Stay this time: An interview with Sam Voutas for Yesterday Island
Aksharaa Agarwal interviewed Sam Voutas for the Australian Premiere of his latest feature, Yesterday Island.
Aksharaa Agarwal: I understand this is your third feature writing and directing.
Sam Voutas: Yes, it is.
A: Wonderful! I know the other Film in Revolt writers are excited and also wanted to interview you, so I get to be the lucky one who does it. My initial question was going to be, as I now know you’ve already been asked, ‘why do a time-loop movie?’ I’ve read that your time in LA gave you the impression of a time loop, that listening to the radio and hearing about the weather in Ballarat gave you an idea for a location, that being stuck in the pandemic meant considering compact stories. You’ve mentioned it’s almost its own subgenre. So, my question, now, is having completed a time-loop movie, what’s your opinion on them as a narrative device?
S: As an independent filmmaker, a time-loop movie is very appealing simply because, if you’re trying do high-concept, a twist, those things usually take a budget. For example, if you’re doing science fiction, and you want to set it in a spaceship, your budget is…a submarine, let’s say. A certain (amount) is going to be required. Time-loops, what makes them really appealing is…you’re (achieving) it via editing. That’s your effect, and all you need is editing software to do that.
A: It’s safe to say it was a practical decision?
S: It was a practical decision. Tied with the idea that I didn’t just want to do…(it in a way) that had been done before. It’s a genre unto its own, now. I wanted to give it a twist that hadn’t been done before. The challenge really came during the screenwriting process…how do I make it unique, and not derivative? So that it actually adds to this genre? That’s something that editing actually really ties with, we do things in this movie with (the) repeats…the idea of time. We do things in this movie that I don’t think I’ve seen, that I don’t think have been done in the time-loop genre.
A: Of course, there are a lot of very interesting elements. The most crucial part of any time-loop, you could say, is the establishing sequence of the day. What occurs becomes kind of a touch point to go back to. How did the plot specifications- those elements, how did the ‘first day’ come together?
S: Obviously, it’s all through the perspective of the protagonist, as he’s learning what the day is. We always stay with him in that first act, as he’s discovering (not only) what are the nuances, (but also) the rules, in many ways, on that day. Since we’re mostly dealing with a person alone in a room, it’s all…what he can see. He’s in a research station…what he sees out the window, what he sees through binoculars…as an audience, our understanding is only through his perspective. And he’s trying to figure out the puzzle of what this is, and the audience is too. At the end of act one, he figures out what the puzzle is, and then we’re on the journey with him. His role completely changes- from the detective trying to solve the puzzle, to being part of ‘the game’, so to speak.
A: Oh yes! It (plays) very much like a game-
S: That’s right!
A: It’s almost like an escape room. The characters, are so diverse and they’re all very rich. They’ve all got histories, something that is inferred quickly. Would you say they are inspired by real people?
S: Oh, I mean obviously, when you’re writing anything you take your own personal life and you put it into (the work), even if it’s subconscious. I would never say…there isn’t. I guess several of the characters are inspired by personal experiences that I’ve had. With the character of Nicole, who has an American accent that she puts on over her Australian accent, I’ve met Australians overseas who’ve put on accents and they’ve only been in America or the UK for say, six months and you wouldn’t know it. I thought that was interesting. I hadn’t seen that before! I thought it would be interesting to put into a movie. You’re always trying to give characters depth, particularly when you’re (working in) a low budget space. I was definitely trying to infuse the characters with (as much) dimension as possible.
A: I must say, I think many people in my demographic will find that very familiar.
S: I hope so! Actually, when Yesterday Island played in Poland, and other countries, they got the joke too. Even though they don’t know the reference to the town we’re discussing, there’s a (similar) town there in Poland, and people say, okay, I get it.
A: That’s really interesting! It has such a specific meaning, and within just (this) context, to an Australian audience….
