Vanessa McMahon

Director Michael Goode's THE ANSWERS (2015), a film about every question you’ve had about your life in 8 minutes or less.

Synopsis: A man wakes up in the afterlife -- alone in a pure white nowhere -- faced with an all-knowing light that shows the answers to all the questions he’s ever had about his life. Who stole his bike in 7th grade? How many people did he meet? Who was his perfect match? The answers ultimately reveal connections and missed opportunities that change the way he sees a past relationship.

In an interview with Michael Goode about THE ANSWERS, here is what he had to say:

In the film, the main character is having memories behind a white light. Is he unconscious, dreaming or dying?

We start with his first moment after death, but this leads to the question that I think of as the core mystery of the story. The character Nathan is asking questions and seeing answers, but who's he talking to? Is it god? Is it his subconscious? Is it an all-knowing Google thing? Daniel Lissing (lead actor and my all-around partner on the film) spent a lot of time in rehearsals exploring options for this so that periodically the performance changes, his tactics change... But the key thing for the story was to never let the audience know more than Nathan.

What do 'the answers' mean and to what questions? Does he get all of his answers?

I think he gets answers, but gradually learns that he's been asking the wrong questions all along.

With all the flashbacks and playing with time, is time a theme that interests you in film? Do you like what Richard Linklater has done in his films and other directors who play with time?

Absolutely. There have been so many filmmakers that push the boundaries of how time works in filmic storytelling and inspire this dreamlike feeling when I watch their films. Especially Fellini, David Lynch, Malick, Charlie Kaufman... What we ended up prioritizing over everything else was Dan's real-time performance as an observer of his whole life. It was an emotional journey for him and an impressive high-wire act to watch in the room.

Do you think you will turn this into a feature?

Dan and I recently pitched a feature version to a veteran exec producer and by the time we left the room we felt like we were launched out of canon, ready to dive in and expand the central relationship into something much bigger and deeper. We're excited to do it, but we have other projects in the works, so we'll just have to see what gains traction.

What was your experience at PSSFF and how were the responses to this film?

Palm Springs was incredible. We've had a nice festival run from Florida to Nashville to Seattle, but this was on another level. It felt like every screening we attended was sold out. There was this buzz going around of other filmmakers eager to be fans of each other's work. Over and over we'd meet amazingly talented filmmakers who just wanted to tell you about somebody else's film. It's the best time I've had at a film festival so far. We were also incredibly honored to see that "The Answers" was voted into the "Audience Favorites" screenings at the end of the fest.

You won a prize in Santa Barbara. How was that experience?

Surprising! Santa Barbara was our world premiere and they screen so few short films (maybe 25 compared to Palm Springs' 300+) that we felt lucky just to be there. Short film is a weird medium. Most of us are self-financing and spending ungodly amounts of time writing, producing, shooting, etc. etc. And then at the end of the process all you're hoping for is to share it, which can be its own challenge. For us, winning that Best Short award right away meant that more doors would be open to us.

What are your plans next for this film and for future projects?

Next up will be more festivals, which we'll be posting about on facebook.com/theanswersmovie. And at this very moment Dan and I are developing a series idea that's already filling our workspace with sprawling notes and and research folders. We're at that stage where we're starting to see parts of scenes and story twists, but it's kind of like the fast-forward visions in "The Answers," and we have to hustle to catch them as they fly past.

See link to the trailer here: