This year’s Fantasia Film Festival might have been run digitally, but the quality of the content that has been screened is incredible. Films such as The Five Rules of Success, The Oak Room, and The Block Island Sound, all blew us away, but if one film were to steal the mantle of our best of the fest, it would most definitely be Come True. Created by film-maker Anthony Scott Burns (Our House), the story is an intricate blend of sci-fi, psychology, horror, and romance, all set to a killer electronic score and bathed in gorgeous colours. It follows Sarah (Julia Sarah Stone), a young woman whom, when in desperate need of a bed, agrees to participate in a sleep clinic. The study however, comes with some very frightening side effects and Sarah finds herself working with scientist Jeremy (Landon Liboiron) to figure a way out of the nightmare.
A couple of days after the premiere, we caught up with both Julia Sarah Stone and Landon Liboiron to dig a little deeper into a film that is easily one of our favourites of the year.
Come True debuted at Fantasia on Sunday, have you had a chance to see any of the reactions yet?
LANDON LIBOIRON: I haven’t actually looked into it, I know Anthony [Scott Burns] shared some positive feedback.
JULIA SARAH STONE: I’ve been checking a couple of the reviews. There seems to be a very mixed reaction, which is actually kind of ideal for a movie like this. You wouldn’t want people to be ‘meh’ about it. There seems to be everybody really loves some things and has strong feelings about every part of it.
It’s a very visual and aural movie, how did Anthony get those ideas across to you in the script when you read it?
LL: When I first read the script, it was one of the first times where I saw the world immediately. Anthony has this love for old dated technology, and when I read the script I just immediately saw that. It wasn’t labelled ‘old, vintage, retro technology’, but I just saw it that way. Just in that how he wrote the script, it just immediately came off the page.
JSS: Yeah, I noticed that too. There wasn’t anything in the script that would place it in any very specific time period. The symbols and the visuals are all timeless and universal in terms of humanity and the human psyche. That was really vivid in the script and I think that came across really well in the final product as well.
Outside of the story, which was clearly very interesting and complex, what was it about you characters that made you want to get involved with the project?
JSS: For me, reading Sarah, her activeness really came across in the script. She’s quite determined and she has this grit to her where she doesn’t give up. She’s always doing something. She’s always getting somewhere and she’s not just having stuff happen to her and falling victim to that. Even though she can be seen as a victim to the circumstances of the story and all of the disturbing things that are happening to her and around her, she’s also creating the arc of the story just as much.
LL: I immediately was conflicted with Jeremy. I was sympathetic towards him right away, but also very concerned about his choices. There was just something heartbreaking about this seemingly very lonely, but passionate person, who will go to any lengths to get his vision across. At the same time, he starts falling for his specimen in a way. I was immediately drawn into the idea is he falling for her, or falling for his own idea. There was just so much there to play and discover with. But the whole world that Anthony created was very enticing.
After about ten minutes of the film, the one element I wasn’t expecting was the romance aspect. It had a very The Terminator vibe, but with a hint of The Fly oddly, I guess that plays into what you were saying Landon about Jeremy’s laser focus on is work. It’s a very intricate dynamic, did you guys have much time to work on that relationship?
LL: There was no prep or rehearsing or anything like that. Julia is a wonderful scene partner to work with. I think we perhaps work in our own ways, but also approach the work in similar ideas. So there’s an ease to working with her for sure.
JSS: Yeah, I felt that as well. I think that the two of us clicked in how we approached the scene and how we show up in the scene on the same energetic wave length so to speak. I think also having so much space to play with the scenes… Anthony really provided that for us as a director. We had a lot of time to feel things out. Even though we didn’t have rehearsals, it really felt like we had that opportunity to figure out where the scene was going and what the scene wanted to be on the day. There was no rushing the creative process, which was really nice and super helpful.
There’s a lot of night scenes in the film, which obviously means lots of night shoots, how did you cope with that?
LL: A lot of coffee!
JSS: Yeah, a lot of coffee, and a lot of warming up between takes.
LL: There was one night that I’ll never forget. We were shooting the latter end part of the film in the woods. We were shooting up in Edmonton and it was the first time that I had seen the Northern Lights.
JSS: Yes!
LL: They were so incredibly alive and bright and beautiful. I’m from Alberta, I grew up in Southern Alberta, but I was going crazy over seeing these Northern Lights and Anthony and the rest were like, ‘we see these all the time, what are you so fascinated by?’ But I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.
JSS: I remember that as well. It was incredible. It was also my first time seeing them, and it was magical. It was one of those beautiful signs that you get when you’re making a movie. I’ll take this as a sign that we’re doing something good here.
LL: Yeah, like we’ve been blessed in some way.
When I was watching it, especially those scenes in the woods, my heart just went out to you Julia. Sarah’s just in a hospital gown and I imagine there’s not really much you can do to make those things warm?
JSS: Yeah, there’s not really any way to hide anything underneath a hospital gown. We had a van close by that I was able to jump into when we were changing shots, but even then, there wasn’t much that went into changing a shot because there was such a small crew. Basically, to change a shot all that had to happen was Anthony moves to a different place with his camera, so yeah it was tough definitely. But I think so worth it. Those sequences turned out so beautifully.
Anthony wrote, directed, did the cinematography, the VFX, and co-composed the score – this was obviously a big passion project for him, what was it like working with a director whom was so hands on?