S: Well, they always say, with films, you always want to go specific to go wide, right? If you have a specific truth, then it can be a wide truth.
A: Wow. I’m going to note that down before I forget it!
S: (Laughs)
A: Okay. You’ve maintained that being an independent filmmaker, resource limitations such as budget constraints can foster more of a creative, solution-finding drive. I thought this was very interesting because the protagonist of the film, Amos, is going through writer’s block when he ends up in a time-loop, stuck on an island. Would you say that the process of making Yesterday Island was kind of like being on yesterday island, in terms of it really requiring you to find a way to put it together?
S: The process of making Yesterday Island was actually like getting off of yesterday island (more laughter). Filmmaking is so unique in that it’s such an exercise to create the artwork. Not to say that painting or writing a novel isn’t a mammoth effort, but with a film, you’ve got so much that has to come together to actually (even) go into production (with it). Just to be able to get it to an audience… getting the financing together, the cast, the locations, it’s a juggling act. I was just so relieved, that we could put it together- after years of it being in development!
A: Wow. That’s always curious, how long something has spent trying to make it to your screen! Can you speak a bit more, maybe generally, to others in similar positions? What to keep in mind trying to build within your means, and balance it with your ambitions?
S: I think in many ways, it’s a great time to be a filmmaker starting out today, compared to when I started out. I remember when I started out, people said it was a good time then, but I think it’s even better now. When I started, we were on Super 8 camera. We had to go buy the film, and then if you wanted anybody to see it, it was very hard to screen. You would have to figure out how to convert it to video to play it. Now people say you can shoot on your phone- you really can, and get it out there! The tools for getting (work) out there are just so great.
A: That’s really positive!
S: Also, I think any experience one can get as a filmmaker is good. If you can go and work on anyone’s shorts, productions, just watch and see what they do. Don’t just feel, if you’re a director, you can only be a director. Try helping a friend out with sound. Try being a grip. All that will help fuel your understanding of (the process) so when you do whatever you want to, you really understand all of the facets.
A: That’s advice that I think is just as easy to disregard as it is to receive, so it’s important to keep receiving it!
S: I guess because of the 60s, with the auteur movement…a lot of university education…there’s this idea that the director is the sole creative force. Ultimately, and in my opinion, filmmaking is a team sport, it’s a collaborative effort. Everybody who’s on board is bringing their own knowledge and creativity to it, so it’s important to look at it as…it’s not just your vision but also, talking to the sound designer. Talking to the cinematographer, the production designer, what’s their input? Try to get away from auteur thinking and (toward) team work thinking.
A: That’s so refreshing to hear. In young, emerging, university going circles, there’s so many aspiring writers and directors, and that takes precedence over everything else. Then you try to work on a project and find out just how much input and effort comes from these other roles, and their case just makes itself. It’s interesting you talk about collaboration, because the protagonist repeats these vernacular phrases and idioms which become touch-points, and characters even get annoyed at him for. It brings in a rich flavour, cements him as a real person. I was curious about the source for that, was it something you researched or something brought in by the lead cast (Ivan Aristeguieta, ‘Amos’)?
S: Ah, that element of the old Venezuelan sayings was totally researched! Again, that particular element came out of a budget-constraint. We had this action sequence at the end of the movie that I didn’t have funds for. So I had to think of a narrative reason to make that action sequence make sense in the way that it’s played out. I needed to have a logical way to film (it) that was tied to the screenplay. I went backwards, to the beginning of the screenplay and found a way to tie it into character. The reason why that action sequence plays the way it (does) is tied into character. I did research, I looked up Venezuelan sayings, and Aristeguieta who plays the lead, is from Venezuela. I gave him a list of sayings, I (asked) ‘is this really something people say in Venezuela?’ Each one, he said, ‘we definitely say these things’. I asked if it would be okay to use and he confirmed it, so I integrated it into the script. It brings a bilingual element to the proceedings.
