Chusy Haney-Jardine
Born and raised in Venezuela, Chusy Haney-Jardine has made home and a name for himself in the hills of Asheville, NC. He is a filmmaker with a real passion for the craft. Over the course of his career, Chusy has put on quite a lot of hats in the pursuit of his goal to be a filmmaker: bag boy, translator, video clerk, "marketing representative," copywriter, art director, executive creative director, teacher and commercial director. His drive to create and be amongst fellow creators has led him on an incredible journey. Beginning his film career at the American Film Institute in LA, Chusy attended their director's program where he made the short film MONEY PARK (featuring Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer and Ray Wise). The experience opened his eyes to the world of filmmaking and the art of telling stories. in 2008, Chusy created his very first feature film, ANYWHERE USA. The movie focused on a collection of story lines with Asheville serving as the backdrop. Chusy drew from his own experiences living in Asheville, NC and around the United States to create each character. ANYWHERE USA is what he calls "a personal portrait of my America". Chusy's film quickly saw success from the film community, winning a Special Jury Prize - The Spirit of Independent Cinema at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino called the film "silly, provocative, risky and downright loose-screwed... one of the most moving experiences at the Sundance Film Festival".
Chusy is passionate about the art he makes; putting so much of himself into his work. That kind of drive is infectious to any creator pursuing the art they love. Of course being an independent filmmaker doesn't go without it's set of challenges. But with a willingness to see it through to the end, this may only be the beginning of Chusy's already shining career.
Harmony Republic Interview
HR: You went from being the Creative Director at multi-national ad agency in Venezuela to a graduate of the Directors Program at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles to an independent filmmaker in Asheville. That's quite a career path! How did this transition come about?
Actually I directed some commercials in Venezuela (while still employed by a multi-national agency), went to the AFI, quit filmmaking and ultimately became the Executive Creative Director of FCB, in Rio de Janeiro. Then...I became an independent filmmaker as I entered the antechamber of middle age.
The path to filmmaking started by accident, by default, when I decided to write some ads (I was not a creative at the time in Venezuela. I was an account planner) because I thought that the work we were presenting the client (jeans/fashion) was, well, ungood. The client asked if I could do better (he noticed I was uncharacteristically quiet during the meeting and I told him the truth...that the company line was crap on a napkin) and I pulled out some scripts from my suit jacket. After listening to me read the scripts the owner of the textile firm ceremoniously went to his desk, pulled out a large leather-bound rectangular portfolio, wrote me a check right there and then, told me to make them myself and I became a de facto director overnight. The commercials found a modicum of success.
HR: You have said that your "entire life mission is purpose-based." Can you please explain how you live that out in your personal and professional life?
In my professional life I gravitate towards projects that have something to say about the human condition and more often than not expressly admit that in their intention.
For example, I recently finished editing a sales video/documentary for a Mental Health Healing Community called CooperRiis that features Dr. Oliver Sacks. CooperRiis is an extraordinary place where heroes, those that have been marginalized by society, can come to heal and find purpose and learn to live with their illnesses. Previously, I shot a documentary about the cyclist, George HIncapie, because I felt that his story-- a man who gives himself selflessly to his team-- was important to share in this world of ME ME ME. I was particularly drawn to the idea of sacrifice for a greater good. So, if there is something positive to be gleaned, I'm attracted to it. The definition of purpose based is expansive and extends beyond documentary work, of course. In the end, my decisions are informed by the legacy I'm trying to leave behind on this earth-- a positive footprint. Inspiration for my children.
HR: Your first feature film, Anywhere, U.S.A. won a Spirit of Independence Special Jury Prize at Sundance for its originality and low-budget risk taking. Did you ever imagine it would receive such recognition while making the film or editing it in your garage?
We made that film straight from our hearts and so, by implication, we thought it would find a home in someone else's heart, that it would resonate. It turns out that a lot of people responded to our instincts, to what beat in our hearts. When I was making the film I did in fact visualize myself specifically at Sundance though I'd never set foot in the place. But the main hope was that someone else besides our children or the people we paid to laugh would find the jokes funny and that tears would be released at the right moment, without onions. It's a beautiful miracle and I wish it upon everyone.
