From Country Roots to City Shadows: The Story Behind "Nastell"

What happens when distance disrupts loyalty, and connection blurs boundaries? This Saturday, step into the emotional whirlwind of country vs. city, belonging vs. becoming, in “Nastell” written and directed by Cydney Jade Ramos at the Hamburg Palace Theater. Starring Sergey Zhuravsky, Alyssa Grace Adams, and Isabel Deschamps, with costumes and sound designed by Robby Motz.

“Nastell” follows Ivan Popov while he explores a complex newfound friendship with his best friend’s younger sister, Nastell Klein, in the city, while Maz Klein remains stuck in their hometown country. I had the pleasure of interviewing both Cydney and Robby on their collaborative process of making the film. Without further aid please enjoy this Q&A and go see “Nastell”.

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Q: How did the both of you get your start in the world of filmmaking, production, and design, and what are your goals moving forward on this path?

Cydney- "I’ve always had a love for cinematography and storytelling, in high school I would make “memory videos” capturing moments in my life as if they were films. That led me to majoring in Television and Film Arts and Writing at Buffalo State University. When I first got to school I didn’t believe I was capable of creating a real film, at least for a long time. I never would have thought that “Nastell” would be created by the end of my senior year and I would be in a position to head professionally into creating my own production company “Cyd Jade Productions”. Being in this stage in my life I can say I’m still learning but I believe you never stop learning within your career. Beginning my post-grad life I'm excited to learn the things I will do that I thought I would never be capable of."

Robby- "Getting into film was something I’ve wanted to do forever. When I started Plain Only Clothing I originally started it as a skateboarding clothing brand. I was really into filming when it came to skating and always wanted to film very cinematic ads for Plain. Making clothes was what I focused on more however and kept trying to perfect that craft. After achieving some pretty big accomplishments in this industry I finally felt capable of branching out and trying new things and trying to incorporate my clothing into it. Since I saw Cyd make her first short film I always wanted to do the costumes for the characters because it was always such a big discussion, when it came to wardrobe, what the characters were defining themselves as by the clothes they wore. Eventually, I got to create clothes that express those characters and are one of them so they stand out even more. On top of all of this, I was lucky enough to shoot the film which was such an amazing experience, especially with Cydney as director. I trusted every idea she had and she trusted all of mine which led to the outcome you see now. I can’t wait to keep progressing down this path and keep progressing with Cydney as well because this is only the beginning. I can’t wait to see where this film journey takes me."

Q: Nastell and Ivan respectively have major character arcs in only 50 minutes, this a testament to your talents as a writer and director. How did you decide what got to stay and what had to be cut in the final edit in both the script and final picture?

Cydney- "Deciding what was going to make the final cut was probably one of the most difficult processes that I believe all filmmakers will have to face. Once we had created the script and completed the six days of shooting, we quickly realized that our writing process was not over. Immediately it was obvious the stuff that needed to be told in order to tell the full story, we shot for the next 6 months including reshoots but mostly pick-up days for new material in the script. What was supposed to be a 30-minute short became a 50-minute film. It was clear to us that “Nastell” was already extremely strong and that's why it felt so worth it to put our all into this project for a full year."

Q: The film is perfectly cast, each role feels curated to each actor in a way. When casting these roles what were you looking for and how were you surprised?

Cydney- "When casting we already had Sergey and Isabel in our vision for the characters of Ivan and Maz, we felt they were a perfect fit for portraying such a friendship dynamic. We wanted people who could seem like they are perfect from the outside, which is why they can hide their flaws so well that they believe they are hiding them from each other. We still had them audition for the fight scene, automatically I knew they were going to be our Maz and Ivan. When it came to casting Nastell, we knew we had to find our star. The thing about Nastell is I would say she's the character that pops but is kept to be more mysterious than others. The story is about the three of them but it's really about Nastell from an outside perspective. The best thing about her character is that the others are just as flawed as her, she just doesn’t try to hide it."

