Tell us about how you got interested in cinema. Do you have an early / first memory of seeing a film that evoked a particular emotion?
I’ve been a storyteller since the very beginning. Being an only child growing up in the 90s pretty much forced most of us who didn’t have siblings to become our own sources of entertainment. Ever since I can remember I’ve been making up stories and characters in my head to pass the time. From very early on this presented me with an opportunity to fall in love with characters and plot. The visual side of telling stories was fostered by my dad. He was in finance so there was absolutely no reason for this to be the case, but he had a camera package that most photographers would envy. He had a Canon AE-1 film camera with dozens of lenses and he would take his setup everywhere we went. I was playing with his camera since I could walk and by the time I was 5 he had already bought me my own Kodak Mickey Mouse 110 film camera and a virtual unlimited supply of film. I got to play around and discover my visual language before I knew my multiplication tables which is probably why my aesthetic is so clear and cemented in my brain. The desire to use those skills I started to hone so early in life only got stronger as I grew up. According to my mother I told her I wanted to make movies when I was 5 and I knew what film school (Emerson College) I wanted to go to by the time I was 13. I started directing my own short films around that same age and I haven’t stopped directing since. My path was always very clear to me.
How did you decide to study at Emerson and pursue filmmaking as a career?
I’ve always known I wanted to be a filmmaker. According to my mother’s retelling of the story we were at Universal Orlando when I was five and we had just gotten off the Jaws ride they used to have. Apparently I looked at her dead in the eye and said “Mom, I know what I want to do now. I want to make movies like that.” Fast forward 25ish years later and, in some weird coincidence, I sell my first pilot to Universal. I didn’t find this out until a few months ago when I called my mom to tell her my pilot deal officially closed but it’s quickly become a favorite anecdote because it truly says so much about me and how clear I’ve always been about my path.
My path to Emerson was just as clear. I started doing heavy research on film schools when I was in middle school. By the time I was 13 I had settled on going to Emerson and double majoring in Film and TV. It was the only school I applied to and got in in early admissions. By the time I got to Emerson they had removed the double major for the Visual Media Arts program because “it was too demanding” so I had to pick one track. I went with Film because it’s the one that had the Directing specialty.
After graduating you lived in the states for 5 years as an undocumented immigrant. How did you go about navigating your career and were you able to maintain an optimistic lens on the future during that time? What piece of advice would you have given yourself 10 years ago, knowing what you know now?
Be patient. When I was undocumented I felt like my career was stagnant for 5.5 years. There really aren’t any opportunities for upward mobility within the studio/network system when you’re undocumented. Undocumented creators are relegated to the indie world and the margins of the industry in general. For years I had to pass up on job opportunities and had to see my Emerson classmates soar through the ranks. I felt stuck. During that time I promised myself that as soon as I got a green card I would bust my ass to catch up. Two years into getting my green card I’ve not only caught up to a lot of them, I’ve surpassed quite a few. Not that it’s a competition because a lot of them are dear friends and I’m happy for their success but it just feels good to look at my career and feel like those 5 years didn’t do as much damage or set me as far behind as they should’ve. I’d tell myself to be patient because the desperation and frustration I suffered in private wouldn’t be permanent. There was a way out and up.
Can you tell us how your background has informed your work? And why is defining your own voice / vision important and how can someone come to realize what their unique voice is?
That’s a tricky question because as I mentioned previously I was basically born with a camera in my hand. I had decades to hone in my visual language. Capturing images was part of my childhood so it went hand in hand with my natural growth as a person. It is a very non-traditional way to develop a point of view so it’s hard to divorce my experiences/my background from my style. I feel like they go hand in hand.
As far as “realizing what your unique voice is”, I don’t think anyone wakes up with a “voice” one day. There’s a lot of trial and error involved. As creators we find out what that is by…creating. I know that’s easier said than done when there’s so many limitations given the cost of owning or renting camera equipment but I think the sacrifice is worth it. There’s so much freedom in owning your own gear, being able to get your eye through the viewfinder, and capturing images whenever you feel like it.
Is there a piece of work whether it be a film, tv, music, artwork, etc that has inspired you recently?
I watched two films last year that really cemented the fact that while “traditional” three act structures have their time and place, stories that aren’t constrained by those archaic limitations are FAR more interesting. The films are “Ema” (written and directed by Pablo Larrain) and “Black Bear” (written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine). Both these scripts threw out what we know about narrative progression out the window and created structures that worked specifically for the films they were trying to make.
In the past few months I’ve had some illuminating conversations with other creators from minority groups that have led me to the conclusion that we need to decolonize our way of storytelling. We have to stop centering the “Save the Cat” three act structure that white, neurotypical, non-disabled (and usually male) creators and so called arbiters of taste have determined to be the “proper” way to structure a screenplay or tell a story. We’re overdue for new explorations that open the door for alternative ways to approach a narrative.
Ironically both films I just mentioned are by straight, cis, white, male creators but the fact that they get latitude to do projects that are so out of the box while it’s but a fact that any other filmmaker from a diverse background would not be allowed to is proof that even the “experimental” sides of filmmaking remain as white, male playgrounds. We need to break the boxes that currently restrain us and once we have that freedom we’ll find refreshing ways of telling stories. I think this may be the only way we put an end to the sea of reboots, remakes, and adaptations. I’m sick of those.
You’ve done beautiful work both in commercial and narrative features. Do you find the different mediums allow you a balance in developing your craft whether it be in the storytelling or stylistic approach?
I think the only difference between both is just how much control you have. When you’re doing commercial/branded content work you’re not in charge. It’s very similar to episodic directing in that way. You’re typically there to fulfill someone else’s vision. They obviously hire you because you have talent but for the most part it’s not where you go to do auteur work. You typically have a campaign that someone else designed or a script a showrunner wrote and your job is to make sure THEIR vision comes to life. You’re a hired hand.