HR: You refer to Anywhere, U.S.A. as a "personal portrait of your America" How did the story come about?
My ex wife and I wanted to make a personal and du jour film so we culled our own lives and journals for ideas, thoughts and situations that occupied our minds at the time of the films inception-- mainly jingoism, xenophobia, premature loss of innocence in our children, the residual effect of racism and so on...So we assembled stories out of our lives. I call it fictionalized autobiography. In the first story, for example, the guy who plays the philandering, jealous and ineffectual boyfriend (the amazing Mike Ellis) was cast because he had long beautiful blonde hair like my first girlfriend who was a slut. So, in that particular instance it was amortized resentment (compounding at 2 percent interest per annum) that inspired that character.
HR: Anywhere, U.S.A., features Asheville citizens with little or no acting experience. How did make the decision to cast the film in this way?
Mainly, it was a budgetary decision. Plus, I'd directed ads with non-actors and loved the experience.
HR: You teach filmmaking to individuals who are less fortunate than yourself. Can you please tell us more about that experience and how it has impacted you?
I think this is the most exciting time in history. Technology is exploding and the relative cost of that technology is decreasing dramatically. That means, in part, that people who'd never would have had a chance in hell to tell their story on film before now have a chance to do as much. My workshops with Venezuelan kids underlines this fact...people who make 40 bucks a month armed with electronic/video pens writing poetry, without the suffocating oppression of a studio and its commensurate agenda, or having to be part of some elite mafia (filmmaking was the province of the rich when i was trying to get into it)...well, heck, it's wonderful because in the end it's about empowerment. Empowerment is a big deal for me, you know. It encourages giving and to paraphrase Ghandi, it is in giving that we truly find ourselves (Google it!).
HR: What inspired you to work on the documentary "A Ride with George Hincapie" and show the world an intimate portrait of the 5-time Olympian cyclist?
I was hired to do a seven-minute piece for his website, but upon learning of his feats, of his selflessness and interviewing fans it was clear that his message was bigger than some sort of flash video with groovy biking footage and some capricious music selection that (to borrow from the vernacular) rocks. It became less of a brand exercise and more about sharing this man's example with a broader audience.
HR: What advice do you have for individuals considering a career in filmmaking?
Floss daily.
Take up yoga.
Buy a cheap video camera, a computer with some sort of editing software, get a bunch of people together and shoot a story. Then edit it and then show it. Then start all over again and make it better.
Character is action.
Action is character.
There are no recipes.
And finally...make a personal film. Your last name isn't Tarantino. So don't make a Tarantino-esque film. Make a film that you can resolutely say is yours. Cultivate your you-ness and let it seep into everything you do. That's called being wholly original.
Actually I directed some commercials in Venezuela (while still employed by a multi-national agency), went to the AFI, quit filmmaking and ultimately became the Executive Creative Director of FCB, in Rio de Janeiro. Then...I became an independent filmmaker as I entered the antechamber of middle age.
The path to filmmaking started by accident, by default, when I decided to write some ads (I was not a creative at the time in Venezuela. I was an account planner) because I thought that the work we were presenting the client (jeans/fashion) was, well, ungood. The client asked if I could do better (he noticed I was uncharacteristically quiet during the meeting and I told him the truth...that the company line was crap on a napkin) and I pulled out some scripts from my suit jacket. After listening to me read the scripts the owner of the textile firm ceremoniously went to his desk, pulled out a large leather-bound rectangular portfolio, wrote me a check right there and then, told me to make them myself and I became a de facto director overnight. The commercials found a modicum of success.
HR: You have said that your "entire life mission is purpose-based." Can you please explain how you live that out in your personal and professional life?
In my professional life I gravitate towards projects that have something to say about the human condition and more often than not expressly admit that in their intention.
