of late. Hopefully, a new feature will be in the works!