Director Dustin Guy Defa is no stranger to failure. From living as an actual starving artist to couch-surfing to surviving to a horrific family nightmare which inspired his 2011 short film Family Nightmare.
Despite directing for years, he stayed under the radar until his acclaimed 2014 short story Person to Person, which explored the lives of 42 people set in a single day in New York City. Bouncing around from a plethora of vignettes, the short film explored the ups and downs of their lives.
Channeling the spirit of John Cassavetes, Defa has decided to expand the world of Person to Person into a feature film. Narrowing down the cast to just a handful characters, Defa has crafted a focused film with heart and drive. Cast members like Michael Cera, Abbi Johnson and indie darlings, David Zellner and Benny Safdie, are warm and inviting as Defa’s naturalistic filmmaking shines through.
Defa recently reflected on his career as a filmmaker and what made 2014’s Person to Person such an enjoyable adventure that he just needed to revisit it three years later.
Check out the interview below.