A: It does, and it was a fascinating kind of Chekov’s gun moment when it was finally used. This is just a personal curiosity, does the date of February 12th have any significance?
S: I had to choose a date for when this day repeats. We had to decide what month of the year we were filming in and as you know, there are a lot of remote, exterior (shots) in the film. It was decided very early on in production that we didn’t want to shoot in winter, in Victoria and Tasmania. Because of the elements, the cold, it would be miserable for the cast and crew. That’s something you have to keep in mind. We had to set it in the summer in the sub-Antarctic, so we wouldn’t have to worry about snow. Victoria and Tasmania hardly get any snow. It would also be easier on the cast and crew.
A: Amazing, just the kind of thing you wouldn’t realise trying to figure out by yourself. This question often brings out some interesting answers- what would you say was the most surprising, unexpected or memorable part of the entire process?
S: This is my third time making a (feature). Each time I think I know what it’s going to be like. Every time, each movie is different because they each bring out different challenges that one cannot foresee, so it’s quite exciting in that regard. It doesn’t matter how many movies you’ve made, you’re jumping into a new pool (and) for the first time. On this film, one of the biggest hurdles we experienced was just, working with the elements. We were outside in quite remote areas, dealing with simple (means)…this is something (that) no matter how big a budget you have, there might be a bird chirping in the background, and there’s nothing you can do. It doesn’t matter if you’re Martin Scorsese or Greta Gerwig, nobody can deal with the bird that’s chirping throughout…everybody just has to live with it.
A: The next question I’m going to ask, you can feel free to be very diplomatic or opt out. Who would you go to Yesterday Island for? And who would you call to replace you?
S: I mean, if somebody asked me to come to yesterday island, it would be (for) my friends and family….because essentially, the favour is for one day, so it’s not such a massive thing. So long as I don’t have a prior commitment that I can’t get out of, if it was just one day and I’m just looking after the research station, I think that’s perfectly reasonable. Who would I trade in? I still don’t know the answer, and I’ve been thinking really hard about that! It’s a tricky one too. For it to work, you don’t just have to dislike someone, that person you dislike has to not know (it). If they know, they’re not going to arrive!
A: Of course, and there’s more complexities. This is going to be my final question, looks like- with your first major English language feature now under your belt, what is next for you? Is there a career-dream project in the works? Or a prequel where we find out about the previous visitors?
S: I’d love to do more with that story world, because it’s a very specific, and I think unique, fun story world that’s different from other time-loop movies. With the sub-Antarctic research stations and the kinds of characters that end up there, (it) could be fun to do a TV series or a follow-up movie. I see lots of story potential there that I could get excited about. I still have the station dome structure in the garage! Would be amazing to dust off and put it on another location. Outside of the Yesterday Island world, I’m just hoping this will help me make future projects I would love to do, that are in a similar vein, dark humor and subtle comedy.
Sam will be heading to Sydney for the Australian premiere of Yesterday Island at the 73rd Sydney Film Festival.
Sam Voutas is an alumnus of Victoria College of the Arts, where he initially pursued an interest in theatre before pivoting to film. He made his directorial debut in 2010 at the Sao Paulo International Film Festival with Red Light Revolution, billed as China’s ‘first sex-shop comedy’. Having lived in China in his youth, he chose to move back and put together his fiction feature in the Chinese language, following a history of acting and making documentaries locally. In 2012, he was accepted into the annual Sundance Institute Screenwriters labs, living briefly in LA. This was followed by King of Peking, his sophomore feature, also set in Beijing in the 90s. It had its premiere at Tribeca film festival in 2017. Inspired by the rampant piracy of his hugely popular first feature, he drew from ruminations on his imminent fatherhood to tell a story that explores both. The screenplay was invited into the permanent collection at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences library. Frustrated and compelled during the lockdown, he was urged by his wife and producer Melanie Ansley to put together a compact project. Yesterday Island had its world premiere at the Warsaw International Film Festival in 2025.