In my own narrative work I have more freedom. I’m in full control of the how, when, why, what, and where. I don’t have to explain myself to anyone because it’s my story and I choose how to tell it. It’s the beauty of being a writer and director, you’re in control.
Obviously these two avenues of work flex very different muscles and I think one makes you appreciate the other and vice versa.
I honestly don’t think there’s one way to get a project made or to get repped. That’s one of my biggest messages to people. If anyone tries to sell you a class or tell you that they have “definitively” cracked how to get something made or how to get you repped they’re lying. I’ve never met two people in this industry that had the same path.
Can you tell us about how you went about getting your first pilot off the ground? And how aspiring writers can go about getting their work in front of networks? Should young writers be looking for an agent or a manager? What’s the difference? How do they go about doing that?
There’s a long road to my pilot and it truly all boils down to two things: 1) getting involved in organizations and 2) networking. A lot of my career advancement has been because of my involvement in organizations like Women In Film, NALIP, Alliance of Women Directors, etc. Obviously I’ve done A LOT of hustling myself but the support I received from those orgs through programs and just the friendships I’ve made in them has also been invaluable. Sometimes people vouching for you and your work opens a lot of doors. I won’t bore you with the exact progression of events but my first pilot being sold can be directly traced back to me getting involved with Women In Film and becoming familiar with not just the team there but with other members who eventually became dear friends.
Can you tell us a little bit about your ideation process? Maybe using a past example of your work.
I’ve noticed a pattern where most of my scripts start either with a question.
“What if that tunnel leads to a parallel universe?” “What happens to disabled people during the apocalypse?” “What if someone fell in love with the ghost that is haunting their house?” “What if we could delete memories from our brain like we do computer files?” “What if the underworld ran like a really shitty DMV office?” These are literally the questions that started the two pilots I have set up at studios, the pilot that is doing the rounds, the pilot that we’re taking out later this year, and the feature I have doing the rounds right now. It tends to be that I write to satisfy my own curiosity and find answers to all the absurd questions my hyperactive brain loves to ask at the most inappropriate of times.
The other way my scripts start is with a random scene. I suddenly feel the urge to write at like 4am that then becomes part of a larger thing. It can also be a series of scenes, scenes that have no larger meaning at first but that I feel the need to put down on paper when they come to me. Sometimes they sit on a file for six months, a year, two years, and then one day I’m taking a shower or having dinner with friends and it all clicks. I suddenly know where that belongs and I start to build entire stories around that scene or scenes.
You have been the recipient of many awards and fellowships, from the Sundance Institute to DGA Commercial Directors Diversity Program to Ryan Murphy’s “half initiative” for emerging episodic directors, among many others. How does a first time filmmaker seek out these opportunities? Are there resources you recommend and is there a strategy around the application process?
Unfortunately these are not opportunities for first time filmmakers. In order to get into these types of director programs you have to have an impressive body of work. These programs are incredibly competitive, with only about 1-5% of applicants getting in. They also typically want to see more than one work sample. These are usually for creators that are either mid-level or are ready to break into the mid-level. At the very least.
My big advice here is to produce strong work. Aim to make at least one short a year. Again, I know that’s easier said than done because of the cost associated with productions but I’ve directed I believe close to two dozen shorts in the last 15 years and that’s been me roping in my friends to come hang out for a weekend while we make a movie. Either that or collaborators I’ve been looking to work with for a long time. If you have a good script you’d be surprised how willing people are to be a part of it. You also have to be willing to give back just as much support as you get. Sure, I’ve had friends crew my projects but I’ve also crewed their projects. It’s very much a give and take.
Once you have a handful of strong samples that could be cut into a good reel, then you might be in a place to start applying to programs of that caliber.
After the atrocities of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and the advent of BLM protests last summer we’ve since seen a lot of organizations and production companies in the industry make efforts to create a more inclusive and equitable industry. What do you think those who aren’t in positions of power can do to help ensure that these initiatives and changes aren’t temporary?
Keep the pressure on them. Hold them accountable. That seems to be the only thing that works with companies. We need to make sure it’s more than a black square and a PR moment. Most of the diversity programs are nothing more than that: a PR exercise that leads to no real change. It’s a systemic problem and we need to increase the amount of public pressure we put on them to enact actual change and support that goes beyond a press release and one time check.
Is there anything I haven’t asked that you wish I had?
“What’s your favorite drink?”. I think that says so much about a person. You immediately know who a “White Claw” person is. Or a “white wine” person. I think it’s a fascinating case study in humanity. My go to drink is a Lagavulin 16 on the rocks, if there’s no Lagavulin (which there hardly ever is at restaurants or bars) I’ll just go with Whiskey Rocks. That’s my jam.
Where can people find you and is there any work or relevant happenings you’d like to mention?
My website is www.KryzzG.com and I’m @KryzzGautier everywhere. As far as relevant happenings I have sold two shows to two different studios in the last six months. I’m deep in development on those. I also have a feature film set up at one of those dream international “auteur” driven companies that I’ve idolized most of my life. I’m the writer/director on that one. We also have a third show out and I have a second feature about to go out. Have a few more shows ready to go as well. It’s been a busy year and will hopefully stay that way!
Do you have any interest in going to Mars? This is just a random question I ask everyone. An arbitrary poll with no hypothesis but I think it will be fun to look back on in the future.
Hell yeah! Well, I guess there’s a caveat to the “hell yeah”. Hell yeah…if there’s internet haha. If this past year has taught me anything is that as long as I have the internet you can lock me down pretty much anywhere and I’ll make the best of it.