JSS: I loved it. I think he had such a clear vision for what he wanted. But he wasn’t too controlling over the performances. He was very trusting in that way. It felt very much like a collaboration, even though he had such a strong vision. Which was really such a treat. I think the collaboration process is the most fun when you’re making a film. That was a really great experience, and he’s so skilled at finding what he wants. It was pretty incredible to work with him
LL: I echo that. It really felt that this very small group of people were making our movie and there was no outside voice affecting it in any way. It felt very special to be a part of that.
The hard work has definitely paid off! I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it, it really gets under your skin.
LL: It’s funny, I was watching it again on Sunday… it’s the second time I got to see it. It really made me nostalgic and gave me such a longing for the experience again, it was such a great experience shooting it. Every time I see it I’m like, ‘that was a good one.’ It was a good time.
Julia, I think I’m right when I say that you’ve studied psychology… did that help with getting into Sarah’s head space?
JSS: I do, I study psychology. It helped a lot in understanding the script when I was reading it for the first time. I caught onto a lot more of the symbols and the references to the psyche and the subconscious, terminology and concepts, that I wouldn’t have otherwise. It would have taken a lot more research initially to just understand what was symbolically going on. It was also interesting to get into Sarah’s mindset and to be experiencing that without the knowledge of psychology and with what Sarah knows going into it.
So Landon, did you do much research into these elements?
LL: I like to dive in in my own way. I took it as an opportunity to finally read some Jung. I hadn’t read any Jung, and I’d read all the Freud dream stuff that was just super heavy. It was nice to get a little heady about it I guess. Anthony also introduced me to a lot of films through the experience as well that I otherwise wouldn’t have sought out myself. That was a nice learning curve as well.
Any films in particular?
LL: Altered States was one, and Cronenberg actually. I hadn’t really dived into Cronenberg yet. I didn’t even know what Cronenberg films were really like before this movie, and Antony got me into Cronenberg.
And Landon, you’ve recently written and directed a short film, is this a direction that you’d like to explore more with your career?
LL: Yeah, definitely. I’ve always loved this industry for the story-telling aspect and I definitely want to direct more. I’m writing a film that I intend, or hope, to direct one day. I really love the other side of it as much as acting.
You both pick some really interesting projects, what would a potential collaborator have to bring to the table to get your interest?
JSS: I think I’m pretty open-minded in terms of what actually the subject matter is. If it’s got a story that intrigues me, and the character clearly has some layers and depth…I think I’m more drawn to active characters like Sarah. That’s the thing that really got me about her. I fell in love with how active she is and how much grit she has. So those characters that aren’t victimised, that aren’t really written as victims, that aren’t passive. If it’s got a message or a theme that I think is valuable, and that the world could use, those are the more vague elements that intrigue me about a script and make me want to be a part of it.
LL: It’s usually just an instinctual thing. I think first and foremost when I’m reading script for the first time, if it’s actively stimulating my imagination and curiosity, if that’s accomplished, you can’t help feeling yourself being pulled into it. Whenever I start working on a character when I’m reading for the first time I always know, ‘this is it, I’m in already.’
Once Come True is released to a wider audience, what do you hope they get from the viewing experience?
LL: I hope that it ultimately just allows people to feel something. To think, but to also feel for these characters as well. It’s such a bizarre, thought-provoking world, but also these characters are very unique and interesting. I hope that they find a way into them as well.
JSS: I hope that people are asking questions. I think that’s the most important thing. That’s what is so fun about movies, everybody is going to have different questions and speculations about the answers.
LL: I would really like to meet the ones that go, ‘ha, I get it.’ (Laughs)
JSS: I even read a couple of reviews where, when it gets to the part where they say, ‘this is the thing that I didn’t quite like so much about the film’, it makes me laugh a little bit because I’m like, ‘well did you question why you didn’t like that?’ Maybe that’s the point.
It’s definitely one of those films that everyone can have their interpretation of and each have a unique experience.
LL: It’s funny, my mom watched it. She’s not a movie person at all really. She likes very happy things. She watched it and she goes ,’I know that it’s good, but I don’t like it,’ (laughs) ‘I don’t like how it made me feel’. I was like, ‘well that’s good, it made you feel something.’
What projects have you guys got coming when the world opens again?
LL: Well you’re working right now aren’t you Julia?
JSS: I have been. I did one feature film that was shot mostly remotely. There’s a short bit that will be on location once things open up. It was really interesting because the whole script, most of it, takes place during a Zoom call. It’s set during an online class and stuff goes down. I’m not sure how much I can say, but it’s kind of like Come True in that there’s a lot of things are maybe suggested that are open-ended. I’m super excited about that one. I’m not even sure how it’s going to be edited together so that’ll be exciting to see. Then after that, I recently shot a short film and that is in post production right now as well.
LL: I like that, I think I’m gonna describe the plot of any movie from now on as just, ‘stuff goes down’. (Both Laugh)
JSS: Stuff goes down you know.
LL: I did a film last year called Hands that Bind, it was another film shot in Alberta from this Canadian director Kyle Armstrong, that I’m very, very excited to see and to have been a part of. It’s a very close story to me. It takes place in Southern Alberta in the seventies, and it stars Paul Sparks and Bruce Dern, and it’s about this farmhand and his…ah… stuff goes down (laughs).
JSS: Exactly!
LL: It’s hard to describe this one as well, but it’s sort of a Southern Gothic tale in a very mysterious and dark world.
Come True screened as part of Fantasia 2020, you can read our review here.