For example, I recently finished editing a sales video/documentary for a Mental Health Healing Community called CooperRiis that features Dr. Oliver Sacks. CooperRiis is an extraordinary place where heroes, those that have been marginalized by society, can come to heal and find purpose and learn to live with their illnesses. Previously, I shot a documentary about the cyclist, George HIncapie, because I felt that his story-- a man who gives himself selflessly to his team-- was important to share in this world of ME ME ME. I was particularly drawn to the idea of sacrifice for a greater good. So, if there is something positive to be gleaned, I'm attracted to it. The definition of purpose based is expansive and extends beyond documentary work, of course. In the end, my decisions are informed by the legacy I'm trying to leave behind on this earth-- a positive footprint. Inspiration for my children.
HR: Your first feature film, Anywhere, U.S.A. won a Spirit of Independence Special Jury Prize at Sundance for its originality and low-budget risk taking. Did you ever imagine it would receive such recognition while making the film or editing it in your garage?
We made that film straight from our hearts and so, by implication, we thought it would find a home in someone else's heart, that it would resonate. It turns out that a lot of people responded to our instincts, to what beat in our hearts. When I was making the film I did in fact visualize myself specifically at Sundance though I'd never set foot in the place. But the main hope was that someone else besides our children or the people we paid to laugh would find the jokes funny and that tears would be released at the right moment, without onions. It's a beautiful miracle and I wish it upon everyone.
HR: You refer to Anywhere, U.S.A. as a "personal portrait of your America" How did the story come about?
My ex wife and I wanted to make a personal and du jour film so we culled our own lives and journals for ideas, thoughts and situations that occupied our minds at the time of the films inception-- mainly jingoism, xenophobia, premature loss of innocence in our children, the residual effect of racism and so on...So we assembled stories out of our lives. I call it fictionalized autobiography. In the first story, for example, the guy who plays the philandering, jealous and ineffectual boyfriend (the amazing Mike Ellis) was cast because he had long beautiful blonde hair like my first girlfriend who was a slut. So, in that particular instance it was amortized resentment (compounding at 2 percent interest per annum) that inspired that character.
HR: Anywhere, U.S.A., features Asheville citizens with little or no acting experience. How did make the decision to cast the film in this way?
Mainly, it was a budgetary decision. Plus, I'd directed ads with non-actors and loved the experience.
HR: You teach filmmaking to individuals who are less fortunate than yourself. Can you please tell us more about that experience and how it has impacted you?
I think this is the most exciting time in history. Technology is exploding and the relative cost of that technology is decreasing dramatically. That means, in part, that people who'd never would have had a chance in hell to tell their story on film before now have a chance to do as much. My workshops with Venezuelan kids underlines this fact...people who make 40 bucks a month armed with electronic/video pens writing poetry, without the suffocating oppression of a studio and its commensurate agenda, or having to be part of some elite mafia (filmmaking was the province of the rich when i was trying to get into it)...well, heck, it's wonderful because in the end it's about empowerment. Empowerment is a big deal for me, you know. It encourages giving and to paraphrase Ghandi, it is in giving that we truly find ourselves (Google it!).
HR: What inspired you to work on the documentary "A Ride with George Hincapie" and show the world an intimate portrait of the 5-time Olympian cyclist?
I was hired to do a seven-minute piece for his website, but upon learning of his feats, of his selflessness and interviewing fans it was clear that his message was bigger than some sort of flash video with groovy biking footage and some capricious music selection that (to borrow from the vernacular) rocks. It became less of a brand exercise and more about sharing this man's example with a broader audience.
HR: What advice do you have for individuals considering a career in filmmaking?
Floss daily.
Take up yoga.
Buy a cheap video camera, a computer with some sort of editing software, get a bunch of people together and shoot a story. Then edit it and then show it. Then start all over again and make it better.
Character is action.
Action is character.
There are no recipes.
And finally...make a personal film. Your last name isn't Tarantino. So don't make a Tarantino-esque film. Make a film that you can resolutely say is yours. Cultivate your you-ness and let it seep into everything you do. That's called being wholly original.