Q: In your own words could you describe Nastell and Maz’s sibling dynamic and how that relationship ties the opposing settings together (city vs country)?

Cydney- "Nastell and Maz’s relationship as sisters is tricky as they love each other but hold immense judgment towards the way they live their lives because it's tied to their resentment. Nastell associates Maz with the country, a place where she has lived her life under her sister's shadow. She fears to end up like her sister and refuses to accept a simple life. Maz now associates Nastell with the city, a place where her best friend left to go create a life without her. This ties in with Maz’s fear of abandonment, it only causes her to push Nastell away."

Q: Robby, you composed the score for the film, what was your inspiration for the soundscape and how did you work to add the score after the film had already been shot? Is there anything you would change about that process for next time?

Robby-"When creating the score I was very inspired by the score Raffertie did for The Substance. I also wanted the country and the city to have very distinct sounds and to create a specific feeling so the use of different instruments and different patterns helped add to that. I feel there's always room for improvement especially when it comes to music so for the next project one of the main things I would do differently is look to collaborate with musicians outside of the producing world so I could bring a different element to my ways of producing music."

Q: Designed by Plain Only Clothing, the costume design plays a huge role in both the aesthetic and practicality of the film. How did you and Robby work together to blend the unique designs and silhouettes into the storyline that takes place in 2012?

Robby-"As we made the script we were also making the costumes. We had done our share of research finding popular and unpopular looks from 2012 and using those as our baseline. From there we would take looks that we had liked and come up with 2-3 different outfit ideas that would be true to the period and true to the character wearing it, then narrowing it down to the final and most realistic look. I didn’t want to stray too far from 2012 but I also didn’t want to stray too far from the identity Plain has created for itself in the present day but I think we found that combining the two kinds of things went hand in hand. The crazy patterns and colors mixed with the craftsmanship and elegance made for some really beautiful and iconic looks that truly define our film."

Q: What was your biggest challenge as a writer and director? Were some visions you had on the page too ambitious to translate to screen or were you and your crew able to pivot?

Cydney- "I would say my biggest challenge as a writer was curating effective dialogue that was going to get my characters where they need to be and to also reveal just enough to the audience where they understand what's going on but don’t have an overwhelming amount of context that they aren't going to remember. Being a writer is all about showing, not telling and with a story to this extreme, with imperfect characters, portrayals of drug use, and multiple dance sequences it was actor-driven to be able to bring out exactly what we were looking for. The challenge I faced within directing within this project was learning what exactly is a director supposed to do for an actor, I came to realize that the director is not supposed to control the actor but to point them in the right direction by putting ideas into their head on their characters thought process, and letting them decide on how are they going to portray such thoughts and feelings."

Q: What is the biggest lesson you learned on set and what advice would you give to someone who wants to write and produce their film?

Cydney- "The biggest advice I’d give is to not cut corners, give it your all, and don’t let anyone try to shift your creative vision when it comes to your musts. It’s seriously everything to watch your film back and think, that's exactly what I envisioned and much more."

Robby- "Working on set has made me realize to have a great outcome you have to make sure every single person there is on the same page working towards a very clear end goal. If not the product will feel all over the place. My biggest piece of advice would be to build and be part of a team that involves zero ego. Place yourself around people who want to win as badly as you do and people who aren’t afraid to work hard and push their limits to create the best piece of work possible. Film, just like most forms of art, is better when done collaboratively."

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If you want more of this riveting story and you missed the premiere on May 18th at the North Park Theater don't fret. “Nastell” explores friendship, identity, and the contrast between the country and the city this Saturday for a second premiere at the Hamburg Palace Theatre, doors open at 2:30 screening will begin at 3 pm this Saturday, June 7th. Till next time, stay flirty, stay, thirsty, and go see “Nastell”.

No act is too small. No dream is too big. Watch more movies together, make more movies together.

See you soon,

Paige B